US seeks to play down Cheney's tough talk with Musharraf

Washington, Feb 27 (UNI) The White House has sought to play down the get-tough message reportedly delivered by US Vice President Dick Cheney, during an unscheduled visit to Islamabad, to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf over terrorist sanctuaries along its borders with Afghanistan.

However, the New York Times quoted unidentified administration officials in Washington as saying that Cheney was telling Musharraf he had to get tougher in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban along the country's Northwestern frontier with Afghanistan or the new Democratic-controlled US Congress could cut aid.

Replying to questions about the reports on Cheney-Musharraf meeting, White House spokesman Tony Snow said, ''we have not been saying it's a tough message. What we're saying is that the Vice President is meeting with President Musharraf because we do understand the importance of making even greater progress against al Qaeda, against the Taliban.'' The Vice President made an unscheduled visit yesterday in the wake of reports that the two terrorist groups are preparing in Pakistan's frontier tribal areas for a spring offensive in Afghanistan.

''The Pakistanis remain committed to doing everything possible to fight al-Qaida, but having said that, we also know that there's a lot more that needs to be done,'' Mr Snow said.

Mr Snow said, ''what we're telling (the Pakistanis) is we're supporting them in the War on Terror, and we look forward to working with them in each and every way possible to be more effective in going after those who are trying to contribute to a global terror networ.'' The United States has about 27,000 troops in Afghanistan -- approximately 15,000 in the NATO force and the rest tasked with counterterrorism missions and training Afghan security forces.

The Pentagon recently announced plans to bolster the US troop presence in Afghanistan by 3,200, and the United Kingdom, Denmark and Lithuania also announced plans to add forces to their NATO contingents to help meet the expected surge in terrorist violence.

UNI