WASHINGTON, March 1: Two senior US officials – Secretary of Defence Robert Gates and Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen – indicated on Sunday that drone attacks into Fata would continue as long as there were militant safe havens in the area, although both refused to confirm or deny the latest attack.

At least eight people were killed on Sunday in a suspected US missile attack in South Waziristan.

“Well, I’m not going to get into any intelligence operations,” Mr Gates told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” when asked to comment on the latest attack.

“I’m not going to talk a lot about our operations specifically,” added Admiral Mullen in an interview to the “Fox News on Sunday” talk show.

“There is a continuing concern with the existence of the safe haven in the Fata in Pakistan, and that has to be addressed, has been addressed, and needs to continue to be addressed,” he added.

He said that towards the end of 2008, the Pakistani military increased pressure on the militants from their side of the border while coalition and Afghan forces squeezed them from their side.

“And that will continue to happen, and we need to continue to bring that pressure on both sides and continue to coordinate those operations,” he said.

Asked if there was any difference between the policy of President Obama and former president Bush on combating the militants in the tribal area, Admiral Mullen said: “I’ve got guidance right now from President Obama, and we’re carrying out that guidance very specifically.”

Secretary Gates added that stabilising the Pakistan-Afghanistan border now took precedence over Iraq and was necessary to ensure Al Qaeda and the Taliban did not regain strength.

Recalling his work for the Central Intelligence Agency during the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan, Mr Gates said he understood all too well the effect of a cross-border haven.

“After all, 20 years ago, I was on the other side of that border as deputy director of CIA -- fighting the Soviets. And we had the safe haven in Pakistan.

“And let me tell you. It made a big difference.”

Admiral Mullen said there’s clear recognition that that threat, where Al Qaeda leadership lived, was “every bit as dangerous as it has been,” and the US and its allies need to continue to address it and address it as rapidly as possible.

Secretary Gates said US officials held productive talks with their Pakistani counterparts last week in Washington and said the US government wanted to help “enable” Islamabad to fight Al Qaeda and associated groups operating on the border with Afghanistan.

“I will just say that I think that the key here is our being able to cooperate with and enable the Pakistanis to be able to deal with this problem on their own sovereign territory,” he said.

“I believe based on my talks with the Pakistanis here in Washington this past week, that they clearly now understand that what’s going on up there in that border area is as big a risk to the stability of Pakistan as it is a problem for us in Afghanistan,” he said.
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