Obama to pursue high-value targets in Pak, but no ground troops

WASHINGTON: Warning that the US expects "much more accountability" from Pakistan in rooting out the "steady creep of extremism" there, President Barack Obama has said America will go after "high-value" targets after consulting it but not deploy ground troops in hot pursuit.

WASHINGTON: Warning that the US expects "much more accountability" from Pakistan in rooting out the "steady creep of extremism" there, President Barack Obama has said America will go after "high-value" targets after consulting it but not deploy ground troops in hot pursuit.

Without directly referring to the US missile strikes in Pakistan's terrorist-infested tribal belt, Obama said: "If we have a high-value target within our sights, after consulting with Pakistan, we're going after them." "But our main thrust has to be to help Pakistan defeat these extremists," he told the 'Face the Nation' program CBS.

"But you're talking about going after them. Are you talking about with American boots on the ground, pursuing these people into these so-called safe havens?" CBS host Bob Schieffer asked, to which Obama responded in negative.

"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," Obama said.

"The focus over the last seven years I think has been lost. What we want to do is to refocus attention on al-Qaeda," he said in an apparent reference to policy of Bush regime which concentrated more on Iraq than Afghanistan.

"We have to ensure that neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan can serve as a safe haven for al-Qaeda. And unfortunately over the last several years, what we've seen is essentially 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 said. "We are going to root out their networks, their bases. We are going to make sure that they cannot attack US citizens, US soil, US interests, and our allies' interests around the world," the US President said.

Unveiling his new Af-Pak policy, Obama had announced his support to a Congressional legislation that would triple non-military aid to Pakistan to USD 1.5 billion a year for the next five years, but cautioned that it will not be a "blank cheque" and Pakistan will have to play its part.

In another interview to Fox News, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Pakistan's spy agency ISI must sever its ties with al-Qaeda and Taliban.

Obama said reports of ISI links to Afghan extremists "aren't new," and lamented that "the average Pakistani" believes that "this is somehow America's war".

"And that attitude I think has led to a steady creep of extremism in Pakistan that is the greatest threat to the stability of the Pakistan government, and ultimately the greatest threat to the Pakistani people.

"And we expect that you understand the severity and the nature of the threat," he said.

"...And we have to recognize that part of our task in working with Pakistan is not just military. It's also our capacity to build their capacity through civilian interventions, through development, through aid assistance, Obama argued. Acknowledging that it is not going to be an easy task for the US in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama said his administration would continue reviewing and adjusting its strategy at frequent intervals.

"We recognize there are going to be a lot of hurdles between now and us finally having weakened al-Qaeda or destroyed al-Qaeda to the point it cannot -- it doesn't pose a danger to us. We will continue to monitor and adjust our strategies to make sure that we're not just going down blind alleys," he said.

The US President also voiced concern about the security situation in Afghanistan, saying, "Unless we get a handle on it now, we're gonna be in trouble." He made it clear that his new strategy is "not going to be an open-ended commitment of infinite resources" from the United States.