Washington, May 7 (ANI): In the wake of the reported confession of Faisal Shahzad, the man accused of plotting the unsuccessful Times Square bombing, that he had received bomb-making training in the ungoverned tribal region situated along the Afghanistan border in Pakistan, a fresh debate on whether to station more troops in Pakistan or not has started.
While some US officials are of the view that it was imperative for the Obama Administration to increase the number of Special Operations troops working with Pakistani forces in the country’s western mountains, others believe any action taken in this regard must be thoroughly planned and that the decision should not be taken in haste.
“There is a growing sense that there will need to be more of a boots on the ground strategy,” The New York Times quoted a top Obama Administration official, as saying.
Officials, who requested anonymity to discuss strategy surrounding any new program, said that any new troops in Pakistan would serve as advisers and trainers, and not as combat forces.
Some US officials opined that the Central Investigation Agency (CIA) operated drone strikes against militants were insufficient for preventing attacks on the West, and that an expanded training mission might raise confidence in Pakistan’s military to launch an offensive in North Waziristan, the terror hot bed situated close to the Afghan border.
However, Pakistani officials said that stationing more troops in the country, where there are already more than two hundred soldiers are working secretly, would not serve purpose.
They said Washington should not ‘overreach.’
“The Americans have to be careful not to make demands that are disproportionate to the good will they have built up,” the newspaper quoted a senior Pakistani official, as saying. (ANI)