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WASHINGTON - The United States would be willing to send troops to Pakistan to fight alongside the South Asian country's forces against Islamist militants, US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday.
Gates said Pakistan had not requested such a move and Washington had not presented proposals to Pakistan's leaders. But he made clear the United States was open to providing more direct assistance.
"We remain ready, willing and able to assist the Pakistanis and to partner with them, to provide additional training, to conduct joint operations, should they desire to do so," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon.
The United States, waging wars in Iraq and Afghanistan against Islamist militants that have strained its military, is increasingly concerned about the rise of insurgents in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
Those areas have become safe havens for Taleban and al Qaeda militants, according to US officials.
Washington has given nuclear-armed Pakistan about US$10 ($14) billion in aid since 2001, when Islamabad dropped support for the Taleban movement in Afghanistan and joined the US-led campaign against terrorism after the September 11 attacks.
The United States already helps train Pakistani forces. Its efforts include a programme to train and equip the Frontier Corps, a paramilitary force recruited from tribal areas.
Asked specifically if he envisaged US combat troops and Pakistani forces operating together against al Qaeda, Gates said: "If the Pakistanis wanted to do that, I think we would."
US operations in Pakistan would be highly sensitive politically for President Pervez Musharraf's government and Gates said it would be up to Pakistani leaders to take public opinion into account when considering any US assistance.
Gates said only a small number of US troops would be involved in any joint operations with Pakistani forces to target al Qaeda, but he did not give a figure.
US officials say they believe Pakistan is more interested in taking on Islamist militants as they now pose a more direct threat to Pakistan itself, through actions such as the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
Adm. Mike Mullen, the top US military officer, noted that Pakistani army chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani wanted to increase his force's ability to fight insurgents.
"We've learned an awful lot about that. We think we could add a lot to ... solving this problem," Mullen, chairman of the US military's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the news conference with Gates.
Pakistani forces have clashed over the past week with militants in the South Waziristan region on the Afghan border. Nearly 150 militants and more than 20 soldiers have been killed in the fighting.
Adm. William Fallon, the top US military commander for the region, held talks with Kayani in Pakistan this week.
US officials say they are worried by the militants in the border region not just because of fears for the stability of Pakistan but also because al Qaeda could use the area to plot attacks further afield.
"I think it would be unrealistic to assume that all of the planning that they're doing is focused strictly on Pakistan," Gates said. "I think that that is a continuing threat to Europe as well as to us."
- REUTERS
