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| Afghanistan/South Asia | |
| Pakistan helping against al-Qaeda. Really. | |
| 2004-02-18 | |
Pakistan’s recent clampdown along its border with Afghanistan could help crush the al Qaeda terrorist network, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan said Tuesday.
Barno said Pakistani troops have made "a very serious effort" to assert their authority in the tribal regions in recent months. "The fact that they are now there, that they’ve got a presence, that they’re confronting the tribal elders, and they’re holding them accountable for activities in their areas of influence is a major step forward," he said. "And it’s something that we’re watching with great interest and with some cautious optimism it will have a positive effect." He said U.S. and Pakistani forces are operating on each side of the border in hopes of producing "a hammer-and-anvil approach" in which Pakistan would drive al Qaeda fighters toward U.S. and Afghan forces across the frontier. Barno said U.S. troops have shifted tactics in order to counter smaller-scale attacks by Taliban and other forces. The attacks have targeted peacekeepers, aid workers and civilians "because they are essentially powerless to confront the coalition out here." American units now will spend more time in the Afghan countryside and less in their bases, establishing ties with local leaders and the Afghan people. "The units then ultimately get great depth of knowledge, understanding and much better intelligence access to the local people in those areas, by owning, as it were, those chunks of territory," Barno said. "That’s a fairly significant change in terms of our tactical approach out there on the ground." He said U.S. troops and British, New Zealand and German forces have set up "provincial reconstruction teams" to provide security for aid workers. A pilot "regional development zone" has been set up in Kandahar, once the Taliban’s base of support, he said. | |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |