World

Dangerous to abandon Pakistan: Mullen

"I think the worst thing we could do would be (to) cut them off" says Mullen

Afp June 02, 2011

WASHINGTON: US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen said Thursday that Pakistan needed space to sort out internal problems and that it would be dangerous for the United States to abandon the troubled war partner.

Mullen said that Pakistan has been going through "a great deal of introspection" in the month since US forces killed the world's most wanted man Osama bin Laden in a secret raid near the country's top military academy.

"I think we need to give them a little time and space to do that. And that makes all the sense in the world to me," Mullen said at a breakfast with reporters.

"I think the worst thing we could do would be (to) cut them off," he said.

If the United States distanced itself from Pakistan, "10 years from now, 20 years from now, we go back and it's much more intense and it's much more dangerous," he said.

"We're just not living in a world where we can afford to be unengaged in a place like this," he said.

A number of US lawmakers have called into question the billions of dollars in assistance to Pakistan, accusing the country of playing a double game of seeking foreign money while keeping ties to extremists.

But Mullen acknowledged that Pakistan has ordered "a very significant cutback" in the number of US forces who are training its military.

While some US forces were still on the ground, Mullen said that the Pakistani military needed first to complete its internal debate on the relationship with the United States.

"They're going to have to finish that before we get back to a point where we're doing any kind of significant training," Mullen said.

COMMENTS (12)

kamal | 12 years ago | Reply Mullen is playing good cop in good cop-bad cop drama.

IWriteURead | 12 years ago | Reply He looks handsome at this age too...isnt it? ;) He shouldn't be going so soon! Better still would have been, if he would have been born a little later or me a little earlier :( LOL.... that was a lighter note :). But I hope he gets to read this and modify his designs to be in MUTUAL interest of both PK and US, not just on paper but practically too. So hunk Mullen, yes we are in a troubled situation because everybody is speaking chaotically and nobody is listening. So dont worry too much about us, we will handle ourselves. You deserve to enjoy these last few months ...What say?

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wasim younis | 12 years ago | Reply the ties should improve between these two countries, it is very important that we dont get ourselves tangled up in issues that have no meaning because if we do, then im afraid the terrorist will succeed. Hence, this statement has a value which cannot be ignored!

R S JOHAR | 12 years ago | Reply Americans are presently giving sugar coated pills to Pakistan which will turn very bitter after some time.

BruteForce | 12 years ago | Reply He is saying that now, wait till 2014, he will be speaking a different language then! Gloves will be off!!

Tariq Qureshi | 12 years ago | Reply Mullen, like a true military commander- turning politician correctly is looking at US strategic interests first. He has 'zero' consideration of what Pakistan went through and will go through living in this unholy marriage. Fault lies with Pakistan leadership, politicians and military leaders who have sacrificed Pakistan's interest, for minimal dollars and even incurred $60 Billion loss to their economy to please their masters for self interest. USA has never been a partner to anyone, they have called countries partners when their purpose is served. I wish USA had consulted with Pakistan and Afghanistan leadership after 9/11, and the world would be a different place today. Usama was a CIA creation, and for the world record, was accused only and never has any proof been ever provided of his involvement in 9/11. US could have kept Taliban as their allies as always, as USA had major influence on them through Saudi Arabia, UAE and Pakistan. Has USA ever thought that they will end up in the longest war of their history with a rag-tag force, and will be bleeding economically, just like USSR did before they withdrew that led to breakup of Russian federation. I suggest, Mullen should advice USA to do, what USA has always done. Run............leave Pakistan alone. USA has created enough enemies in the world with this unmanaged adventure they call "War-against-Terror". USA 365 Million have only seen 9/11, while entire middle-east has 9/11's every day since USA started this global war. Pakistan was NOT a country that created 9/11. Neither was Afghanistan, neither was Iraq? Did it have to launch a international war to catch and punish 2000 people! There is still time to rethink...... Give the world their peace back.

Hedgefunder | 12 years ago | Reply But perhaps the Taxpayers of the US will start to run out of their patience with Pakistan and all that it stands for!!!

S.R.H. Hashmi | 12 years ago | Reply First Admiral Mike Mullen, Secretary Hillary Clinton and others make all sorts of damaging statements about Pakistan before various US committees and the press, thus turning every one in America against Pakistan, and when their lawmakers and the media start shouting and howling at Pakistan, they come up with reconciliatory statements as if Pakistanis never had better friends than them. Then they violate Pakistan’s sovereignty by sending their team here to kill Osama bin Laden who they had under surveillance for months and who they could have easily captured through a joint operation without any risk of him slipping away. However, they chose a course which will humiliate Pakistan to the maximum and then make it a point to say that they will not apologize for it. At the same time, CIA director Leon Panetta keeps provoking Pakistanis through drone attacks and also says that these will not be stopped. There should be a limit to how much humiliation, insults and injury Pakistanis could be expected to tolerate. The Americans talk about giving billion of dollars to Pakistan but ignore the fact that Pakistan’s losses through associating with the US war on terror are at least four times of what Pakistan received from them. Much of the aid from the US has not even been finalized yet and the much-talked-about reconstruction opportunity zones project is all but forgotten. What US gives to Israel is much more than what it gives to Pakistan and in return only gets insults and humiliation from it but never seems to complain about it, and keeps increasing the aid all the time, as against Pakistan whose aid it threatens to cut off even before giving it, and despite Pakistan’s huge losses, financial and human. The vast majority of Pakistanis know now for sure that Americans are not, have never been and will never be our friends. We are just fed up seeing a constant stream of them visiting us all the time and putting up these threatrics. Public pressure is so much that even the government which normally extended warm welcome to the Americans has now been forced to revise it policy. A Russian veteran who had first-hand experience of Afghanistan said that Afghanistan will prove another Vietnam for Americans. Now, at the peak, there were more than half a million Americans in Vietnam and still they suffered a humiliating defeat. If they want to achieve some results in Afghanistan, they better put in there the strength that they had in Vietnam. Obviously, they can’t do that due to stiff resistance at home. So, the next best thing for them to do is to declare their mission accomplished with the death of Osama bin Laden, pack up and go home, leaving every one in peace.

Bangash | 12 years ago | Reply Mullen was one of the few friends that Pakistan had, he sought a balanced approach. Even he is leaving in a few months.

Malik | 12 years ago | Reply @mahmood: How you know??? Take some relaxants to get out of your despair and dismay.

Sharik Hussain | 12 years ago | Reply US would only do the gravest mistake, messing with Pakistan.

mahmood | 12 years ago | Reply He is asking for more time to let Pakistan decide which direction they intend to follow and that makes sense. But make no mistake about it -- if Pakistan continues to follow it's current path the USA will do more than cut off aid.

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