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| India-Pakistan |
| Rice defends tactics against al-Qaeda in Pakistan |
| 2006-01-17 |
| US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday defended tough US tactics to root out Al Qaeda militants on Pakistanâs border after a deadly air strike on a village sparked a wave of angry street protests. Ms Rice would not comment on the reported deaths of 18 villagers in a raid said to target Osama bin Ladenâs deputy. She only said, âWeâll continue to work with the Pakistanis and weâll try to address their concerns.â But speaking to reporters en route to Liberia for the inauguration of president-elect Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Rice made no apologies for US actions against suspected Al Qaeda forces near the border with Afghanistan. âItâs obviously difficult at this time for the Pakistani government,â she said of the attack that sent thousands of Pakistanis into the streets in at least five cities and prompted an official protest from Islamabad. âBut I think I would just say, to both the Pakistani government and the Pakistani people, weâre allies in the war on terror,â Ms Rice said, adding Al Qaeda and its Taliban allies âare not people who can be dealt with lightly.â âThe biggest threat to Pakistan, of course, is what Al-Qaeda has done in trying to radicalize the country, the extremist elements that really occupy ... parts of the country in important ways, (and) tried twice to assassinate President Musharraf.â Asked about Fridayâs strike reportedly carried out by a missile- firing US Predator drone in hopes of killing Al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri, Ms Rice said, âI canât speak to the specifics of this particular circumstance.â But she said: âThe frontier area is extremely difficult and itâs been lawless there for a long time. Pakistani forces are operating there, trying to take control. Weâre trying to help.â |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |