'US should consider toughening stance with Pak to achieve its goals'
29 Oct 2009, 1754 Hrs

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Lahore, Oct. 29 Matthew Hoh, the first US official to resign in protest over the Afghan war, has said that Washington should consider toughening stance with Pakistan in order to achieve its goals in South Asia.

"I don't know if this means we toughen our stance with Pakistan (to the point we threaten our lack of support) or whether we provide support in total with no strings attached. Regardless, 60,000 troops in Afghanistan, does not stabilize Pakistan. If anything, evidence suggests our presence in Afghanistan has destabilized Pakistan," the Nation quoted Matthew, as saying.

The former Marine Corps captain believes that the goal of stability in Pakistan cannot be achieved through a huge military imprint in neighbouring Afghanistan.

"I feel that our two goals in that region should be the defeat of al-Qaeda and the stabilization of Pakistan," he said in an online discussion hosted by The Washington Post.

Hoh said he does not claim to be a Pakistan expert but understood very well that "we need to dedicate resources (personnel and money-but not troops) to ensure Pakistan's government remains successful."

Hoh's comments came as President Barack Obama nears a decision on whether to send tens of thousands of extra American soldiers to Afghanistan.

The idea of troops surge, as proposed by top U.S. commander in Afghanistan Gen Stanley McChrystal, is one of the most hotly debated parts of the ongoing discussions and reviews in the United States.

Obama's national security advisers say they are alive to Pakistan's concerrns about a massive military buildup on the fghan side. (ANI)

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