The Pentagon rejected reports Wednesday of disagreement among US officials over Pakistan's role in Afghanistan after the top US military officer accused Islamabad of backing extremists. A Pentagon spokesman said Defence Secretary Leon Panetta endorsed the view of Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, who told senators last week that Haqqani militants targeting Nato forces were a "veritable arm" of Pakistan's main intelligence agency.
"The secretary and the chairman both agree that there are unacceptable links between elements of the Pakistani government and the Haqqanis," press secretary George Little told reporters. The Pakistani elements backing the Haqqani network "include the ISI" spy agency, he said.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday some defence and other officials disagreed with Mullen's remarks and that the admiral had overstated the role of the ISI. Unnamed officials told the Post that US intelligence reports did not have clear evidence Pakistan was exerting control over the Haqqanis, blamed for deadly attacks on US and Nato troops. But Little said there was a "consensus view" in the Pentagon about the links between Pakistan and the Haqqani network, which operates out of sanctuaries in Pakistan.
"Everyone here understands there's a link between elements of the Pakistani government and the Haqqanis," he said. "At the analytic level, there's no disagreement," he added. Mullen's outspoken comments to the Senate Armed Services Committee carried special significance as he has devoted much of his four-year tenure to cultivating relations with his Pakistani counterpart and has often tried to explain to American audiences the challenges facing the leadership in Islamabad.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal published Wednesday, Mullen stood by his unprecedented criticism, saying he could not tolerate casualties caused by militants backed by Pakistan. "I'm losing people, and I'm just not going to stand for that," said the admiral, who will retire from his post this week. "I have been Pakistan's best friend: What does it say when I'm at that point? What does it say about where we are?"
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