Dempsey: ‘Extraordinarily Dissatisfied’ With Pakistani Action Against Haqqani Network
Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff says Pakistan isn't doing enough to eliminate terror havens.
By Claudette Roulo
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, June 7, 2012 – The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey joined Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta Thursday in expressing unhappiness with Pakistan’s progress in battling the Haqqani network’s use of safe havens in Pakistan.
Pakistan is working to battle other threats within the federally administered tribal area, or FATA, Dempsey told reporters.
“Although we are extraordinarily dissatisfied with the effect that Pakistan has had on the Haqqani [network], we are also mindful that they are conducting military operations, at great loss … elsewhere,” Dempsey said.
During a news conference earlier Thursday in Kabul, Panetta said the United States was reaching the limits of its patience with Pakistan following an attack on Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province, Afghanistan, earlier this week. One contractor and dozens of service members were wounded in the attack, attributed to the Haqqani network.
Regional Command East, which includes Khost and Logar provinces, has seen an uptick in activity, largely due increased activity by the Haqqani network, Dempsey said.
A report of civilian deaths following an airstrike in Afghanistan’s Logar province is under investigation, Dempsey said. The strike followed a call for assistance from troops who came in contact with the enemy.
Dempsey said two wounded civilians came forward immediately following the airstrike saying they were wounded by the attack. U.S. troops who searched the area found no other injured or dead, he added, but an Afghan provincial leader said further searches found civilian casualties.
“We do our very best to avoid civilian casualties,” Dempsey said. “This investigation will try to determine if there were civilian casualties and then we will take the appropriate actions.”
The Haqqani network is as big a threat to Pakistan as it is to Afghanistan and the United States, Dempsey said. He added that the U.S. will continue to work with Pakistan to find common ground on ways to deal with the cross-border threat posed by the Haqqani network and other groups.
In addition to the recent activity by the Haqqani network, Dempsey said al-Qaida remains a threat in Pakistan, particularly within the FATA, and to a lesser extent within Afghanistan. Coalition efforts have been very successful in eliminating al-Qaida leaders, though others continue to take their place, he added.
Dempsey cited the June 4 death of Abu Yahya Al-Libi, al-Qaida's second in command, as an example of those successes, calling it a significant loss for the terror group.
“He had longstanding credibility and he had operational skills that are tough to grow overnight, and so that will be something that affects … the al-Qaida network globally, not just in south Asia,” Dempsey said.
“Most of those who 10 years ago we began tracking are no longer a part of al-Qaida, they’re no longer part of any organization,” Dempsey said. “We are at war with al-Qaida and … we will pursue them wherever we find them,” he said.
hassan ejaz wyne
3:33 am on Friday, June 8, 2012
it is so ironic that USA first attacks other nations or should i say Muslim nations only and then calls the people of that nation " insurgents ", we the people of Pakistan were plunged into this war against our wish and for that we have suffered far greater than any other nation involved in this so called war against terror, in the last few years we have lost our loved ones in shopping malls,schools,streets, the modest estimates give a figure of more than 30 thousand dead, we have had numerous instances like 9/11,should we too start bombing and infiltrating every nation we suspect ? the american authorities should be ashamed of asking us or expecting us to do more, jallaluddin haqqani is an afghan and it is absolutely his right to fight " invading forces ", afghanistan is for afghans not for USA & Nato, they are the terrorists who are responsible for murdering thousands if not millions of afghan citizens coupled with thousands of pakistanis who were bombed inside their homes by drones, i have seen little boys and girls dead in their beds as a result of these drone attacks, maybe USA and allied forces expected these children to become terorists in the future so they bombed them ? thats called proactive approach i guess. shame on this alliance of evil,yet they have in them the courage to call themselves a nation of peace and liberty, God has his own way of dealing with evil and so shall he deal with these satanic nations very soon,Aimen.
Ryan Smith
10:35 am on Friday, June 8, 2012
Hi, Patchers. I thoroughly disagree with the comment above. While I do agree that civilian casualties are deplorable, Pakistan wasn't "plunged into this war" without cause. Pakistan has acted as a U.S. ally, while at the same time harboring Osama bin Laden. I also take exception to the contention that Pakistan has had "multiple incidents like 9/11" since the start of the war, unless they can point to a group of religious extremists killing 3,000 of their citizens, unprovoked, in a matter of moments.
However careful the coalition is to avoid civilian casualties, we can always be more careful. Each civilian casualty is deplorable. But there is a difference between unintended casualties and the premeditated slaughter of thousands of noncombatants.
So yes, I disagree with Hassan. But his comment does illustrate how some outside the U.S. feel about this country, and it illustrates that, whatever our intentions, we are perceived by many as a hostile occupying force.
What are your thoughts? How can we combat that perception? Should we even try? For that matter, should we just get out of the region and leave the Afghanis and Pakistanis to their own devices, or is there more to do there? Tell us what you think.