US bombers could blitz areas in Pakistan

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]





WASHINGTON: Support is growing in the U.S. Congress for expanding American military action in Pakistan beyond drone strikes already used to target militants in Pakistani territory, a senior Republican U.S. senator says.

The comments by Senator Lindsey Graham, an influential Republican voice on foreign policy and military affairs, follow remarks by the top U.S. military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, accusing Pakistan last week of supporting the militant Haqqani network's September 13 attack on the U.S. embassy in Kabul.

Graham said in an interview on Tuesday that U.S. lawmakers might support military options beyond the drone strikes that have been going on for years inside Pakistani territory.
Those options may include using U.S. bomber planes within Pakistan.

The South Carolina Republican said he did not advocate sending U.S. ground troops into Pakistan.

"I would say when it comes to defending American troops, you don't want to limit yourself," Graham said. "This is not a boots-on-the-ground engagement -- I'm not talking about that, but we have a lot of assets beyond drones."

"A perfect world ... would be Afghan, Pakistan and (U.S. and NATO) coalition forces working jointly on both sides of border to deny safe havens, inside of Afghanistan and on the other side," in Pakistan's western tribal regions from which the Haqqani network and other militants are believed to operate, Graham said.

Graham said U.S. lawmakers will think about stepping up the military pressure. "If people believe it's gotten to the point that that is the only way really to protect our interests I think there would be a lot of support," Graham said.

The Haqqani network is allied with Afghanistan's Taliban and is believed to have close links to al Qaeda. It fights U.S. and NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan, operating out of bases in Pakistan's North Waziristan.

U.S. drone aircraft in recent years have targeted mostly al Qaeda figures rather than Haqqani militants. (Reuters)