Karzai told to end corruption to ensure NATO offensive success

March 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar.30 (ANI): The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Admiral Mike Mullen, has told Afghanistan President Hamid Ansari that NATO’s military offensive in Afghanistan will prove a waste of time unless he stamps out corruption in the Taleban stronghold of Kandahar.

This is second top-level warning to the Afghan leader in less than 24 hours, according to The Telegraph.

“We will be unable to succeed in Kandahar if we cannot eliminate a vast majority of corruption there,” Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in what appeared to be an attack on Karzai’s half-brother, Ahmad Wali Karzai, who dominates Kandahar and denies accusations of his links with its opium trade.

“If we can’t do that there, then we will not be able to succeed … That’s just a fact,” Admiral Mullen added

The assessment came as tens of thousands of troops prepared for the most important military engagement in eight years of fighting in Afghanistan.

A full-scale offensive to remove the Taleban from Kandahar is NATO’s next military objective and the centrepiece of General Stanley McChrystal’s plan to use a 30,000-strong “surge” to pave the way for a withdrawal, starting next year.

US troops plan to have cleared the Taleban out of Kandahar by the beginning of August, before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

A collapse in support for Karzai’s Government is a nightmare scenario for Washington and would expose Obama to charges of wasting American lives and 30 billion dollars a year for the surge alone.

White House fears of such a scenario were reportedly behind Obama’s overnight trip to Kabul and Admiral Mullen’s follow-up visit less than a day later. (ANI)

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Pak-Afghan border region ‘critical’ for success in war on terror: Mullen

March 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar.5 (ANI): The Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, US Armed Forces, Admiral Mike Mullen has described the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan as ‘critical’ for the ongoing offensive against the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and other extremist groups in Afghanistan and for the larger war against extremism.

Addressing a group of US military officers at army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, where Admiral Mullen also met Pakistani Envoy to the United States Hussain Haqqani, he said Washington is working towards restoring trust among Pakistani civilians.

Mullen said it is important to reduce the trust deficit which had increased manifold after the White House imposed certain sanctions on Islamabad in 1990’s.

“If you don’t trust each other we’re not going to work together well,” The Nation quoted Mullen, as saying.

Interacting with media persons after meeting Mullen, Haqqani underlined Pakistan’s tough stance against extremists, saying the recent arrests of top Afghan Taliban commanders in Pakistan clarifies that his nation is committed to support the efforts of the US.

“Pakistanis believe they have been doing a lot in the war on terrorism that has not been recognised by the world,” Haqqani said, adding: “Part of it was based on misperceptions rooted in history. Now I think it is very clear that Pakistan’s action, whether on the military front or on the terrorist front, are actions that are compatible with the international expectations.”

Haqqani, however, pointed out that the relationship between Pakistan and the United States would not improve only by cooperating with each other in the battlefields, rather association in other fields should also be given importance. (ANI)

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US will retaliate if Pak based militants attack its citizens: Mullen

September 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep.10 (ANI): The United States has made it clear that it would not hesitate to retaliate if its citizens are targeted by militants based in Pakistan.

In an interview with the PBS, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen said Islamabad is also aware that if US citizens are targeted by Pakistani militants then Washington would certainly respond.

“The Pakistani government also understands that if US citizens are attacked, and there’s reliable information it originated in Pakistan, the United States will respond,” Admiral Mullen said.

“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 US citizens. They understand that very clearly, and they don’t disagree with that,” Mullen added.

He said extremists are using Pakistan as a safe haven to plot attacks against the US and other western countries, and highlighted that these terror sanctuaries operating inside Pakistan’s territory must be destroyed.

“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,” The Nation quoted Mullen, as saying.

Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, who was also present in the programme, said Islamabad has realized that the Taliban and other extremists based in the western tribal area of the country pose the real existential threat to it rather than India.

Gates said Pakistan has acknowledged that the real threat to its existence come from the extremists based in the lawless tribal areas along the Afghan border and not from India.

“Pakistan faces a lot of problems right now. 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,” he said.

Gates said Washington wants Islamabad to take hard action against the Taliban and other extremist outfits having their base inside its territory. (ANI)

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Mullen, Gates push for joint US-Pak operation against Taliban

September 6, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Sep.6 (ANI): Stressing on the need for destroying militant safe havens in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen has said Islamabad is a key ally in the new American strategy to defeat the Taliban.

