Fearing anger from within Pakistans new government that has been negotiating with the militants, the US administration is learnt to have rejected a proposal by US commanders to take crackdown action against extremists into Pakistani areas.
Washington, Apr 21 : Fearing anger from within Pakistan's new government that has been negotiating with the militants, the US administration is learnt to have rejected a proposal by US commanders to take crackdown action against extremists into Pakistani areas.
US commanders in Afghanistan had recently urged for expanding the war effort, possibly including US attacks on indigenous Pakistani militants inside Pakistan's tribal areas, a US-based newspaper reported yesterday.
The requests had been rebuffed for now following internal deliberations in Bush administration in which US officials expressed fears that attacks on Pakistani radicals could "foment anger" within Pakistan's new government, which has been negotiating with the militants, and destabilize security there.
The discussions, which took place earlier this year, involved President George W. Bush's top national security aides, said one of Bush's top aides.
Officials said the US proposals included possible limited cross-border artillery strikes into Pakistan, missile attacks by Predator aircraft or raids by small teams of CIA paramilitary forces or Special Operations forces, The News quoted the report as saying.
The newspaper reported that US commanders preferred that Pakistani forces conduct such attacks, but that Pakistani military operations in the tribal areas had declined as negotiations with the militants played out.
ANI