18 February 2004	Wednesday	26 Zilhaj 1424

WASHINGTON, Feb 17: The United States said on Tuesday that Pakistan had launched a major operation against tribal chiefs who were harbouring Al Qaeda operatives in the areas bordering Afghanistan.

Gen David Barnes, the Commander of US forces in Afghanistan, told reporters at the Pentagon that the Pakistani military was even going into the areas where it had never gone before.

"The Pakistani troops are confronting the tribal elders and making them be accountable for the behaviour in their area. That's a traditional approach that has not been used till now in that particular part of Pakistan," said Gen. Barnes.

Tribal chiefs who do not comply could face "destruction of homes and things of that nature," the general said. Earlier, Pentagon officials told reporters that the tribal areas had become the new operating base for Al Qaeda, which along with Taliban forces and fighters associated with Afghan leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, continued to mount attacks against the Afghan and US troops.

Gen Barnes took over the mission four months ago and has instituted monthly coordinating meetings with the Pakistani military. Two subcommittees meet monthly to coordinate border and intelligence issues.

"I've seen some very positive developments from Pakistan, and I'm going to continue to encourage them to do more in those areas," he said. The General said the Pakistani military was carrying out all operations on their side of the border, but as they drive out Al Qaeda, US and Afghan forces are waiting on the other side, an approach he likened to a "hammer and anvil."

US military and civilian officials in Iraq last month intercepted a courier carrying a 17-page letter they say was written by Abu Musaab al Zarkawi, a convicted Jordanian terrorist. It was allegedly intended for his Al Qaeda contacts in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Gen. Barnes said he had not yet seen an operational connection between terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the insurgents in Iraq. He said there were growing similarities between the two groups ambush tactics and some of their improvised explosive devices.

Gen. Barnes said Afghanistan's security problem was three-fold: the ousted Taliban in the south-central region particularly Qandahar; Al Qaeda in the Paktia/Paktika and Khost areas on the eastern side; and Mr Hekmatyar's operation.

The general said he had adopted a new holistic approach to combating the opposition, beginning in Qandahar.

Key to the approach is a change in American military tactics to a classic counterinsurgency operation. Military units have tended to deploy to different regions, carry out discreet operations, and then return to their home base to prepare for the next mission.

Now, Gen. Barnes said, battalions, companies and sometimes even platoons, are being permanently assigned responsibility for regions where they work with local populations on a longer-term basis.

"And the units, then, ultimately get great depth of knowledge, understanding, and much better intelligence access to the local people in those areas by "owning," as it were, those chunks of territory. That's a fairly significant change in terms of our tactical approach out there on the ground," the general said.

He said Taliban fighters are changing their tactics as well. "Where last summer we would encounter hundreds of Taliban in the field and other terrorists in large groups - and as a result of their contacts with us, they found that that was a non-habit-forming way to encounter coalition forces - they were destroyed in large numbers. So they have adapted their tactics, based on that," he said.

Gen. Barnes, however, backed off an earlier prediction that Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Ladin and Taliban chief Mulla Omar would be captured this year. Clearly there are no certainties in the war-fighting business out here, and clearly that the delivery and the bringing to justice of the senior leadership of these organizations remains a top priority," he said.

"We're very committed to that effort... But again, I would tell you, as we all fully understand, there's no 100 per cent certainties out there."