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Pakistan, US rebuilding strained military ties: WSJ
* US paper says military officers allowing Pakistani officers access to video, satellite feeds
* Pak army using US intelligence to carry out FATA strikes
Daily Times Monitor
TORKHAM: The United States and Pakistani militaries are increasing bilateral cooperation in an effort to counter the Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked groups that aim to destabilise both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said on Monday.
It said the cooperation heralds a marked change from strained relations in 2008 amid tensions over US airstrikes inside Pakistan.
Access: The newspaper said US military officers were allowing Pakistani officers access to video feeds from drones flying over Pakistans Tribal Areas and also granting access to American intercepts of Taliban cellular and satellite phone calls inside Pakistan.
FATA: The Pakistan Army was using US intelligence to carry out strikes against the Taliban and other armed groups in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the newspaper said, adding the US believed Afghan security was deteriorating because of Taliban based in the safe havens in the Tribal Areas.
It said the cooperation was a contrast from last year when Islamabad, reacting to public anger over US ground and airstrikes inside Pakistan, withheld military cooperation. The relationship between Washington and Islamabad deteriorated over the summer after a US missile killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, the newspaper said.
It quoted Maj Gen Jeffrey Schloesser, the top US commander in eastern Afghanistan, as saying that the number of Taliban crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan had begun to decrease.
Gen Schloesser was reported as saying that the US and Afghan forces, which were hit by up to 20 rockets a day over the summer, are now hit by two or three.
WSJ said US officials attribute the decline to the US missile strikes on alleged Taliban targets inside Pakistan and the coordinated military campaign known as Operation Lionheart, which involves US moves against militants in the Kunar region of Afghanistan and a large Pakistani campaign in the extremist stronghold of Bajaur.
The operations in Bajaur and the Predator strikes in Waziristan have caused a disruption across the border, WSJ quoted Gen Schloesser.
It said the generals comments marked one of the first times a senior US official had publicly confirmed the US missile strikes in Pakistan.
US officials credit the turnaround in part to Gen Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistan Army chief, who has come to believe that Taliban pose an extreme threat, the newspaper said.
WSJ said Pakistans civilian government had also contributed with its harder stance toward the Taliban.
William Wood, the US ambassador in Kabul, was reported as saying that Pakistan was unquestionably taking more effective action against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The newspaper said the focal point of the Pak-US military cooperation is a small base at Torkham, a vital border town that abuts the Khyber Pass and the main supply route for Western forces in Afghanistan.
The newspaper called a small base at Torkham the focal point of the Pak-US military cooperation, which is a vital border town that abuts the Khyber Pass, the main supply route for Western forces in Afghanistan.
WSJ said the US-built base opened in spring last year and was meant to house military personnel from the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It said a senior US official said the Pakistanis received access to American signals intelligence, mainly intercepts of radio traffic, cellular and satellite phone calls.
Maj Robert Brown, the top US official at Torkham, said the base was meant to knit together the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan, WSJ reported.
The point is to make sure everyone knows all the same information, and can act on it, he said.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
* US paper says military officers allowing Pakistani officers access to video, satellite feeds
* Pak army using US intelligence to carry out FATA strikes
Daily Times Monitor
TORKHAM: The United States and Pakistani militaries are increasing bilateral cooperation in an effort to counter the Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked groups that aim to destabilise both sides of the Pak-Afghan border, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) said on Monday.
It said the cooperation heralds a marked change from strained relations in 2008 amid tensions over US airstrikes inside Pakistan.
Access: The newspaper said US military officers were allowing Pakistani officers access to video feeds from drones flying over Pakistans Tribal Areas and also granting access to American intercepts of Taliban cellular and satellite phone calls inside Pakistan.
FATA: The Pakistan Army was using US intelligence to carry out strikes against the Taliban and other armed groups in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the newspaper said, adding the US believed Afghan security was deteriorating because of Taliban based in the safe havens in the Tribal Areas.
It said the cooperation was a contrast from last year when Islamabad, reacting to public anger over US ground and airstrikes inside Pakistan, withheld military cooperation. The relationship between Washington and Islamabad deteriorated over the summer after a US missile killed 11 Pakistani soldiers, the newspaper said.
It quoted Maj Gen Jeffrey Schloesser, the top US commander in eastern Afghanistan, as saying that the number of Taliban crossing into Afghanistan from Pakistan had begun to decrease.
Gen Schloesser was reported as saying that the US and Afghan forces, which were hit by up to 20 rockets a day over the summer, are now hit by two or three.
WSJ said US officials attribute the decline to the US missile strikes on alleged Taliban targets inside Pakistan and the coordinated military campaign known as Operation Lionheart, which involves US moves against militants in the Kunar region of Afghanistan and a large Pakistani campaign in the extremist stronghold of Bajaur.
The operations in Bajaur and the Predator strikes in Waziristan have caused a disruption across the border, WSJ quoted Gen Schloesser.
It said the generals comments marked one of the first times a senior US official had publicly confirmed the US missile strikes in Pakistan.
US officials credit the turnaround in part to Gen Ashfaq Kayani, the Pakistan Army chief, who has come to believe that Taliban pose an extreme threat, the newspaper said.
WSJ said Pakistans civilian government had also contributed with its harder stance toward the Taliban.
William Wood, the US ambassador in Kabul, was reported as saying that Pakistan was unquestionably taking more effective action against the Taliban and Al Qaeda.
The newspaper said the focal point of the Pak-US military cooperation is a small base at Torkham, a vital border town that abuts the Khyber Pass and the main supply route for Western forces in Afghanistan.
The newspaper called a small base at Torkham the focal point of the Pak-US military cooperation, which is a vital border town that abuts the Khyber Pass, the main supply route for Western forces in Afghanistan.
WSJ said the US-built base opened in spring last year and was meant to house military personnel from the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
It said a senior US official said the Pakistanis received access to American signals intelligence, mainly intercepts of radio traffic, cellular and satellite phone calls.
Maj Robert Brown, the top US official at Torkham, said the base was meant to knit together the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan, WSJ reported.
The point is to make sure everyone knows all the same information, and can act on it, he said.
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
