Pak Faces Lot Of Problems Right Now: Gates
Wednesday, September 9, 2009 at 11:01 am
WASHINGTON: Of all the challenges and potential problems the United States faces, Pakistan tops Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’ priority list, he said.
“Pakistan faces a lot of problems right now,” he said during an interview with a television channel. “I think … they have always thought of India as the existential threat to Pakistan, but I think they are beginning to understand that the extremists in the ungoverned spaces in their west have become an existential threat.”
Going forward in the Middle East, the United States will be looking for ways to strengthen its partnership with Pakistan, Gates said, such as helping the country with some of its economic problems.
At the same time, he added, Pakistan will be encouraged to take action in some of its ungoverned spaces in the western part of the country, where the Taliban and al-Qaida have taken sanctuary.
The situation in western Pakistan was caused, in part, by the withdrawal of Pakistani soldiers, Gates said.
“Now, the Pakistanis are back in the fight,” he added. “They have been an important source of support for us. Almost all of our supplies, about 80 percent of our dry cargo, moves through Pakistan to Afghanistan, and they have helped provide protection for the convoys.”
“It’s a conversation I’ve had many times — not just with military leadership, but also with political leadership — that any president of the United States would respond to an attack on U.S. citizens,” Navy Adm. Mike Mullen said. “They understand that very clearly, and they don’t disagree with that.
“I think you’re at the heart of dealing with the most difficult part of the problems we have there, where we have this safe haven in a sovereign country that is threatening and plotting against Americans and other Western countries, and it must be eliminated,” Mullen added. “Ideally, that would come through the pressure that the Pakistanis bring to eliminate that threat.”
|
|
|
From World:
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Todays news from World Breaking news
- Gujarat Riots: High Court Slams Narendra Modi Govt For Failing
- Syria’s Homs Suffers ‘Heaviest’ Shelling
- Gilani Files Appeal In Contempt Case
- Maldives President Resigns After Police Revolt
- Gen. James N. Mattis Visit: US Mulling To Apologise Over Nato Attack
Advertisement
Email Subscription
Advertisement
