DesiGuy
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WASHINGTON: The United States is sending a high-level delegation to Islamabad this week to convince Pakistani authorities that now is the time to uproot Al Qaeda when it is weakened.
Daniel Benjamin, coordinator for counter-terrorism at the White House, will lead the delegation, which will include senior officials of the Department of Homeland Security.
The United States and Pakistan are expected to form a counter-terrorism working group after the meeting, to promote greater cooperation between the two countries.
The United States wants Pakistan to increase pressure on various militant groups that work with Al Qaeda.
We cannot allow Al Qaeda or other transnational extremist elements to once again establish sanctuaries from which they can launch attacks on our homeland or on our allies, says Gen David Petraeus, the new US commander for Afghanistan.
Explaining Pakistans importance in the efforts to uproot Al Qaeda, Gen Petraeus noted that when weakened in Afghanistan, the group established new sanctuaries in the tribal areas of Pakistan and was able to recruit new volunteers.
In recent congressional hearings, US military and intelligence officials have identified Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Punjabi Taliban as Al Qaeda affiliates who not only fight Pakistani forces but also help Al Qaeda launch operations in Afghanistan and outside the region.
At a recent briefing, US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen said the United States felt that the time had come to make a final push to defeat Al Qaeda and its extremist allies in South Asia. We cannot lose the momentum we have, together with our partners, allies and friends, worked so hard to achieve, he said.
Last week, Admiral Mullen told a public forum at Aspen, Colorado, that Al Qaeda affiliates had now become a greater threat than Al Qaeda itself. This new synergy of terrorist groups was dangerous and motivated by an expanding desire to kill Americans, he said.
At the same forum, National Counter-terrorism Centre Director Michael Leiter warned that the troubling alignment extended all the way to Yemen and Africa.
Mr Leiter claimed that the past 18 months of drone attacks and raids had devastated Al Qaeda because more than half of its leadership has been killed in these attacks.
Now the organisation is down to only 50 to a 100 card-carrying members inside Afghanistan and roughly 300 operatives in Pakistan, he said.
DAWN.COM | Front Page | Now is time to strike at Al Qaeda, affiliates: US
Daniel Benjamin, coordinator for counter-terrorism at the White House, will lead the delegation, which will include senior officials of the Department of Homeland Security.
The United States and Pakistan are expected to form a counter-terrorism working group after the meeting, to promote greater cooperation between the two countries.
The United States wants Pakistan to increase pressure on various militant groups that work with Al Qaeda.
We cannot allow Al Qaeda or other transnational extremist elements to once again establish sanctuaries from which they can launch attacks on our homeland or on our allies, says Gen David Petraeus, the new US commander for Afghanistan.
Explaining Pakistans importance in the efforts to uproot Al Qaeda, Gen Petraeus noted that when weakened in Afghanistan, the group established new sanctuaries in the tribal areas of Pakistan and was able to recruit new volunteers.
In recent congressional hearings, US military and intelligence officials have identified Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Punjabi Taliban as Al Qaeda affiliates who not only fight Pakistani forces but also help Al Qaeda launch operations in Afghanistan and outside the region.
At a recent briefing, US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen said the United States felt that the time had come to make a final push to defeat Al Qaeda and its extremist allies in South Asia. We cannot lose the momentum we have, together with our partners, allies and friends, worked so hard to achieve, he said.
Last week, Admiral Mullen told a public forum at Aspen, Colorado, that Al Qaeda affiliates had now become a greater threat than Al Qaeda itself. This new synergy of terrorist groups was dangerous and motivated by an expanding desire to kill Americans, he said.
At the same forum, National Counter-terrorism Centre Director Michael Leiter warned that the troubling alignment extended all the way to Yemen and Africa.
Mr Leiter claimed that the past 18 months of drone attacks and raids had devastated Al Qaeda because more than half of its leadership has been killed in these attacks.
Now the organisation is down to only 50 to a 100 card-carrying members inside Afghanistan and roughly 300 operatives in Pakistan, he said.
DAWN.COM | Front Page | Now is time to strike at Al Qaeda, affiliates: US
