Top U.S. military officer says border tensions mean U.S.-Pakistan clashes could occur again.
The top U.S. military officer warned today against overreacting to the brief cross-border firefight between U.S. and Pakistani forces yesterday but said tensions along the frontier mean such incidents could occur again. Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, appealed for calm following the incident, saying U.S. and Pakistani forces must not "overreact to the hair-trigger tension we are all feeling. Now, more than ever, is a time for teamwork, for calm," he said. More Pakistani and Afghan troops are needed on both sides of the border to crack down on a growing insurgency, which, coupled with economic and political instability, makes Pakistan a "very tense and very dangerous" place, Mullen said. Mullen stressed that even with 10,000 more Pakistani troops deployed in western Pakistan this year, there remains a need for more aggressive Pakistani operations on the Pakistan side. He said the insurgency there has grown more sophisticated and entrenched. "The safe haven has gotten safer this year," he said. "So there is a significant need for the Pakistani military to move on the Pak side." A review of military strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan announced by Mullen earlier this month will focus on long-range solutions to the insurgency in Pakistan, taking into account regional factors such as relations with India, Mullen said. The White House is leading an overall strategy review that would include economic initiatives, he said.
Friday, September 26, 2008; 4:01 PM
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