Source: reuters // Reuters
* Militant links examined to US Embassy, other attacks
* Debate rages over future of U.S. Pakistan policy (Adds comment from senior Pakistani official)
By Mark Hosenball
WASHINGTON, Sept 21 (Reuters) - U.S. officials say there is mounting evidence that Pakistan's chief intelligence agency has been encouraging a Pakistan-based militant network to attack U.S. targets.
The allegations, if fully confirmed, heighten a painful dilemma for President Barack Obama's administration. Washington is under growing political pressure to take action against the Haqqani network after a spate of deadly attacks U.S. officials have attributed to it. These include last week's strike against the American Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
Some U.S. intelligence reporting alleges that Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence directorate (ISI) specifically directed, or urged, the Haqqani network to carry out the Sept. 13 attack on the embassy and a NATO headquarters in Kabul, according two U.S. officials and a source familiar with recent U.S.-Pakistan official contacts. However, officials cautioned that this information is uncorroborated.
Another U.S. official familiar with internal government assessments said that at the very least, the available intelligence strongly suggests the ISI has been egging on elements of the Haqqani network to launch attacks at American targets in the region.
While American officials have aired allegations of ties between the ISI and the Haqqani network in recent days, they have not publicly cited evidence that the Pakistani agency, or elements of it, urged its proxy to attack U.S. targets.
While the ISI's motives in any such attacks are not clear, Pakistan has long wanted to play a major role in Afghanistan's future after the departure of NATO troops, and to counter what it sees as the growing influence there of arch-rival India.
This week, top U.S. officials, including Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, demanded that Pakistan's leaders take action against the Haqqanis, who are based in that country's tribal areas and are considered among the most dangerous insurgent groups in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region.
Still, despite the threats and an intensified campaign of violence that threatens U.S. efforts to stabilize Afghanistan, the Obama administration has few options for increasing pressure on Pakistan and none of them are good.
After years of efforts to cajole(To persuade by flattery, gentle pleading, or insincere language.
), coax(To persuade or try to persuade by pleading or flattery; cajole.
) and threaten Pakistan into cracking down on a host of militants operating from within its borders failed to bear fruit, U.S. officials are exasperated.
For the United States one alternative -- another cross-border raid, like the Navy SEAL mission that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May -- may be tempting in some quarters. But the risks are high and the backlash from Pakistan would be fierce, almost certainly harming what counter-terrorism cooperation exists.
"LITTLE LEVERAGE"
"The (U.S.) administration has thrown everything at this -- high-level meetings, tons of money, all of these overtures, and it hasn't gotten us anywhere," said Caroline Wadhams, a security analyst in Washington.
"This can't go on forever," she said, "but the problem is that we have so little leverage."
"Pakistan values its relationship with the U.S. and is committed to eliminating terrorism in Afghanistan and from our soil," said A senior Pakistani official. "We will look at all evidence shared by the U.S. side and deal harshly with anyone and everyone responsible for terrorism."
The long-simmering tension between the sometime allies, sometime adversaries came to a head last week after the brazen attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul. It was a major blow as Obama hopes to nudge Afghanistan toward stability and gradually bring home U.S. forces after a decade of war.
Since then, American officials, including Obama's ambassador in Islamabad and Mullen, his top military officer, have issued unusually blunt criticisms of Pakistan's failure to curb the Haqqani group -- and made frank statements accusing Islamabad of links to the group.
Mullen, in a speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said Tuesday he had pressed Pakistan's army chief in a four-hour conversation on Friday to break the country's links with the Haqqanis.
"We covered ... the need for the Haqqani Network to disengage, specifically the need for the ISI to disconnect from Haqqani and from this proxy war that they're fighting," Mullen said.
The Haqqanis, just one of a host of militant groups that have used western Pakistan as a base for attacks in Afghanistan, are seen as allied to both al Qaeda and the Afghan Taliban. Supported at times in the past by the CIA, they have had long-standing ties to the ISI. [ID:nL3E7G524Z]
On Tuesday, regional tensions soared even higher when a suicide bomber killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, the former Afghan president who had headed efforts to secure a peace deal with the Taliban. [ID:nL3E7KL1VI]
While responsibility for the attack remains unclear, the shocking assassination threatened to do even more to reverse a tentative thaw in perpetually dismal U.S.-Pakistani ties a few months after Osama bin Laden was killed near Islamabad. The initial conclusion of U.S. government experts is that Rabbani's assassination was carried out by Afghan Taliban and had no connection to the Haqqani network.
