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President Barack Obama on Sunday pledged to respect Pakistans sovereignty and ruled out the possibility of US troops crossing into Pakistani territory from Afghanistan in pursuit of al Qaeda militants. The US President said his administrations main thrust would be to strengthen Islamabads ability to go after the common threat and hold it accountable.
In an interview with CBS news channel from his Oval Office, Obama reaffirmed Washingtons commitment to strengthening Pakistani government and fostering a long-term relationship with the Pakistani people. "No Our plan does not change the recognition of Pakistan as a sovereign government. We need to work with them and through them to deal with al Qaeda, but we have to hold them much more accountable," he replied when asked about the possibility of US unilaterally sending its troops to chase al Qaeda militants on the Pakistani side of the Afghan border.
The US president, who Friday unveiled a comprehensive strategy on the militancy-hit Afghan-Pakistan border region, said the United States will consult with Islamabad in going after high value al Qaeda militant targets.
"I have not changed my approach. If we have a high value target within our sights, after consulting Pakistan, we are going after them," he responded when asked pointedly if he will give the US commanders in Afghanistan the green light to go after these people even if they are on the Pakistani side of the border. "But our main thrust has to be to help Pakistan defeat these extremists," he added.
"Now one of the concerns that we have been building up over the years, a notion among the average Pakistanis that this is somehow Americas war and that they are not interested. And that attitude, I think, has led to a steady creep of extremism in Pakistan that is the greatest threat to the stability of Pakistan government, and ultimately the greatest threat to the Pakistani people."
Obama, who has crafted the new way forward after consultations with Pakistani and Afghan leaders, stressed the need to follow a multi-faceted approach in dealing with the extremists challenge.
He said there is no pure military solution to the problem. "And we have to recognise that part of our task in working with Pakistan is not just military. Its also our capacity to build their capacity through civilian intervention, through development, through aid assistance. And that is part of what we are seeing in both Afghanistan and Pakistan, I think it is fully resourcing a comprehensive strategy that does not just rely on bullets and bombs but also relies on agricultural specialists, doctors and engineers, to help create environment in which people recognise that they have much more at stake in partnering with us and the international community than giving into some of these extremist ideologies."
Questioned if the US effort under the new strategy amounts to Obamas war in Afghanistan, he said: "I think its Americas war, it is the same war we initiated as a consequence to the attacks on 3000 Americans who were going about their daily works and that focus over the last seven years has been lost. We want to re-focus our attention on al Qaeda to root out their networks, their bases. We are going to make sure that they cannot attack on US citizens, US soil, US interests and our allies interests around the world.
"In order for us to do that we have to ensure that neither Afghanistan, nor Pakistan can serve as a safe haven for al Qaeda. Unfortunately over the last seven years, what we have seen is al Qaeda moving several miles from Afghanistan to Pakistan, but effectively still able to project their violence and hateful ideologies out into the world."
Obama reiterated his administrations resolve to foster a wide ranging and steadfast partnership with the Pakistani people and strengthen its civilian government to confront the challenge.
"What we want to do is, say to the Pakistani people that you are our friends, our allies, we are going to give you the tools to defeat al Qaeda and to root out these safe havens. But we also expect some accountability. And we expect that you understand the severity and nature of the threat.
"In addition, we want to do is, to help Pakistan grow its economy, to be able to provide basic services to its people and that I think will help strengthen those efforts. If the Pakistan government has no credibility, if they are weakened, then it is going to be much more difficult for them to deal with extremism within their borders."

Copyright Associated Press of Pakistan, 2009

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