U.S. And Pakistani Military Leaders Are Now Meeting Aboard Aircraft Carriers

USS Abraham Lincoln

U.S., Pakistani Military Leaders Meet Aboard
USS Lincoln -- U.S. Department Of Defense

WASHINGTON, Aug. 28, 2008 – U.S. and Pakistani military leaders continued their ongoing dialogue about the war on terrorism during an Aug. 26 meeting aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Indian Ocean.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters today his meeting with Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the Pakistani army’s chief of staff, was constructive and focused on the challenges posed by extremists in the federally administered tribal area and the North West Frontier in Pakistan. The Taliban and al-Qaida are using the areas to plan and train for attacks in Afghanistan.

“There is … a growing complexity and coordination among extremist groups there -- an almost syndicate-like behavior -- that has resulted in new and ever more sophisticated attacks on coalition forces,” Mullen said. He pointed to attacks against French forces near Kabul last week and against U.S. forces in the Wanat Valley near Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan last month.

“The safe havens in the border regions provide launching pads for these sorts of attacks, and they need to be shut down,” the admiral said.

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My Comment: My guess is that they are meeting to coordinate strategy and war operations against the Taliban on the Afghan/Pakistan border. I am just surprised that they are publicizing this now.