I'll retract my statement lest I be condemned as a liar.
Here are the exact comments by Conway at a press conference-
" Q Thanks. General, you ended on Pakistan, there, so let's stick with that. What's your assessment of Pakistani military's efforts to crack down on the militants? Do you feel they share the U.S. assessment that that's actually the primary threat to their country, rather than India? And do they have the capabilities they need to take them on?
GEN. CONWAY: Yeah, Andrew, I had -- there's a number of questions there. I'll try to hit them all.
I've had three occasions now to speak with General Kayani -- who is the chief of the Pakistan army and, therefore, sort of the equivalent to our CJCS -- who strikes me as a very thoughtful fellow and, I think, a very good military man.
In the first discussions, when I visited in -- over Christmas, Mumbai had happened recently. He took me to the map and said, "You know, I have quality forces on our western border" -- to him the western border is Afghanistan -- "and I intend to leave those quality forces there, because to move them to the Indian border at this point, with tensions rising, could cause escalation that I can't control, and I don't want to do that. I do not want to cause problems with India that can be avoided, and we're willing to accept risk elsewhere in order to be able to do that." So I thought that was -- that was pretty good thought.
This most recent occasion, he expressed concern that our forces going into the south could cause a refugee problem that Pakistan is ill-equipped to handle right now, based on their fiscal scenario, and the possibility that we could be forcing Taliban out of the south and onto supply lines that the Pakistani forces are currently trying to protect for us. So, once again, good thought. And we talked then about how they would further go about protection of those -- of those supply lines.
I cannot judge from my discussions with him at this point as to whether or not Pakistan's scenario as it -- as it exists right now vis-a-vis the Taliban and the al Qaeda is a matter of will or of capability. Maybe it's -- maybe it's portions of both, although I'm encouraged to see in recent days that I think they have -- the Taliban has crossed a red line and they have said to them through their actions in the field that enough is enough.
Now, how much that will continue remains to be seen. But I sense that General Kayani at least senses that the Taliban advances and, again, I think, the al Qaeda inspiration represents to Pakistan existential threat. And so how they deal with that is going to be, I think, very important and pretty educational for us all over the next few weeks.
Q Just to follow up briefly, you talked about a wide-open border there in the area where your Marines will be heavily involved. Have you any commitments from the Pakistanis to step up efforts to try and seal that border?
GEN. CONWAY: No. They have frontier forces down in the area of Baluchistan. That supply line at this point is, let's say, protected by economics. There is -- there's a good deal of involvement on the part of the tribes and the drivers and so forth, who all are making a good day's wage over ensuring that that supply line stays open. So it was General Kayani's hope, at least, that those things would provide a level of protection to our supply lines that his frontier forces would not be able to -- to conduct.
Q But in terms of infiltration possibly, from militants coming in to fight Marines and others?
GEN. CONWAY: I think it is again, as I described it, wide open. There is not sufficient border police, on either the Afghan or the Pakistani side, at this point, to have much impact on it. And it's not restricted to passes.
It's much more an extension of the red desert that is analogous to, say, what you might see between Iraq and Syria. There are a lot of crossing points. And forces or troops would just not be restricted.
Q So you're just going to have to live with that.
GEN. CONWAY: Well, I think, we're going to pay attention to it. When we get enough force in there, to be able to deal with it, I think that local commanders will make those determinations, in terms of how large the threat, and how much force is he able to put against it?
Okay.
Yes, ma'am.
Q General, Laura Jakes from Associated Press. I'm sorry for walking in late. Something you just said really piqued my interest. We've been briefed by ISAF commanders that there's going to be a larger concentration on the south, because that's where the Taliban is seen to move.
So based on what you just said, that the Pakistani army is concerned that the more we move south, our forces move south, the more we're pushing the Taliban onto the Pakistani side of that border, how do we square that circle with making sure we're not making the job harder for the Pakistanis but yet still trying to control and secure the south, as it sounds like the goal is?
GEN. CONWAY: Laura, I accept General Kayani's concerns as face value from his perspective. I would offer to you that not everybody believes that's where the Taliban will flush to.
There are others that think they may go different directions, based on what is now a potentially safe haven, based on the presence of coalition forces and that type of thing. Could be a combination of both. Nobody knows that for sure.
But in any event, we've got to do what we've got to do in the south. And there will be pond rings coming off of that that I think we're going to have to adjust to. But again not everybody is of the same mind as General Kayani, who might be citing a worst-case scenario to us."
Perhaps Gen. Kiyani can communicate his intentions for us. Conway speaks in detail and, accurately, Kiyani did not ask that our operations be deferred nor cancelled.
A.M., you're correct and I'm glad you are. Nobody has been a bigger proponent of America, Canada, and Britain getting after the opium and taking the fight to the enemy than you. The ICOS map shows the exact points of violence so we know it's disproportionate and, combined with the drug prevalence, is money best spent in the south for everybody concerned.
Thanks.