Vali Nasr, who until this spring was a senior official in the U.S. State Department's Afghanistan-Pakistan office, said efforts to prompt Pakistani action against militants with increased public pressure had fallen short.
"They are not blinking," he said.
=============
Sparks fly as US, Pakistan spar over Afghan bloodshed
22 Sep 2011 23:42
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* U.S. issues strongest indictment of ISI role
* Pakistan rejects U.S. accusation
* Congressional support for curbs on aid rising fast (Recasts lead, adds former CIA official)
By Missy Ryan and John Chalmers
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The top U.S. military officer accused Pakistani intelligence on Thursday of backing violence against U.S. targets including the American Embassy in Afghanistan, a stunning remark that fueled a war of words and seemed certain to deepen tensions in South Asia.
Admiral Mike Mullen said Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI) played a role in the Sept. 13 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, supporting militants known as the Haqqani network.
That network, he said, is a "veritable arm" of the ISI.The embassy attack was the latest in a series of violent episodes that were a blow to U.S. efforts to bring the Afghan war to a peaceful close. [ID:nS1E78L0MH]
Pakistan's interior minister rejected the U.S. accusations of Islamabad's links to the Haqqanis, one of the most feared insurgent groups operating in Afghanistan.
The minister, Rehman Malik, also warned against a unilateral U.S. ground attack on the Haqqanis, who are based in Pakistan's ungoverned tribal territories.
"The Pakistan nation will not allow the boots on our ground, never. Our government is already cooperating with the U.S. ... but they also must respect our sovereignty," Malik said in an interview with Reuters. [ID:nL3E7KM2MZ]
The harsh words appear to represent a new low in U.S.-Pakistani relations, which had barely begun to recover from the unannounced U.S. Special Forces raid that killed Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad in May.
COMPLETE BREAK IN TIES UNLIKELY
The tensions could have repercussions across Asia, from India, Pakistan's economically booming arch-rival, to China, which has edged closer to Pakistan in recent years.
A complete break between the United States and Pakistan -- sometimes friends, often adversaries -- seems unlikely, if only because the United States depends on Pakistan as a route to supply U.S. troops in Afghanistan, and as a base for unmanned U.S. drones. Pakistan relies on Washington for military and economic aid and for acting as a backer on the world stage.
Washington does not want to see further instability in the nuclear-armed country.
But support in the U.S. Congress for curbing assistance or making conditions on aid more stringent is rising rapidly. And Mullen, CIA Director David Petraeus and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have all met their Pakistani counterparts in recent days to demand Islamabad rein in militants.
Bruce Riedel, a former top CIA analyst with close ties to the Obama White House, which he once advised, told Reuters administration officials have told him that militants who attacked the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul on Sept. 13 phoned individuals connected with the ISI before and during the attack. [ID:nS1E78L225]
Following the attacks, Riedel said, U.S. security forces collected cell phones the attackers had used. These are expected to provide further evidence linking militants to ISI.
Obama Administration spokespeople declined comment on Riedel's statements.
CONTINUED ENGAGEMENT
Mullen, who appeared with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta before the Senate Armed Services Committee, said U.S. aid to Pakistan "needs to be conditioned" on Pakistan's cooperation against militants. But as U.S. officials mull a host of unpalatable options for dealing with Pakistan, he cautioned against going too far.
"I think we need to continue to stay engaged. And I don't know when the breakthrough is going to take place. ... We need to be there, you know, when the light goes on," Mullen said.
A separate Senate committee voted on Wednesday to make conditions on U.S. assistance to Pakistan more rigorous, and contingent upon its cooperation in fighting militants such as the Haqqani network. [nS1E78K2AC]
Mullen, who is about to step down as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been a defender of U.S. engagement with Pakistan and has met more than two dozen times with his Pakistani counterpart, General Ashfaq Kayani.
The Haqqani network is one of three allied insurgent factions fighting U.S.-led NATO and Afghan troops under the Taliban banner in Afghanistan.
In earlier testimony, Mullen said "the Haqqani network ... acts as a veritable arm of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence Agency. ... With ISI support, Haqqani operatives planned and conducted (a Sept. 11) truck bomb attack, as well as the assault on our embassy," Mullen said.Insurgents struck the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and nearby NATO headquarters on Sept. 13, killing at least seven people and wounding 19.
