News
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Pak-US anti-terror cooperation at ‘all-time high’: US general
* Gen Mattis tells Senate Armed Services Committee relationship between Pak intelligence agencies and Taliban is ‘no surprise’
WASHINGTON: Cooperation with Pakistan on counter-terrorism is at an “all-time high”, General James Mattis, who is picked to lead the US military command overseeing operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere said on Tuesday. A trove of leaked US military documents released this week also raised new questions about whether Pakistan was secretly supporting the Taliban.
Mattis said it was “no surprise” there may be some relationship between Pakistani intelligence services and the Taliban, but he said the motives were unclear to him.
“I think we have a stronger strategic relationship... It is in the right direction,” Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He praised the recent offensive by Pakistan’s military against the Taliban, adding that he did not know the motives for remaining ties between some elements of Pakistani intelligence and Taliban.
“I think though that it’s hard to wipe the slate clean and just start over at any one point. And clearly the offensive against many of the people they allegedly used to work with has shown they are no longer friends with most of them,” he said.
Mattis warned that NATO forces would face months of difficult fighting. The general declared that victory in Afghanistan was possible and expressed optimism that troops would start coming home in a year. He said wanted top leaders of two major insurgent groups, the Quetta Shura and the Haqqani network, designated as terrorists.
“Both those groups have engaged in terrorism and I believe the leaders of both groups should be placed on the State Department list,” General James Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. agencies
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk