WASHINGTON: The US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Mike Mullen,
who has long been seen as Pakistan’s closest friend in Washington, said
Pakistan is helping insurgents and Pak-US partnership can’t be revived.
Adm. Mullen said in an interview with The Wall Street Journal
that partnership approach he long championed had fallen short as it
would be difficult to revive.’ I’m losing people, and I m just not
going to stand for that.
He informed the US Congress last week
Pakistan’s military intelligence service were collaborating with a
militant group that the US blames for attacks on Americans, including
the shelling of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on Sept. 13.
The
shift by Adm. Mullen angered officials in Islamabad, who deny
allegations, and cast a pall of uncertainty over the deteriorating US
Pakistan ties.
Explaining his switch in the interview, Adm.
Mullen, like many other US officials, said the Americans are now have
to take a tougher line in demanding Pakistan rein in militant groups.
"I
am losing people, and I am just not going to stand for that," he said.
"I have been Pakistan’s best friend. What does it say when I am at that
point? What does it say about where we are?
Adm. Mullen will
step down this week after four years as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff, a position he reshaped through his outspoken views on U.S. wars,
foreign policy and military policies, especially involving the repeal
of the "don t ask, don t tell" ban on gays serving openly in the
military.
Even now, though, he stressed that while Pakistan’s
Inter-Services Intelligence agency has provided strategic support to
the Haqqanis, they don’t necessarily control the details of the
militant group’s operations.
"It is very clear they have
supported them," Adm. Mullen said. "I don’t think the Haqqanis can be
turned on and off like a light switch. But there are steps that could
be taken to impact the Haqqanis over time." Early in his tenure, Adm.
Mullen was more confident. He had hoped to integrate U.S. and Pakistani
strategic, military and intelligence efforts, a goal that came to
define America’s role there. On many of his trips he was accompanied by
Richard Holbrooke, who served until his death in December as President
Barack Obama’s special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He
also developed a bond with Gen. Ashfaq Kayani, the chief of staff of
Pakistan’s Army, amid roller-coaster relations between their countries,
in which U.S. officials periodically accused Pakistan of failing to
crack down on militants, and Islamabad defended its efforts and its
sacrifices.
Adm. Mullen and Gen. Kayani worked out a plan for a
Pakistani offensive this spring into North Waziristan that would have
taken away a key haven from the Haqqani network, Adm. Mullen said.
But
he leaves with a muddled legacy on Pakistan, an area he made a top
priority because its border region has been a haven for al Qaeda and
other militant groups intent on attacking U.S. interests.
Adm.
Mullen waited until after the Bin Laden raid was complete before he
called his Pakistani partner to tell him the news, and Gen. Kayani,
though initially supportive, later came under fire at home for his own
allegiance to Pakistan’s U.S. allies.
Adm. Mullen acknowledges
his approach didn’t yield the results he wanted. "Each time I go I
learn more," Adm. Mullen said. "But one of the things I learn is I have
a lot more to learn."
In Pakistan, Adm. Mullen was often
praised for what was seen as his willingness to listen to Pakistan’s
concerns, and his efforts to address them.
But the Pakistani view of Adm. Mullen has dimmed somewhat, particularly after last week’s remarks.
"He’s
just one military officer in a country where they’re always reminding
us the military isn’t in charge," said a senior Pakistani official. "I
don’t think anyone, any of us, are under the impression that he can
snap his fingers and address our differences."
Adm. Mullen
acknowledged in the interview that the tattered relationship with
Pakistan was at a low point, and that the strategic partnership he
championed would now be a harder sell in Washington.
He was
disappointed when a major Pakistani offensive planned against Haqqani
fighters in key tribal areas didn’t t happen, and a string of attacks
by the militant group in recent weeks forced Adm. Mullen to drop his
practice of refraining from public criticism of Pakistan.
“My
view is long term we need to have that strategic relationship," he
said. "But its long term and it is longer term now than it was just a
few months ago."
Obama administration officials have sought to
play down the impact of the Adm. Mullen’s public criticism of Pakistan
in Congressional testimony on Thursday. But the State Department
acknowledged this week that the U.S.-Pakistan relationship faces "very
clear challenges." Online