FLAT DENIAL FROM PAKISTAN
Of the Haqqanis, Mullen said, "We also have credible intelligence that they were behind the June 28 attack against the Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul and a host of other smaller but effective operations."
Malik, the Pakistani minister, issued a flat denial of such accusations. "If you say that it is ISI involved in that (embassy) attack, I categorically deny it. We have no such policy to attack or aid attack through Pakistani forces or through any Pakistani assistance," he told Reuters.
The U.S. accusations underscore mounting exasperation in the Obama administration, which is struggling to put an end to the long war in Afghanistan.
Some U.S. intelligence reporting alleges the ISI specifically directed or urged the Haqqani network to carry out the attack on the embassy and a NATO headquarters in Kabul, two U.S. officials and a source familiar with recent U.S.-Pakistan official contacts told Reuters on Wednesday. [ID:nL3E7KM0IT]
Mullen said the embassy attack and a bombing this week that killed former Afghan President Burhanuddin Rabbani, who personified hopes for peace negotiations with the Taliban, were examples of the Taliban's shift toward high-profile violence.
Such violence has been a blow to Washington's hopes to weaken a stubborn militancy and seal a peace deal with the Taliban as it gradually draws down the U.S. force 10 years after the Afghan war began.
"These acts of violence are as much about headlines and playing on the fears of a traumatized people, as they are about inflicting casualties -- maybe even more so," Mullen told the Senate panel.(Additional reporting by Susan Cornwell and Mark Hosenball in Washington and Michael Georgy in Islamabad; editing by Mohammad Zargham and Todd Eastham)
"We must not misconstrue them. They are serious and significant in shaping perceptions but they do not represent a sea change in the odds of military success."
===
Pakistan warns U.S.: 'You will lose an ally'23 Sep 2011 22:24
Source: reuters // Reuters
* Mullen: Pakistan's spy agency tied to Haqqani network
* Khar says U.S. cannot afford to alienate Pakistan (Adds drone strike, U.S. senator comment)
By Qasim Nauman and Missy Ryan
ISLAMABAD/WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Pakistan warned the United States it risked losing an ally if it kept accusing Islamabad of playing a double game in the war against militancy, escalating the crisis in relations between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar was responding to comments by Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, who said Pakistan's top spy agency supported attacks on the U.S. Embassy and other targets by the Haqqani network, the most violent and effective faction among Islamist Taliban militants in Afghanistan.
It is the most serious allegation leveled by the United States against nuclear-armed, Muslim-majority Pakistan since they began an alliance in the "war on terrorism" a decade ago.
"You will lose an ally," Khar told Geo TV in New York in remarks broadcast on Friday. "You cannot afford to alienate Pakistan, you cannot afford to alienate the Pakistani people."
The White House on Friday reiterated its call for Pakistan to cut its ties to the Haqqani network and shut down safe havens on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.
"It is critical that the government of Pakistan break any links they have, and take strong and immediate action against this network so that they are no longer a threat to the United States or to the people of Pakistan, because this network is a threat to both," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
Mullen, speaking in the Senate on Thursday, alleged Haqqani operatives launched the bold attack last week on the Kabul embassy with the support of Pakistan's military intelligence.
The charges came amid mounting exasperation in Washington as the Obama administration struggles to curb militancy in Pakistan and end the long war in Afghanistan.
Pakistan's chief of army staff, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, rejected Mullen's comments as "very unfortunate and not based on facts."
"Singling out Pakistan is neither fair nor productive," he said, according to a military statement released on Friday.
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For more Pakistan stories click [ID:nAFPAK]
http://link.reuters.com/kac58m
Pakistan blog http://blogs.reuters.com/pakistan/
Key political risks to watch in Pakistan [ID:nRISKPK]
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The tensions could have repercussions across Asia, from India, Pakistan's economically booming archrival, to China, which has edged closer to Pakistan in recent years.
A complete break between the United States and Pakistan -- sometimes friends, often adversaries -- seems unlikely, if only because Washington depends on Pakistan for supply routes to U.S. troops fighting militants in Afghanistan, and as a base for unmanned U.S. drones.
'CO-DEPENDENTS'
Pakistan relies on Washington for military and economic aid and for acting as a backer on the world stage.
"The message for America is: 'They can't live with us, they can't live without us," said Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.
But support in the U.S. Congress for curbing assistance or making conditions on aid more stringent is rising rapidly.
A Senate committee voted this week to make conditioning of U.S. assistance to Pakistan more rigorous and conditioned on its cooperation in fighting militants such as the Haqqani network. [nS1E78K2AC]
"We are going to have to have an agonizing reappraisal of our relationship, and obviously amounts of aid and conditions on aid are going to be part of it," said John McCain, a senior Republican senator and 2008 Republican presidential candidate.
Before the Kabul attack, relations were starting to recover from the unilateral U.S. raid into Pakistan that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May.
The dangers could be enormous if Washington and Pakistan, a largely dysfunctional state teeming with Islamist militants and run by a weak, military-cowed government, fail to arrest the deterioration in relations.
At stake are the fight against terrorism, the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal and -- as Islamabad plays off its friendship with China against the United States -- regional stability.
HUMILIATION
The United States has long pressed Pakistan to go after the Haqqani network, which it believes operates from sanctuaries in North Waziristan on the Afghan border.
Pakistan says its army is too stretched fighting its own Taliban insurgency. But analysts say the Islamabad government regards the Haqqanis as a way to exert its influence on any future political settlement in Afghanistan.
Where the Pakistani military will not or cannot go, the Obama administration has increased the tempo of drone strikes on militants with tacit, wary backing from Islamabad. Yet the strikes are yet another thorn as Pakistani officials fret about being seen as taking orders from the West.
On Friday, intelligence officials in Pakistan said a suspected U.S. drone fired two missiles at a house in North Waziristan tribal region, killing at least three militants.
The area is not associated with the Haqqani network, which Mullen told senators was a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI.
Mullen, CIA Director David Petraeus and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton all have met with their Pakistani counterparts in recent days to demand Islamabad take action against the Haqqani network.
Any Pakistani offensive against the Haqqanis would be risky. The group has an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 seasoned fighters at its disposal and analysts say the Pakistani army would likely suffer heavy casualties.
Mahmud Durrani, a retired major general and former Pakistani ambassador to Washington, said both sides should ease tensions to avoid American military action beyond drone strikes or economic sanctions.
"There's a possibility. It's wide open. But it will be absolutely, totally disastrous." (Additional reporting by Augustine Anthony in Islamabad and Alister Bull and Susan Cornwell in Washington; Writing by Michael Georgy; Editing by John Chalmers, Raju Gopalakrishnan and Peter Cooney)
===
US fails to bully Pakistan
By Asad Ahmed - Sep 27th, 2011 (No Comment)
10
Islamabad: A senior Pakistani analyst, who is known to be influential in US administration, Najam Sethi said that Pakistan has began to show their cards during Pak-US tension, adding that, Pakistan could not be made under US pressure any more.
In a Pakistani TV current affair show ‘Aapas Ki Baat’ on Geo News, senior analyst Najam Sethi said that this was the last series of US efforts to bring Pakistan under pressure, but she could not be succeeding that’s why she was becoming heckle.
Sethi, who was present in US right now, said that it has been an open fact now that both countries have absolutely different kind of interests in the region.
The agenda of nationalism in Pakistan surfaced after US threats so it has been proved that Pakistan would only work for its own interest and agenda and in this regard, Pakistan army has devised short term and long term strategies, Sethi said.
He is of the view that Pakistan army could never make Haqqani network its enemy because Haqqani network could begin efforts to occupy the Pashtun areas of Pakistan after US withdrawal and handling such ugly situation could be difficult for Pakistan.
He quoted a report of US paper that the militants who attacked Kabul on Sept 13, were in contacts with ISI officials during their action, and the transcripts of such calls were presented before Director General ISI Shuja Pasha during his latest US visit.
He added that he is getting signals that normalcy is returning and there are indications that the hostility between two countries would reduce.
=============
Pakistan pushes back against US charges, woos China
27 Sep 2011 21:42
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Chinese support crucial for Pakistan
* Negative message from U.S. "disturbs" Pakistanis
* U.S. asks China for help with Pakistan (Adds comments by White House and Pakistani foreign minister)
By John Chalmers and Chris Allbritton
ISLAMABAD, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Pakistan warned the United States on Tuesday to stop accusing it of playing a double game with Islamist militants and heaped praise on "all-weather friend" China.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, speaking exclusively to Reuters, said any unilateral military action by the United States to hunt down militants of the Haqqani network inside Pakistan would be a violation of his country's sovereignty.
However, he side-stepped questions on the tense relations with the United States and offered no indications of any steps Pakistan might take to soothe the fury in Washington.
The outgoing chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, last week described the Haqqani network, the most violent faction among Taliban militants in Afghanistan, as a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's ISI spy agency and accused Islamabad of providing support for the group's Sept. 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
"The negative messaging, naturally that is disturbing my people," Gilani said in the interview from his office in Islamabad. "If there is messaging that is not appropriate to our friendship, then naturally it is extremely difficult to convince my public. Therefore they should be sending positive messages."
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TAKE A LOOK on US-Pakistan tensions [ID:nL3E7KN1E0]
Or see: http://link.reuters.com/kac58m
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Since Mullen's comments, Pakistan has launched a diplomatic counter-attack and attempted to drum up support from its strongest ally in the region, China. Pakistani officials have been heaping praise on China since its public security minister arrived in Islamabad on Monday for high-level talks.
"We are true friends and we count on each other," Gilani said in separate comments broadcast on television networks after talks with Meng Jianzhu on Tuesday.
The military, Pakistan's most powerful institution, said it appreciated Beijing's backing. Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani thanked Meng for China's "unwavering support."
'ALL-WEATHER FRIENDS'
China and Pakistan call each other "all-weather friends" and their close ties have been underpinned by long-standing wariness of their common neighbor, India, and a desire to hedge against U.S. influence across the region.
"They (the Pakistanis) are trying to use their diplomatic options as much as possible to defuse pressure on them. They hope China will help them in this crisis," said security analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi.
Asked why the United States had suddenly ratcheted up its criticism of Pakistan, Gilani implied that it reflected Washington's frustration with the war in Afghanistan ahead of a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the country in 2014.
"Certainly they expected more results from Afghanistan, which they have not been able to achieve as yet," he said. "They have not achieved what they visualized."
Rejecting allegations that Islamabad was behind any violence across its border, he said: "It is in the interest of Pakistan to have a stable Afghanistan."
The White House on Tuesday reiterated military demands.
"The Pakistani government needs to take action to deal with the links that exist there," White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Asked if Washington would take action if Pakistan fails to cut ties with the Haqqani network, Carney said: "We are obviously always reviewing our aid programs. We obviously take it very seriously and discuss these matters with our Pakistani counterparts."
CONCILIATORY REMARKS TO U.N.
Yet there is no indication American officials are ready to cut ties with volatile, nuclear-armed Pakistan.
"There are differences from time to time in the relationship with Pakistan, as there is in any partnership. Those differences have been made public and we continue to discuss those differences in private," Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters.
At the United Nations on Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar struck a conciliatory note, saying Islamabad was committed to achieving peace in Afghanistan and cooperating with the U.S. and Afghan governments.
She suggested that current tensions between Pakistan and its partners were partly due to the difficulties all were facing in their fight against terrorism. [ID:nS1E78Q1S9]
"Given the volatility of the situation, it is perhaps understandable that there is a high level of anxiety and emotions," Khar told the 193-nation General Assembly.
"But we must not lose sight of the goals. We must work closely and as responsible partners in a cooperative manner and not rush to judgments or question each other's intentions."
The United States has been pressing Pakistan to attack the Haqqani network, which it believes is based in North Waziristan near the Afghan border. Sirajuddin Haqqani, the head of the group, says it is no longer based in Pakistan and feels safe operating in Afghanistan.
Analysts say Pakistan sees the Haqqanis as a counterweight to the growing influence of rival India in Afghanistan and is highly unlikely to go after the group.
CIVILIAN NUCLEAR COOPERATION
Gilani said Washington did not help itself when it struck a deal on civilian nuclear cooperation with India, not Pakistan.
"There is an acute shortage of electricity in Pakistan. And there are riots. And the opposition is playing to the gallery because there is a shortage of electricity," he said.
"But they (the United States) are doing the civilian nuclear deal not with Pakistan, but with India. Now how can I convince my public that they are your (Pakistan's) friends and not the friends of India? ... The perception matters."
Asked about Gilani's comment, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, "The U.S. does not consider this a zero sum game: U.S.-India or U.S.-Pakistan. We need and we seek good, strong relations with each."
Much of the Pakistani public believes that since the end of the Cold War, the United States has tilted towards India, which has fought three wars with Pakistan since the violent partition of the subcontinent in 1947.
