Operation in North Waziristan?: Sooner the better, says Gates
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, Oct 14: US President Barack Obamas military advisers are urging Pakistan to launch a major military offensive in North Waziristan, with the secretary of defence and the military chief saying that Islamabad has already promised to do so.
In less than 14 hours, four key officials responsible for the US-led war in Afghanistan stressed the importance of such an offensive, insisting that the war could not be won until terrorists based in North Waziristan were dislodged.
The statements come days before the third round of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue in Washington during which the Obama administration is expected to urge Islamabad to send its troops into North Waziristan and uproot the Haqqani network which, the Americans claim, is based there.
Well, theyve talked about taking action in North Waziristan and our hopes are that they will, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said when asked if he wanted Pakistan to take more forceful action in the area.
In a transcript released by Pentagon, Mr Gates was quoted as telling journalists travelling with him to Brussels that he would want Pakistan to launch the proposed operation as soon as possible.
Its also just a fact of life that significant military resources have been drawn away to help deal with this terrible flooding situation they have. So the question is, at what point do they return to the offensive in Fata, he added.
When would the US like to see action from them in that area? he was asked.
Obviously, the sooner the better, but I also completely understand the need to take care of their own people first because of the flooding, Mr Gates said.
Another journalist asked him if he believed a military operation in North Waziristan was critical to US success in Afghanistan.
I think its important, said Mr Gates. Its clear that North Waziristan is an important safe haven not just for Al Qaeda but for the Haqqani network and for others.
Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Bloomberg Television that the Pakistani military had already pledged to go after the militants operating from this epicentre of terrorism.
The admiral said Pakistan army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani had given assurances he would mount an offensive the US had long called for.
Gen Kayani has committed to me to go into North Waziristan and to root out these terrorists as well, Admiral Mullen said.
He clearly knows what our priorities are. North Waziristan is the epicentre of terrorism, Mr Mullen said. Its where Al Qaeda lives.
Another Pentagon transcript quoted Gen David Petraeus, the commander of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, as telling the American Forces Press Service that the Taliban saw the area between the Afghan border and North Waziristan as a safe haven.
Yet another transcript quoted Nato regional commander Maj-Gen John Campbell as terming the Haqqani network the most dangerous among the insurgent groups that operate in that region.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said on Thursday that the US was pressing Pakistan very hard to go after those militants who crossed into Afghanistan to attack Nato troops.
In an interview to ABC television, she said the new US policy for Pakistan focused on the threats that both countries faced. Were pressing very hard that they do more with their military forces, their intelligence forces to go after those segments of this Taliban network that is connected with Al Qaeda that is crossing the border into Afghanistan, going after our military as well as Afghan targets, she said.