Terming the joint US-Pak policy against extremism as a ‘pincer approach’, Admiral Mullen said Pakistan’s efforts against the militants in FATA should be backed by applying pressure from the Afghan side.

“And that kind of continuing pressure that eventually will provide security for their own people so that, in fact, their own people, who now protect Al Qaeda, turn them out. This ‘pincer approach’ would squeeze the militants from both sides, although it’s going to take some time to create that pressure,” Admiral Mullen said in a policy briefing at the Pentagon.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said despite FATA being outside the jurisdiction of America’s Afghan command, the overall strategy for the region did address this issue.

“This strategy treats the issue of militancy as a regional problem, and therefore, it covers both Afghanistan and Pakistan,” The Dawn quoted Gates, as saying.

Both Gates and Admiral Mullen rejected the notion that it is time for the US to leave Afghanistan and focus on anti-terrorist operations from a distance.

“I absolutely do not think it is time to get out of Afghanistan. And, I think that the notion that you can conduct a purely counter-terrorist kind of campaign and do it from a distance simply does not accord with reality,” he stressed.

“The reality is that even if you want to focus on counter-terrorism, you cannot do that successfully without local law-enforcement, without internal security, without intelligence,” Gates added.

“You can’t do it remotely, and you can’t do it from offshore,” Admiral Mullen said.(ANI)

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Mullen says public relations won’t bring back lost credibility in war against extremism

August 29, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Lahore, Aug. 29 (ANI): US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has warned that no amount of public relations will establish credibility if America fails to communicate its actions globally.

“We need to worry a lot less about how to communicate our actions and much more about what our actions communicate. Each time we fail to live up to our values or don’t follow up on a promise, we look more and more like the arrogant Americans the enemy claims we are,” Mullen wrote in essay published by official military journal Joint Force Quarterly.

Admiral Mullen expressed concern over a trend to create entirely new government and military organisations to manage a broad public relations effort to counter anti-Americanism, which he said had allowed strategic communication to become a series of bureaucracies rather than a way to combat extremist ideology.

“The problem isn’t that we are bad at communicating or being outdone by men in caves. Most of them aren’t even in caves. The Taliban and Al Qaeda live largely among the people. They intimidate and control and communicate from within, not from the sidelines,” the Daily Times quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

“We shouldn’t care if people don’t like us. That isn’t the goal. The goal is credibility. And we earn that over time. Only through a shared appreciation of the people’s culture, needs and hopes for the future can we hope ourselves to supplant the extremist narrative,” he added. (ANI)

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Condition in Afghanistan deteriorating, says Mullen

August 25, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, Aug. 24 (ANI): Even as Afghanistan awaits the result of its second presidential election, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has said conditions in Afghanistan are “deteriorating,” and hinted at further troop increases.

“I think it is serious and it is deteriorating and I’ve said that over the past couple of years that the Taliban insurgency has gotten better, more sophisticated, in their tactics,” the New York Times quoted Admiral Mike Mullen, as saying on CNN’s State of the Union.

Top American commanders have been making similar statements for months, but Admiral Mullen’s remark came amid the election, the strategy review by General Stanley McChrystal.

Admiral Mullen said that General McChrystal was still completing his review and had not yet requested for additional troops on top of the 17,000 decided on earlier by President Barack Obama.

“His guidance from me and from the Secretary of Defence (Robert Gates) was to assess where you are and tell us what you need, and we’ll get to that point,” he said.

Senator John McCain, who recently returned from a trip to Afghanistan, has said that he thought the general faced heavy pressure not to seek large numbers of additional troops.

“I think there are great pressures on General McChrystal to reduce those estimates,” McCain said.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily from the president, I think it’s from the people around him and others. But I have confidence that he will make his most honest and best recommendations,” he added.

Both the senator and Admiral Mullen said that they thought it important that serious signs of progress begin emerging in the next 12 to 18 months if the administration is to withstand the pressure to leave Afghanistan. (ANI)

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US nurturing long term ties with Pak to help counter militancy: Mullen

July 10, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 10 (ANI): The US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen has said that the United States is in the process of nurturing a long-term relationship with Pakistan to help the troubled nation counter the threat emanating from extremist organizations like the Taliban and Al-Qaeda better.

Mullen said it is very important for the US to help the security forces of both Pakistan and Afghanistan to quell terrorism more effectively.

