US renews commitment to Pakistan, Afghanistan

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US renews commitment to Pakistan, Afghanistan

By Anwar Iqbal
Monday, 02 Aug, 2010

WASHINGTON, Aug 1: Two senior US officials – the secretary of defence and the military chief – assured Pakistan and Afghanistan on Sunday that the US would stay in the region for as long as it takes to defeat the Taliban and Al Qaeda.

Similar assurances came from some senior US lawmakers as well who emphasised the need for the US to stay engaged with both Pakistan and Afghanistan even after the war against terror is over.

The need for such assurances followed a vote in the House of Representatives last week when 102 Democratic lawmakers voted against the Afghan war.

The vote created an impression that members of President Barack Obama’s own party were abandoning him on this issue, perhaps after sensing a change of mood in the United States. Reports that July was so far the deadliest month for US soldiers in Afghanistan further strengthened anti-war feelings.

On Sunday, senior US officials and lawmakers who support President Obama’s Afghan policy appeared on various television networks to re-emphasise the need for the US to stay engaged with Afghanistan and Pakistan.

“I believe that we’ve got to stay. We’ve got the right strategy, the right resources,” said Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen.

“And this, over the course of the next year or so, is really a critical time.”

Defence Secretary Robert Gates went a step ahead and announced that the US was increasing its cooperation with both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

“We are increasing our cooperation with the Pakistanis, in terms of working on both sides of the border, in terms of trying to prevent people from crossing that border. We are increasing our forces in eastern Afghanistan,” he said. “I think we’re moving in the right direction.”

Mr Gates also stressed the need to “re-emphasise the message that we are not leaving Afghanistan in July of 2011. We are beginning a transition process and a thinning of our ranks” as promised by President Obama.

The pace of this transition, he added, would depend on the conditions on the ground.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who also emphasised the need to stay engaged with Pakistan and Afghanistan, said she expected a substantial withdrawal of US troops in July 2011.