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Petraeus: NATO, Afghan, Pakistani Forces to Coordinate More Operations

   VOA News 26 December 2010
   Gen. David Petraeus, left, top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan,
   meets US marines during his visit to Marjah, Afghanistan, 25 Dec 2010

Photo: AP

   Gen. David Petraeus, left, top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan,
   meets US marines during his visit to Marjah, Afghanistan, 25 Dec 2010

   The  top  U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan says NATO, Afghan and
   Pakistani  forces  will  conduct  more  coordinated operations against
   Taliban insurgents on both sides of the Afghan-Pakistani border.
   In  an  interview with the Associated Press on Saturday, General David
   Petraeus  said  forces  in  Afghanistan  and Pakistan have operated in
   "very close coordination in the past two months." He said the security
   forces  of  both  countries will have more opportunities to coordinate
   with U.S.-led NATO troops "as earlier gains are solidified."
   The  Associated  Press says it spoke with the general as he was flying
   around  Afghanistan  to  greet  NATO  forces celebrating the Christmas
   holiday.
   Petraeus  also  praised Pakistan for its counter-insurgency efforts in
   the  past  two years in areas near the Afghan border where the Taliban
   and  other  militants  seek  shelter.  He  said  Pakistani forces have
   conducted  "impressive"  operations in the Swat Valley, the North West
   Frontier Province and northwestern tribal regions.
   The  United States has long pressed Pakistan to clear those regions of
   insurgents  who cross into Afghanistan to attack U.S.-led NATO forces.
   The   pressure  often  has  strained  U.S.-Pakistani  relations,  with
   Islamabad bristling at suggestions that it should do more.
   In  another  development,  the  Afghan  government  says  NATO  forces
   violated  security  regulations when they raided a company in Kabul on
   Friday  and  killed  two  Afghan  security guards. The Afghan interior
   ministry  said  Sunday  NATO  troops ignored a 2008 agreement that put
   Afghan authorities in charge of security operations in the capital.
   NATO  says  coalition  troops  raided the company in coordination with
   Afghan  security  forces,  in  response  to  a plot to attack the U.S.
   Embassy  in  Kabul.  It  says  intelligence  indicated the company was
   harboring two vehicles loaded with explosives.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and AFP.
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References

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