In a demonstration of that distrust, hundreds turned out on Tuesday for anti-American rallies in Pakistani cities.
Also on Tuesday, a suspected U.S. drone strike on a house in Azam Warsak village in South Waziristan's tribal region on the Afghan border killed at least three alleged militants, local intelligence officials said. (Additional reporting by Missy Ryan, Alister Bull and Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Editing by Todd Eastham)
============
US bombers could blitz areas in Pakistan
Updated at: 0246 PST, Thursday, September 29, 2011
WASHINGTON: Support is growing in the U.S. Congress for expanding American military action in Pakistan beyond drone strikes already used to target militants in Pakistani territory, a senior Republican U.S. senator says.
The comments by Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy and military affairs, follow remarks by the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accusing Pakistan last week of supporting the militant Haqqani network's September 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
Graham said in an interview on Tuesday that U.S. lawmakers might support military options beyond the drone strikes that have been going on for years inside Pakistani territory.
Those options may include using U.S. bomber planes within Pakistan.
The South Carolina Republican said he did not advocate sending U.S. ground troops into Pakistan.
"I would say when it comes to defending American troops, you don't want to limit yourself," Graham said. "This is not a boots-on-the-ground engagement -- I'm not talking about that, but we have a lot of assets beyond drones."
"A perfect world ... would be Afghan, Pakistan and (U.S. and NATO) coalition forces working jointly on both sides of border to deny safe havens, inside of Afghanistan and on the other side," in Pakistan's western tribal regions from which the Haqqani network and other militants are believed to operate, Graham said.
Graham said U.S. lawmakers will think about stepping up the military pressure. "If people believe it's gotten to the point that that is the only way really to protect our interests I think there would be a lot of support," Graham said.
The Haqqani network is allied with Afghanistan's Taliban and is believed to have close links to al Qaeda. It fights U.S. and NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, operating out of bases in Pakistan's North Waziristan.
U.S. drone aircraft in recent years have targeted mostly al Qaeda figures rather than Haqqani militants. (Reuters)
========
INTERVIEW-More US military action in Pakistan possible -Graham
28 Sep 2011 20:22
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Patience has worn thin with Pakistan in Congress
* Mounting support for tightening pressure on Pakistan
By Missy Ryan and Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Support is growing in the U.S. Congress for expanding American military action in Pakistan beyond drone strikes already used to target militants in Pakistani territory, a senior Republican U.S. senator says.
The comments by Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy and military affairs, follow remarks by the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accusing Pakistan last week of supporting the militant Haqqani network's Sept. 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.
Graham said in an interview on Tuesday that U.S. lawmakers might support military options beyond the drone strikes that have been going on for years inside Pakistani territory.
Those options may include using U.S. bomber planes within Pakistan.
The South Carolina Republican said he did not advocate sending U.S. ground troops into Pakistan.
"I would say when it comes to defending American troops, you don't want to limit yourself," Graham said. "This is not a boots-on-the-ground engagement -- I'm not talking about that, but we have a lot of assets beyond drones."
"A perfect world ... would be Afghan, Pakistan and (U.S. and NATO) coalition forces working jointly on both sides of border to deny safe havens, inside of Afghanistan and on the other side," in Pakistan's western tribal regions from which the Haqqani network and other militants are believed to operate, Graham said.
Graham said U.S. lawmakers will think about stepping up the military pressure. "If people believe it's gotten to the point that that is the only way really to protect our interests I think there would be a lot of support," Graham said.
The Haqqani network is allied with Afghanistan's Taliban and is believed to have close links to al Qaeda. It fights U.S. and NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, operating out of bases in Pakistan's North Waziristan. (For a factbox on major militant groups in Pakistan, click on [ID:nL3E7G524Z])
U.S. drone aircraft in recent years have targeted mostly al Qaeda figures rather than Haqqani militants.
'PROTECT LIVES'
Increased U.S. military action on Pakistani soil, including the idea of U.S. soldiers crossing the porous border from Afghanistan, would be deeply unpopular in Pakistan. Pakistan viewed the U.S. military raid in May that killed al Qaeda chief Osama in Laden in a Pakistani garrison town as a grievous breach of its sovereignty.
"Don't underestimate how we feel about those who try to kill our troops," Graham said in the interview.
"My belief is that Congress will be supportive of any action that the (U.S. military) experts deem necessary to protect lives of American soldiers" in Afghanistan.