“I think we need long-term partnerships here with both these countries, which are just starting to be renewed under, obviously, very challenging circumstances,” The Daily Times quoted Mullen, as saying.

He said that the Pakistan Army has now recognized that the country faces threat from both the eastern border as well as the western border that the country shares with Afghanistan.

Admiral Mullen highlighted that Pakistan military must focus on both the two fronts, rather than paying attention to Kashmir only.

“This is a military that’s got focus on two different fronts, whether it’s the Kashmir area in the east, and they recognise there is a significant internal extremist threat to their country that they’re now attacking and dealing with, and it’s very much counterinsurgency-based,” he said.

Referring to the Swat military operation, Mullen said: “They’ve made an awful lot of progress.” (ANI)

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Mullen acknowledges possibility of Iran acquiring nuclear weapons

July 8, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, July 8(ANI): Admiral Michael Mullen, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), has acknowledged the possibility of Iran succeeding in acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Admiral Mullen acknowledged this while addressing the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Tuesday.

“I believe Iran is very focused on developing this capability, and I think when they get it, or should they get it, it will be very destabilizing,” The Jerusalem Post quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

Admiral Mullen also highlighted that an attack on Iran would be similarly destabilizing.

“There are unintended consequences that are very difficult to predict in a very volatile, highly volatile part of the world,” he added.

He specifically warned about the consequences of any step taken by both countries, indicating retaliatory violence spreading throughout the region and potentially to other parts of the world.

He backed the President Obama’s approach of holding talks with Iran, but refused to rule out the use of military strikes despite potential negative effects.

“There is a great deal that certainly depends on the dialogue and the engagement, and I think we need to do that with all options remaining on the table, including, certainly, military options,” Admiral Mullen said.

Estimating that Iran would take one to three years to develop a nuclear weapon, he warned that the time window is closing and that the clock is ticking. (ANI)

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Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates Announced U.S. Fortifies Hawaii’s Defenses Against North Korean Arms

June 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced Thursday that he had ordered the military to deploy missile interceptors and radar to protect Hawaii from a North Korean long-range rocket.

The defense secretary’s disclosure came as Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, described the military’s commitment to “vigorously enforce” the latest United Nations Security Council resolution on North Korea’s nuclear program. But he declined to confirm reports provided by other Pentagon officials that the military was tracking a North Korean freighter suspected of carrying banned materials.

Speaking at a Pentagon news conference, Mr. Gates said he had directed the military to deploy mobile, ground-based interceptors to Hawaii. Mr. Gates also ordered seaborne radar into the waters off Hawaii to provide detailed information to track and attack any North Korean missile.

“We’re obviously watching the situation in the North with respect to missile launches very closely,” Mr. Gates said, adding that the military had some concerns about North Korea’s ability to launch a missile “in the direction of Hawaii.”

Admiral Mullen declined at the news conference to confirm reports that the military was tracking a North Korean flagged cargo ship that might be hauling weapons, missile parts or even fissile material prohibited under international law.

But he did say that the military intended to fully enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874, passed last week after North Korea’s recent nuclear test and missile launchings. North Korea answered the United Nations action with threats to launch more missiles and to continue with its nuclear program.

The resolution calls on international navies to request inspection of suspect cargo vessels, but not to board them by force on the high seas. However, if the ship enters a foreign port, the local authorities have greater rights of inspection.

“The country of that port is required to inspect the vessel and to also keep the United Nations informed, obviously, if a vessel like this would refuse to comply,” he said.

-The New York Times.

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Iran on track for nuclear weapon, claims Admiral Mullen

May 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 26 (ANI): Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said that Iran is on track for building a nuclear weapon by 2011.

“Certainly from what I’ve seen over the years, Iran is on a path to develop a nuclear weapon,” Mullen said on ABC’s “This Week.”

He added that: “Most of us believe that it’s one to three years depending on assumptions on where they are right now. They are moving closer, clearly, and they continue to do that.”

Admiral Mullen, who has raised concerns previously about war with Iran, was asked what worries him more: war with that country or it getting a nuclear weapon.

“They both worry me a lot. I think the unintended consequences of a strike against Iran right now would be incredibly serious, as well as the unintended consequences of their achieving a nuclear weapon. That’s why this engagement of dialogue [with Iran] is so important,” Admiral Mullen said. (ANI)

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Next 12 to 18 months crucial for US’ AFPAK policy: US

May 24, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 24 (ANI): The United States considers the next 12 to 18 months as critical to the success of its revamped AFPAK policy.

