'Effective military operations key to dismantling Pak's terror infrastructure'

Washington, June 3 (ANI): President Barack Obama's nominee to head the US-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, Lieutenant-General Stanley McChrystal, has said that effective military operations are the key to dismantling the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Pakistan's restive tribal areas.

"Effective military operations in the Pakistani tribal areas are a key to disrupt and eventually deny safe havens to Al Qaeda and the Taliban from which they launch these incursions," The Dawn quoted General McChrystal, as saying.

During his confirmation at a congressional hearing on Tuesday, General McChrystal told the Senate Armed Services Committee that he did not believe bright prospects existed for both cleaving Al Qaeda from the Taliban and for reincorporating the Taliban into the Afghan government.

General McChrystal, however, admitted that preventing all incursions was difficult due to the length and porous nature of the Pak-Afghanistan border.

He said that greater cooperation among Afghan, Pakistani and international forces could improve border security.

Stressing on the need to reduce civilian casualties, General McChrystal warned that any victory would be 'hollow and unsustainable' if allied operations created popular resentment by killing civilians.

On unmanned drone strikes by Special Operations ground units, he said he would make sure that these attacks would be ordered only based on solid intelligence, and would be as 'precise' as possible. (ANI)