The tense ties between Pakistan and the United States worsened last week after Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the Haqqani network as a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's ISI spy agency.
Graham, known as a hawk, said on Sunday that the United States must consider all options "including defending our troops" in confronting Pakistani support for militant networks active in Afghanistan. [ID:nS1E78O02D]
Such remarks from the U.S. Congress, where patience has worn thin with Pakistan, have intensified speculation that the United States might resort to another cross-border raid such as the one that killed bin Laden, intensify drone attacks in Pakistan's lawless tribal regions or send in bomber planes to attack militant hide-outs.
Lawmakers are proposing to restrict U.S. aid to Pakistan by placing more rigorous conditions under which Pakistan, which possesses nuclear arms but is desperately poor, can access American military and economic assistance.
The United States has been frustrated by what it sees as Pakistan's unwillingness to stamp out militants like the Haqqanis and the Taliban in Afghanistan, where U.S. forces have been engaged in a war for the past decade.
The unusually public criticism from Washington has provoked anger among Pakistani leaders who warn that the United States may lose a key ally in an unstable region. [ID:nL3E7KR32X]
(Editing by Warren Strobel and Will Dunham)
====
Fewer trainers seen among US military in Pakistan
28 Sep 2011 23:25
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* US comments on Haqqani network spark friction
* US staff likely to mostly support equipment
(Updates with Mullen comment)
By Missy Ryan and Chris Allbritton
WASHINGTON/ISLAMABAD, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. and Pakistani officials are continuing talks on the future U.S. military mission in Pakistan but Washington likely will see its influence on Pakistani special forces curtailed as tensions rage between the two nations.
A U.S. official said both countries had been discussing an agreement that would authorize between 100 and 150 U.S. military personnel to be stationed in Pakistan, fewer than have been there in the recent past.
"That's what they're driving toward," the official said on condition of anonymity.
The nature and size of the U.S. military presence in Pakistan remains in doubt, like the overall relationship, after the top U.S. military officer drew links last week between Pakistan's intelligence agency and a violent militant group blamed for attacks on American targets in Afghanistan.
Admiral Mike Mullen, who steps down this week as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the Haqqani network as a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's ISI spy agency and accused Islamabad of providing support for the group's Sept. 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul and other attacks.
Those allegations have kicked off a war of words that may jeopardize years of U.S. efforts to nudge Pakistan toward action against the Haqqani network and other militants who operate from Pakistan's lawless tribal regions.
Mullen defended his remark in an interview on Wednesday with National Public Radio, saying he "phrased it the way I wanted it to be phrased" and would change "not a word."
Mullen said he thought Pakistan maintained ties to the Haqqani network to try to improve its own security and he felt the need to speak up because the group was "so intently focused right now on killing Americans."
The Haqqani network is allied with Afghanistan's Taliban and is believed to have close links to al Qaeda. It is now seen as a chief threat to U.S. plans to establish a modicum of peace as it gradually withdraws from Afghanistan.
EQUIPMENT RELATED
In the past, there had been some 200 to 300 U.S. military personnel stationed in Pakistan, many of them training Pakistan special forces to confront militants, as part of Washington's Office of the Defense Representative-Pakistan.
But Islamabad, furious over the U.S. special forces raid that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in May, without Pakistani knowledge, sharply reduced the size of the mission this spring.
The U.S. military declined to disclose how many U.S. personnel are now in Pakistan.
A Pakistani military official acknowledged that negotiations are ongoing, but declined to say how many U.S. personnel would be authorized.
"We will convey what is required, but it will be primarily equipment related," the Pakistani official said on condition of anonymity.
Another U.S. official said most of the U.S. staff expected to be permitted, once a deal was finalized, would be military liaison personnel, mechanics, engineers and others who help Pakistan maintain and operate military equipment rather than special forces trainers.
The Obama administration has been struggling to come up with a way to successfully prod Pakistan into action against the Haqqanis and other militants.
On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was close to deciding on whether to label the Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist group. [ID:nS1E78R1R0] (Reporting by in Islamabad; Editing by Warren Strobel, Cynthia Osterman and Bill Trott)
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Support wavers for U.S. economic aid to Pakistan
28 Sep 2011 20:24
Source: Reuters // Reuters
* Lawmakers want security conditions on economic aid
* Lugar says little of the economic aid has been spent
* Some fear cuts could harden anti-Americanism in Pakistan
By Susan Cornwell
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Senator Richard Lugar says the U.S. effort to aid Pakistan named after him and two other lawmakers has not had enough time to achieve one of its main goals: dispel Pakistani mistrust of the United States.