Addressing an off the record briefing, in which the briefer is not identified, a top US military official said the next year and half would crucial for the US led ‘war on terror’ against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan.

He also made it clear that the Obama administration would continue targeting militant hideouts in Pakistan and Afghanistan, using the Predator drone aircrafts.

“The US military liked drones because they are effective, relatively cheap and keep pilots out of danger,” the official said.

He also informed that Washington is mulling over a new ‘rotational approach,’ in Afghanistan which would create a cadre of experts in Afghanistan by rotating the troops in and out of the region.

Meanwhile, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, Admiral Mike Mullen, warned that President Obama’s decision to send in about 21,000 more troops to Afghanistan may bring new militants to Pakistan from the neighbouring country.

Admiral Mullen said the United States had no option other than to push back the Taliban harder in Afghanistan despite the possible negative impact of such a drive on Pakistan.

“They want Afghanistan back. We can’t let them or their Al-Qaeda cohorts have it,” The Dawn quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

He said the Taliban’s aim was to govern the region.

“It’s not just about instilling fear or spreading violence. They want Afghanistan back,” Admiral Mullen added. (ANI)

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NATO to broaden its engagement with Pak: Mullen

May 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 23 (ANI): The US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen has said that the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) is working to broaden its engagement with Pakistan.

Addressing a congressional hearing here, Admiral Mullen said NATO is working out a strategy to seek a more in-depth relationship with Pakistan to help the troubled country counter the terrorism and instability more effectively.

“Where I see NATO going is increasingly toward a broader and more in depth relationship with Pakistan, because of the common interests,” The Dawn quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

Broadening its engagement does not mean that NATO would offer membership to Islamabad, but experts believe that the military alliance headquartered in Brussels may offer greater training facilities.

NATO may also greater help to Pakistan by providing it with more sophisticated equipments to counter the extremism.

“There are ongoing discussions in various venues outside the military (as well) to connect more internationally through these organisations, alliances, whatever they might be,” Admiral Mullen said.

Backing the NATO’s plan, he said that strategies to strengthen the relationship with Pakistan should be implemented as soon as possible to thwart the challenges posed by the Taliban and other outlawed extremist groups.

“I see that as growing, and certainly the capacity in some of these other areas that other organisations have and represent are critical, and the more of that we can do, and the sooner we can do it, I think the better off we’ll be,” Admiral Mullen said.

Pakistan is already serving as a base camp for the NATO supplies for the security forces stationed in Afghanistan, but the latest engagement may allow the organization to play a more effective and direct role inside Pakistan. (ANI)

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US Senator wants aid to Pak to be used exactly what it is meant for

May 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 22 (ANI): Worried over reports about Pakistan rapidly adding to its stockpile of nuclear weapons, and speculations about Islamabad misusing the US aid meant for carrying counter insurgency operations, a senior US Senator has moved an amendment to a bill before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that requires Pakistan not to redirect American aid for expansion of its nuclear establishments.

Addressing the Committee, Democrat Senator Jim Webb said the amendment was primarily aimed at ensuring that Pakistan does not misuse the assistance.

“The purpose of the amendment was to ensure that none of the money provided by the US would go to ‘build, help, or support’ the country’s nuclear programme. It can only be used for the purpose it’s intended for,” The Dawn quoted Webb, as saying.

Webb said the Obama administration must attach the amendment to the bill authorizing US assistance to Pakistan.

However, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen did not supported the amendment saying conditioning all the money meant for Pakistan could prove counter-productive for America’s aims.

“It was not possible to impose this requirement so quickly, and I would like to ensure that the conditions were ‘not so rigid’ that we cannot get started,” said Admiral Mullen.

He also noted that Al-Qaeda was expanding its nefarious activities in other countries of the world with the primary aim of targeting America.

“Al-Qaida, which continues not to be just in Pakistan, but is now moving into Yemen, is connected very well in Somalia, and in other parts of the world.Their strategic objectives remain the same – to threaten us, to threaten the west,” Admiral Mullen said. (ANI)

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Al-Qaeda headquarters now clearly in Pak: Admiral Mullen

May 22, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 22 (ANI): Worried by the ever expanding links between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, the United States has reiterated that Al-Qaeda has shifted its base and is now headquartered in Pakistan.

