America not to pursue Taliban leaders in Pakistan
Monday, December 7, 2009
WASHINGTON: Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday that the United States would not pursue the Taliban leaders in Pakistan and that it was up to Islamabad to address the threat posed by the militants on its territory.
His comments followed a report the White House had granted authority to the Central Intelligence Agency to expand a bombing campaign in Pakistan by unmanned aircraft to strike the Taliban and Al-Qaeda figures.
“Pakistan is a sovereign government. We are in a partnership with them. I think at this point it’s up to the Pakistani military to deal with this problem,” Gates told CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
He said the United States has helped Pakistan improve security arrangements for its nuclear arms and is “comfortable” the weapons are secure. “We are comfortable with the security of their weapons,” he said. “We have a good relationship with them. We’ve actually given them assistance in improving some of their security arrangements over the past number of years. This is not a new relationship. And I think just based on the information available to us that gives us the comfort,” he said.
Labels: Taliban, US Pakistan Relations, War on Terror
posted @ 7:01 PM,
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