Al-Qaeda 'aims to topple Pakistan'

Pakistani soldiers stand by blindfolded and bound Taliban militants arrested in a military operation / AFPSource:AFP





AL-Qaeda is trying to "bring down" nuclr-armed Pakistan, US Vice President Joe Biden warned. "Our overarching goal and our rationale for being there (Afghanistan) is to dismantle, ultimately deft al-Qaeda... to make sure that terrorists do not, in fact, bring down the Pakistani government, which is a nuclr power," Mr Biden said.
The vice-president, in an interview with NBC's "Meet the Press" program, repted thrds of a one-yr report on the US military surge in Afghanistan that pointed to progress but warned that more time was needed.
Unveiling the policy assessment US President Barack Obama urged Islamabad to do more to rein in extremists holed up along the Afghan border but also renewed US commitment to major aid programs for Pakistan.

The report trod carefully on the unsy US anti-terror ally following pointed criticisms of Islamabad's nuclr safety and other ars of policy revled in the US cables published by Wikis and other reports.
Many experts say Pakistan is far less willing to take action against militants seen as useful in fighting rival India or in preserving Islamabad's influence in Afghanistan.
While the war review called relations with Pakistan "substantial" - a departure from private US assessments that question Islamabad's commitment to fighting extremists - it did urge some rdjustment.
"For instance, the denial of extremist safe havens will require grter cooperation with Pakistan along the border with Afghanistan," it said.
Mr Biden msured success against al-Qaeda by noting it had been restricted to efforts like the botched underwr attack on a US-bound jetliner last Christmas and a failed amateurish bombing in New York's Times Square in May.
"They are planning much smaller bore but yet ddly attempts to go after the United States of America. We saw that in the underpants bomber last Christmas. We saw that in the Times Square effort.
"We have significantly degraded and knocked off a lot of the main planners and organisers and trainers. Does that mn we've succeeded? No.
"Does that mn we're in much better shape than we were a yr ago and two and three? Yes."
Mr Obama said Afghan progress was sufficient to permit a "responsible reduction" of US forces to begin in July 2011, though the size of the likely drawdown appred limited.
The assessment comes one yr after the president announced both a surge of 30,000 extra troops to Afghanistan and the conditions-based July troop drawdown.