Addressing the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen said that there is no doubt that Al-Qaeda has shifted its base from Afghanistan, and its top leaders were operating from inside Pakistan’s geographical boundaries.

Admiral Mullen told the Committee that growing links between the Taliban and Al-Qaeda was particularly worrying for the United States.

“While al-Qaida is not located in Afghanistan, it is headquartered clearly in Pakistan, what I have watched over the last couple of years is this growing integration between al-Qaida and the Taliban, and the various networks of the Taliban, whether it is (Jalaluddin) Haqqani, or (Baitullah) Mehsud or (Gulbuddin)Hekmatyar, and that has alarmed me in its growth and integration over the last couple of years,” The News quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

Mullen also noted that Al-Qaeda was expanding its nefarious activities in other countries of the world with the primary aim of targeting America.

“Al-Qaida, which continues not to be just in Pakistan, but is now moving into Yemen, is connected very well in Somalia, and in other parts of the world.Their strategic objectives remain the same – to threaten us, to threaten the west,” he said.

Admiral Mullen also defended President Obama’s decision to send 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to bolster the ‘war on terror’. (ANI)

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Admiral Mullen refuses to rule out drone strikes in Pakistan, Afghanistan

May 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 19 (ANI): Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has refused to rule out unmanned drone strikes in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

He also said the United States cannot be successful in Afghanistan if large numbers of civilians keep getting killed during the conflict.

The number of civilians killed during US strikes in western Afghanistan is significantly less than the Afghan government has said, according to a report in a US newpaper, which cites the leading human rights group in the nation.

An investigation by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission concluded that between 90 and 100 people were killed during an operation on May 4-5 in Farah province, director Ahmad Nader Nadery told the daily. The investigation also found no evidence that white phosphorus had been used.

Afghan officials say 140 civilians were killed, including 95 children. The US military has not released its own estimate, but it suggested that militants were firing from the village when the bombs were dropped.

Villagers, however, told reporters later that the insurgents had left the area prior to the military strikes, The News reported.

Nadery told the newspaper that it appeared a “couple” of militants had been among the dead.

“Even if some Taliban remained in the village, dropping a dozen bombs into a residential area doesn’t seem to make much sense,” Brad Adams, Asia director for Human Rights Watch, told the media. (ANI)

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Pakistan rapidly expanding its nuclear capability: US

May 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 18 (ANI): Amid political turbulence in Pakistan, and heightened fears about the Taliban and other extremist groups seizing the country’s nuclear assets, there has been a rapid expansion of Islamabad’s nuclear armaments.

US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen, in a confidential briefing, told members of Congress that there are certain reports which confirm that Islamabad is rapidly adding to its nuclear arsenal.

When enquired whether he had seen evidence of an increase in the size of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal, Admiral Mullen just said: “Yes”.

This certainly raises questions over the proposed billions of dollars of US military assistance to Pakistan that might be sidetracked to expand its nuclear capability rather than utilizing it to counter insurgency.

Officials of the Obama administration have said that they had communicated to Congress that their intent was to assure that military aid to Pakistan was directed toward counterterrorism and not diverted, The New York Times reports.

Now, that Washington has ‘officially’ admitted that Pakistan is expanding its nuclear activities, it still remains to be seen whether it would reduce or delay the aid to Islamabad promised earlier.

The US Congress is considering proposals to spend 3 billion dollars over the next five years to train and equip Pakistan’s military for counterinsurgency warfare. This is in addition to 7.5 billion dollars that the Capitol Hill has promised in civilian assistance.

However, the United States still does not have any detail about the dimensions of Pakistan’s nuclear expansion programmes.

“We see them scaling up their centrifuge facilities,” President of the Institute for Science and International Security, David Albright said.

Albright blamed the previous US regime for the problem which might aggravate the already tense situation of South-Asia.

“The Bush administration turned a blind eye to how this is being ramped up.And of course, with enough pressure, all this could be preventable,” he said.

Senators were of the view that unless Pakistan commit to fight and eliminate insurgents completely, and pursue its objectives sincerely, the hefty aid being offered would serve no purpose.

