The Chairman of the
U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, is expressing concern about the
growing ties between Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida.
Admiral
Mullen told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that President Barack Obama's
new strategy in that country is aimed at creating an environment that will not
permit al-Qaida to return to Afghanistan.
"There is a strategic goal the
Taliban have, to move back and take over the country, and secondly, in that
goal, in that environment, that that is fertile ground for al-Qaida, who
continues not to be just in Pakistan, but is now moving into Yemen, is connected
very well in Somalia, and in other parts of the world," said Admiral Mullen.
"Their strategic objectives remain the same - to threaten us, to threaten the
west, and that fertile ground to do that would be Kandahar and Kabul again, if
we do not get this right."
Mullen underscored his concern by noting
growing ties between Afghan and Pakistani Taliban and al-Qaida.
"While
al-Qaida is not located in Afghanistan, it is headquartered clearly in Pakistan,
what I have watched over the last couple of years is this growing integration
between al-Qaida and the Taliban, and the various networks of the Taliban,
whether it is [Jalaluddin] Haqqani, or [Baitullah] Mehsud or [Gulbuddin]
Hekmatyar, and that has alarmed me in its growth and integration over the last
couple of years," he said.
Mullen's testimony comes two months after
President Obama announced his decision to send 21,000 additional troops to
Afghanistan to help bolster the war effort.
Mullen defended the decision
to send more troops. But when asked by Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin
Democrat, whether the additional U.S. forces could destabilize Pakistan by
driving Taliban and al-Qaida fighters further into that country, Mullen said he
is not sure.
MULLEN: "I don't know the answer to that. I don't
think it will because we are aware of it and I think Pakistan is further away
from being totally destabilized than a lot of people realize. The military and
civilian leadership recognize this potential, and so we are addressing it ahead
of time."
FEINGOLD: "Thank you, that's a candid
answer."
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a
Massachusetts Democrat, emphasized the importance of security in
Pakistan.
"If a nuclear armed nation of 170 million people were to become
a failed state, it would pose an unimaginable peril to itself, its neighbors and
the world," said Senator Kerry.
Kerry is cosponsoring legislation with
Senator Richard Lugar, the top Republican on the committee, that triples
non-military aid to Pakistan to $1.5 billion over five years.