WASHINGTON: President Barack ObamaÂ’s decision to bolster the US military presence in Afghanistan is aimed in part at bringing the Taliban to the negotiating table on US terms, Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday.
“I think that the likelihood of the leadership of the Taliban, or senior leaders, being willing to accept the conditions… depends in the first instance on reversing their momentum right now, and putting them in a position where they suddenly begin to realise that they’re likely to lose,” he said.
Gates also said the US would not pursue Taliban leaders in Pakistan and that it was up to Islamabad to address the threat posed by the terrorists to its territory.
His comments followed reports that said the White House had granted authority to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to expand a bombing campaign in Pakistan by unmanned aircraft to strike the Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives.
“Pakistan is a sovereign government. We are in a partnership with them. I think at this point it’s up to the Pakistani military to deal with this problem,” Gates said.
He added that the US had confidence that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal was secure despite the threat posed by the insurgents. “We’re comfortable” with the security of the country’s atomic weapons, Gates said.
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The US Defence Secretary said Washington did not know where Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden was and had lacked reliable information on his whereabouts for years.
Referring to the last time US intelligence had a fix on Bin Laden’s whereabouts, Gates said, “I think it’s been years.”
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