“Unless Pakistan’s leaders commit, in deeds and words, their country’s armed forces and security personnel to eliminating the threat from militant extremists, and unless they make it clear that they are doing so, for the sake of their own future, then no amount of assistance will be effective,” Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin said.(ANI)

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Pakistan guarding its nuclear establishments effectively: Admiral Mullen

May 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 17 (ANI): The US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen has said that Pakistan is guarding its nuclear establishments tightly and has taken several security measures for its safety.

Addressing a Congressional hearing here, Admiral Mullen assured the Senators that Pakistan’s nuclear assets were in safe custody.

“I’m comfortable that it is secure. But there are limits on what we know in terms of a lot of the specifics, but I’m comfortable that from what I know of what we actually know and also what they told us, that right now they’re secure,” The News quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

Responding to a question about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons by Senator John McCain, Admiral Mullen said Pakistan had put in significant resources and expertise in security force guarding the nuclear weapons.

“So, that’s why, at this point, I’m comfortable. I also have discussed these issues with the military leadership, and certainly received some comfort there,” he added. (ANI)

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US criticizes Pak’s double tone on drone strikes

May 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 16 (ANI) : A key US lawmaker has criticized Pakistan for maintaining a double faced commitment over the US drone strikes inside its geographical territory with condemning the attacks publicly and approving them privately.

Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin said Pakistan must publicly admit that it supports the drone strikes being carried out against the Taliban and other extremists in the lawless tribal region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

“I wish they’d tell their public about their support of our operations instead of attacking us for them, because that is one of the things that just creates propaganda fodder for the very people who are out to destroy us and them,” The Nation quoted Levin, as saying.

Levin’s statement came in response to Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen’s remarks that Pakistan not only approved the drone attacks, it also has an arrangement with the United States that allowed Islamabad to receive data collected by the unmanned Predator aircraft.

“In terms of support and information, they have asked for that, and where they’ve asked for that, we’ve supported them,” Admiral Mullen informed the committee.

In the recent past, Pakistan has publicly criticized the missile attacks by CIA drones on Taliban and Al Qaeda’s hideouts in the tribal region terming the strikes as “counterproductive”.

Islamabad has also been pressing Washington to provide it the drones to conduct its own operation against the extremists. (ANI)

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US criticizes Pak’s double tone on drone strikes

May 16, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 16 (ANI) : A key US lawmaker has criticized Pakistan for maintaining a double faced commitment over the US drone strikes inside its geographical territory with condemning the attacks publicly and approving them privately.

Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin said Pakistan must publicly admit that it supports the drone strikes being carried out against the Taliban and other extremists in the lawless tribal region along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

“I wish they’d tell their public about their support of our operations instead of attacking us for them, because that is one of the things that just creates propaganda fodder for the very people who are out to destroy us and them,” The Nation quoted Levin, as saying.

Levin’s statement came in response to Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Admiral Mike Mullen’s remarks that Pakistan not only approved the drone attacks, it also has an arrangement with the United States that allowed Islamabad to receive data collected by the unmanned Predator aircraft.

“In terms of support and information, they have asked for that, and where they’ve asked for that, we’ve supported them,” Admiral Mullen informed the committee.

In the recent past, Pakistan has publicly criticized the missile attacks by CIA drones on Taliban and Al Qaeda’s hideouts in the tribal region terming the strikes as “counterproductive”.

Islamabad has also been pressing Washington to provide it the drones to conduct its own operation against the extremists. (ANI)

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US commander plays down threat of Pak nukes falling into terrorists’ hands

May 5, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Washington, May 5 (ANI): The Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, has played down the nightmare scenario of terrorists taking control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen. I don’t see that in any way imminent whatsoever at this particular point in time,” CBS quoted Admiral Mullen, as saying.

But he acknowledged that there is a limit to what he knows since Pakistan guards its doomsday secrets as jealously as the U.S. guards its own.

“Much of the complex is largely secret and kept so necessarily by the Pakistani government and so I’m not sure we know as much as we should,” said Juan Zarate, a consultant to CBS News.

Zarate worked with Pakistan on improving security at top-secret plants during the Bush administration.
The insiders might not be able to steal a full up weapon, but might be able to smuggle out either the material or the know how to make one, said Larsen, another consultant expert.

“Material that typically finds its way for sale by a terrorist group or another buyer comes from the production of nuclear materials and can be perhaps taken out of a facility,” Larssen said.

You don’t have to be a nuclear expert to know that in a country as unstable as Pakistan there are more chances for things to go wrong. In a country with nuclear weapons that means more chances for disaster. (ANI)

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