Gates warns Pakistan on Taliban moves

BBC:

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates has warned Pakistan that relations with the US will be threatened unless Islamabad combats the rise of the Taleban.

His comments echo a warning from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Mrs Clinton said on Wednesday that Pakistan poses a "mortal threat" to the world by abdicating to the Taleban.

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Speaking at a US military base in North Carolina, from where American marines are about to be deployed to Afghanistan, the US defence chief said some Pakistani leaders recognise the "existential threat" facing the country's government, but needed to act swiftly.

"It is important they not only recognise it [the threat], but take the appropriate actions to deal with it," Mr Gates said.

"The stability and the longevity of democratic government in Pakistan is central to the efforts of the coalition in Afghanistan," he added.

"And it is also central to our future partnership with the government in Islamabad.

The Obama administration is clearly stepping up the pressure on Pakistan's government and security forces to do much more to combat the Taleban, the BBC's Jonathan Beale reports from Washington.

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I have yet to see any sense of urgency on the part of the Pakistan government in dealing with this threat. The troops they have sent to Buner are inadequate and ill equipped for dealing with the Taliban. There seems to be no answer for why the real army has not been engaged so far. There are several possibilities for why the army is not engaged and none of them are good. The two most obvious reasons is that the government fears ordering them into action for some reason or the army has told the government that it is not going to engage. I can think of no strategic or tactical reason for not having the army drive the Taliban out of Buner and Swat.