Al-Qaeda in Pakistan "a grave concern": US military chief
WASHINGTON (AFP) — Al-Qaeda's use of Pakistani tribal areas as safe havens is a "grave concern" but it is up to Pakistan to address the problem directly, US military chief Admiral Michael Mullen said Friday.
Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the safe havens have had a "significant impact" not only on the security situation in neighboring Afghanistan, but in Pakistan itself.
"There are concerns now about how much (Al-Qaeda) have turned inward, literally, inside Pakistan, as well as the kind of planning, training, financing and support that (Al-Qaeda's) worldwide effort" demands, he said.
Mullen's comments follow a New York Times report a week ago that said Washington is considering giving the Pentagon and the CIA new authority to conduct covert actions inside the tribal areas.
Pakistani military leaders have bristled at the suggestion of unilateral US action in its territory.
President Pervez Musharraf, in an interview published Friday by the Straits Times, warned that an unauthorized US incursion into Pakistani territory would be treated as an invasion.
"Nobody will come here until we ask them to come. And we haven't asked them," he said.
Mullen said: "We are mindful of this: that Pakistan is a sovereign country and certainly it's really up to President Musharraf and certainly his advisers and his military to address that problem directly."
"But we know it's having a significant impact, not just in Afghanistan; there's certainly concerns there," he added, referring to the safe havens.
"I'm extremely, extremely concerned about that, and I think continued pressure there will have to be brought," he said.
He said Admiral William Fallon, the head of the US Central Command, has discussed the issue with Musharraf's successor as armed forces chief, General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani.
"We're looking for additional ways or different ways to address this," Mullen said.
"That's not going to happen overnight. And he's a brand new chief and he just took over, but I know his concern is as ours," he said.
He spoke after meeting with US Defense Secretary Robert Gates and General Dan McNeill, the senior US commander in Afghanistan, to consider a proposal to deploy some 3,000 marines to Afghanistan by April.
Pentagon officials have said the proposal is for a one-time, seven month deployment of a marine air-ground task force with helicopters, combat troops and trainers.
But it comes amid growing insurgent violence in Afghanistan and concerns about weakening support among NATO allies for a mission that is now in its seventh year.
The 40,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force has assumed responsibility for security throughout the country from US forces over the past two years.
The marines would be used to help fill a shortfall of some 7,500 troops and trainers in the NATO-led force. They would be in addition to the 26,000 US troops already in the country, either as part of the ISAF force or a separate US-led counter-terrorism force.
