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WASHINGTON D.C. (June 13, 2008) - Although al-Qaida's operations
in Iraq have been battered, the terrorist organization remains a
threat to be reckoned with, the U.S. military's top officer said
here today.
Al-Qaida is "on the run in Iraq," Navy Adm. Mike Mullen,
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, noted at a Government
Executive Magazine-hosted breakfast at the National Press Club. The
terrorists, he said, are being pressured by U.S. and Iraqi security
forces, as well as concerned citizens who want al-Qaida out of
their country.
However, al-Qaida remains a "lethal foe" of the United States,
Mullen cautioned, noting the terrorist group hasn't given up its
intent to attack America again. Al-Qaida, he noted, even is
"growing in some parts of the world," such as the Horn of Africa
region.
Al-Qaida's leadership "is still planning against us," Mullen
pointed out. The terrorist group, he said, runs training camps in
northwestern Pakistan's federally administered tribal areas, and
al-Qaida operatives are known to enter Afghanistan from Pakistan to
attack coalition and Afghan security forces.
U.S. and Pakistani troops aligned along the border have
cooperated in efforts to stem the flow of insurgents into
Afghanistan, Mullen said.
The United States and Pakistan, he said, both are investigating
a recent border incident in which Pakistan claims some of its
troops were killed by U.S. munitions during an anti-insurgent
operation.
"The details of this [incident] are still not clear," Mullen
said, noting the investigation is continuing.
Mullen cited the difficulty of maintaining security along what
he described as a "porous" Afghanistan-Pakistan border. "It's a
very challenging area," Mullen said of the border region, noting
Pakistan has a serious extremist problem.
Pakistan is a sovereign nation with a new government that will
have to grapple with the extremist issue, along with food, energy
and other challenges, Mullen observed.
Pakistan also is an ally of the United States in the war against
terrorism, Mullen pointed out, and a number of pacts between the
two nations regarding border security and other issues are being
worked.
The United States made prior agreements with Pakistan regarding
border security issues that realized limited success, Mullen
recalled.
"These agreements have occurred before, but they haven't been
enforced," Mullen noted.
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