The Wall Street Journal-20080125-Politics - Economics- U-S- May Send Troops to Pakistan if Asked
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Politics & Economics: U.S. May Send Troops to Pakistan if Asked
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. is willing to send combat troops into Pakistan to mount joint operations against al Qaeda if the Pakistani government requests American assistance, U.S. officials said.
Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Pakistan hadn't yet asked for additional American military help, and cautioned that any of the U.S. troops potentially deployed to Pakistan would likely be assigned solely to train Pakistani forces.
Still, Mr. Gates said the Bush administration would also be willing to have U.S. forces engage in direct combat alongside the Pakistani military if such a request is made by the government of embattled Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf. The statement raised the prospect of U.S. forces engaging in potentially bloody fighting against al Qaeda militants who have taken refuge in a remote tribal area alongside the Pakistani-Afghan border.
"We remain ready, willing and able to assist the Pakistanis and to partner with them to provide additional training, to conduct joint operations, should they desire to do so," Mr. Gates said.
Earlier this week, Mr. Musharraf rejected the idea that the U.S. could send special forces into Pakistan. He added that Pakistan's troops weren't primarily engaged in looking for al Qaeda leaders, but rather Taliban extremists.
The notion of sending U.S. combat forces into Pakistan has been contentious in both countries. Some U.S. commanders, speaking privately, have said in the past that the U.S. has an unwritten agreement with Islamabad allowing for the "hot pursuit" of militants who cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan.
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama caused a brief uproar last summer when he said he would order U.S. troops into Pakistan -- without waiting for permission from Mr. Musharraf -- if there was clear intelligence on the whereabouts of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