Few others in Congress seem keen to give it more time or money.
Following U.S. accusations that some in the Pakistani government have aided anti-U.S. militants, Congress is reevaluating its 2009 promise to triple nonmilitary aid to Pakistan to a total of $7.5 billion over five years.
The non-military aid came on top of billions in security assistance Washington has provided since 2001, and is now rethinking as well.
The economic aid was intended to convince Pakistan the United States could look beyond counterterrorism cooperation and show concern for Pakistan's long-term development, in areas including infrastructure and agricultural.
That approach was heartily endorsed by the Obama administration, and the 2009 law authorizing the aid was named after its sponsors: Lugar, a Republican, and two Democrats, Senator John Kerry and Representative Howard Berman.
But Pakistan's suspicions of the United States do not appear to have eased, and U.S. mistrust of Islamabad definitely has grown. Washington last week said Pakistan's powerful ISI spy agency backed the Afghan Taliban-allied Haqqani network, and provided support for the group's Sept. 13 attack on the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in Kabul.
Now, U.S. congressional appropriators in both the Republican-run House and Democratic-run Senate want to toughen and broaden restrictions on military aid to Pakistan and extend them to economic aid as well.
"Our message to Pakistan is: We can't help you unless you help us," said Senator Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Senate foreign aid appropriations subcommittee.
In an interview with Reuters, Graham said he had been a supporter of Kerry-Lugar-Berman, but "there's been a turn there. ... We're not writing checks without being able to identify progress."
Starting next year, lawmakers are proposing to make economic as well as military aid conditional on Pakistan's cooperation in fighting militants such as the Haqqani network.
Such conditions are almost certain to inflame sensitivities further in Pakistan.
The appropriators haven't even bothered to specify an amount of new economic aid for Pakistan for fiscal 2012, leaving it to the Obama administration to come back to Congress and request funding if the conditions are met.
The proposals must be approved by the full House and Senate and are subject to running budget battles in Congress.
A LOST APPETITE
Other key senators also sound unenthusiastic about voting more aid to Pakistan, even if it means backing down on the Kerry-Lugar-Berman promise.
"I am very reluctant to vote for the additional economic aid while they are giving support to the Haqqani group. ... So I'd be very reluctant to vote for anything like Kerry-Lugar," Democratic Senator Carl Levin, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, told Reuters outside the Senate this week.
"I think that Congress has lost its appetite for dealing with a country that is clearly in some ways a friend of the United States, and in other ways hedging its bets and siding with those who are placing our forces at risk," said Karl Inderfurth, assistant U.S. secretary of state for South Asian affairs in the Clinton administration.
The nation's top military officer said last week that U.S. aid to Pakistan needs to be conditioned. But Admiral Mike Mullen also warned lawmakers to be careful: "I think it's a very dangerous long-term outcome should we cut it (aid) off."
Lugar told Reuters that one reason the Kerry-Lugar-Berman program has not yet had a chance to work is that very little money had actually been spent. That is due in part to disagreements between the U.S. and the Pakistani government about how programs will be administered, he said.
The U.S. Agency for International Development says that in the last two years, nearly $2 billion in U.S. economic aid had been disbursed to Pakistan, but that just $534 million could be considered Kerry-Lugar-Berman funding. Some of the rest was disaster aid, or linked to other U.S. programs.
Lugar still thinks American development aid could help change perceptions about the United States in Pakistan, where poverty is widespread. "It could and would have, but it won't unless the money is spent," he said in a brief interview outside the Senate.
"I think it's a good approach, but the question is what our overall relationship will be" with Pakistan, he added.
Berman, in a statement e-mailed to Reuters, said Americans were "right to be frustrated with Pakistan" but warned against any blanket cutting off of aid.
This "may make us feel good in the short term, but will only harm our long-term interests in Afghanistan, Pakistan and the rest of South Asia," Berman said.
Development experts worry that the proposed restrictions on economic aid will thwart the main purpose of the law. It "was supposed to be an investment in the well-being of the Pakistani people," said Daniel Cutherell, a policy analyst at the Center for Global Development.
"Tying civilian economic aid to security indicators ... demonstrates that all U.S. aid is simply payment for cooperation on security issues," Cutherell said.
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