September 24, 2008	Wednesday	Ramazan 23, 1429

WASHINGTON, Sept 23: The United States is studying a proposal from Kabul for a joint force of Afghan, Pakistani and western troops to operate against militants on the Pakistan-Afghan border, a State Department spokesman said on Tuesday.

“We’re obviously taking a good look at it. We’re going to analyse it and see where we go from here on it,” spokesman Robert Wood told reporters.

“We will probably have something to say once we’ve done a thorough analysis of it.”

Afghanistan’s Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak on Monday called for creating the joint force during a visit to the Pentagon, but did not offer details. Wardak said the idea was broached about a month and a half ago at a meeting of senior Pakistani, Afghan and US military officials.—AFP