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Gates to Discuss Afghan War with Pakistani Leaders

   VOA News 21 January 2010

   U.S.  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is in Islamabad for talks with
   Pakistani  leaders  to  explain  the  U.S. war strategy in neighboring
   Afghanistan.
   Gates  said  Thursday  he  hopes  to reassure Pakistan that the United
   States aims to be an ally "for the long-haul."
   In  an  opinion  piece  in  Pakistan's The News Thursday, ahead of his
   visit, Secretary Gates said making a distinction between the Pakistani
   Taliban  and its Afghan allies is counterproductive.  He said Pakistan
   should  pressure  the  Taliban  on  both  sides of the Pakistan-Afghan
   border.
   Gates  said  allowing safe havens for the Taliban on both sides of the
   border  will  lead  to  more  lethal  attacks  in  both  Pakistan  and
   Afghanistan.
   He  said  the  Pakistani Taliban operates with both the Afghan Taliban
   and al-Qaida, and it is impossible to separate the groups.
   Islamabad  has  mounted  offensives against the Pakistani Taliban, but
   has  resisted U.S. pressure to attack the Afghan Taliban in the border
   region.
   In  India  Wednesday,  Gates  said  terrorist  groups  are  trying  to
   destabilize  the  entire  South  Asia  region,  perhaps  by  provoking
   conflict between Pakistan and India.
   After a meeting with his Indian counterpart, A.K. Antony, in New Delhi
   Wednesday, Gates said terror groups in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India
   have formed a "syndicate" under al-Qaida.  He warned these groups seek
   to destabilize more than one country.

   Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

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