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WASHINGTON, Feb 17: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has expressed disappointment with the North Waziristan deal, saying that the plan has not helped reduce violence along the Pakistan-Afghan border.
In September, the Pakistan government signed an agreement with tribal leaders in North Waziristan, extracting from them a pledge to stop cross-border attacks by the Taliban.
Initially, the United States backed the deal, but has since changed its stance. The US military says that the Taliban have tripled their activities since the signing of the agreement.
Ms Rice told lawmakers in Washington on Friday that the United States had tried to support President Pervez Musharraf’s plan to empower tribal leaders to deal with cross-border activities.
But, she added, "Frankly, there have been some problems and some disappointments with that plan."
Ms Rice said the United States had been clear with President Musharraf that he must do something about ending cross-border attacks.
SPRING OFFENSIVE: US ambassador-designate to Kabul, William Wood, told his confirmation hearing in Washington that the Taliban were preparing a major offensive this spring.
"Although the Taliban probably pose no strategic threat to the government of Afghanistan at this time, it is important that the Afghan government, local leaders, internal security forces, and International Security Assistance Force forces prepare for such attacks," he said.
Ambassador William Wood also told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee he would support US engagement with Iran in helping the Afghan government overcome its problems.
"In the case of Afghanistan, the United States and Iran have a number of interests in common: There are a number of areas where we could profitably work together if we could begin a process of engagement," he said.
"Iran is strongly counter-drug, for instance. They have one of the highest numbers of heroin addicts in the world, and their effort to fight the heroin trade is extraordinary.”
But he acknowledged that the US and Iran have to resolve their differences over Tehran’s nuclear programme before the two could cooperate in Afghanistan.
Mr Wood pledged to support the Kabul government's efforts toward eradication of poppy fields to control heroin production. He is currently Washington’s ambassador to Colombia, where the United States is aiding anti-drug and anti-insurgency operations in a country that is the world’s largest cocaine producer.
If confirmed, William Wood would replace Ronald Neumann as the top US diplomat in Afghanistan.
