WASHINGTON: The White House refused on Wednesday to endorse Admiral Mike Mullen’s description of Pakistan’s links with the Haqqani network, saying that it would “not use the language” that the US military chief had used.
Admiral Mullen told a Senate hearing last week that the Haqqani network of terrorists was “a veritable arm” of the ISI and that the Pakistani intelligence agency had directed its attacks on US targets inside Afghanistan.
“Is the Haqqani network a veritable arm of the ISI? Yes or no?” White House spokesman Jay Carney was asked at a regular briefing.
“It’s not language I would use. I think that the fact that there are links that exist between the Pakistani government and the Haqqani network — the nature of those can be assessed and is complicated. But there is no question that they have safe havens in Pakistan,” the White House official responded.
“So it’s not the position of the Obama administration that the Haqqani network is a veritable arm of the ISI?” he was asked again.
“It is the position of the administration that there are links and that Pakistan needs to take action to address that and to deal with the fact that there are safe havens for this criminal network that is dangerous for Pakistan as well as for the United States and Afghanistan,” Mr Carney said.
“But not a veritable arm of the ISI?” he was asked.
“I think it’s a matter of semantics… you’re trying — on the language here. I think I’m being quite clear about what our position is, which — and it’s a serious one. It’s one that we raise with our Pakistani counterparts regularly because it is of such great concern to us.”
“The White House official said the US had said unequivocally that the Haqqani network was responsible for the recent attack on the US embassy in Kabul and on Isaf headquarters in Kabul. But unlike Admiral Mullen, Mr Carney did not say that the ISI had directed those attacks.
Earlier, the US State Department rejected the suggestion that declaring the Haqqani network a terrorist organisation would also require the United States to declare Pakistan a sponsor of terrorism.
“If you designate the Haqqani network, those would be restrictions that would be placed on their financial activity in the United States, their travel in the United States, members of the Haqqani network. So it’s apples and oranges,” said the department’s spokesperson Victoria Nuland when asked about a possible link between the two designations.
But reports in the US on Wednesday insisted that one designation would automatically trigger the other because of Pakistan’s alleged link with the group. That’s why the US was reluctant to go for the Haqqani network although it has already put its senior leaders on its terrorist watch list.
While it’s not easy to assess the accuracy of these un-attributed links to the media, the Obama administration does seem divided between doves and hawks on Pakistan.
The hawks are apparently led by Vice President Joe Biden and a surprise addition to the group is that of Admiral Mike Mullen who, until last week, was considered one of Islamabad’s key allies in Washington.
The doves are apparently led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who, although is concerned as others in the administration about the Haqqani network’s activities in Afghanistan, advocates a soft approach. And this is reflected in the statements that have come out of the State Department during the crisis that followed Admiral Mullen’s statement.
At the latest briefing, the department’s spokesperson was asked if the State Department actually believed that the ISI directed the Haqqani network.
“I’m not going to go any further than we’ve already gone, which is to say that we have serious concerns about the Haqqani network, we have to work on it together with the Pakistani government, and we are seeking collaboration, cooperation from all branches of the Pakistani government as we do that,” the spokesperson responded.
“The aid to Pakistan decisions are made with regard to our conversation with the government of Pakistan,” said the State Department official when asked pointedly if the US would stop aid to Pakistan if it designated the Haqqani network a terrorist organisation.
“We are continuing to review whether to designate” the Haqqani organisation. The US has told Pakistan that clamping down on the group “is job one, that we want to do it together, and that’s the conversation that we’re having now,” Ms Nuland added.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.