The word on the street is that Panetta was trying to convince Islamabad to retract its call for U.S. military trainers to leave Pakistan. CBS News reports that an unnamed Pakistani government official said, “Mr. Panetta was told point blank, there will be no U.S. boots on the ground.” Afghan President Hamid Karzai was also in Pakistan over the weekend to speak with officials there about reconciliation with the Taliban.
Elsewhere in the region, outgoing Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen joined outgoing Defense Secretary Robert Gates in sounding a note of caution about the Afghanistan troop withdrawal. He said progress made in the country is not guaranteed. NATO’s “the job is by no means done – the gains that have been generated are fragile and reversible,” Mullen commented in London on Friday. General David Petraeus, commander of forces in Afghanistan, is expected to submit his recommendations about how many troops to withdrawal soon. More >>>
Location: Islamabad
