US, Pak officials dissatisfied over improper AfPak briefing

Washington, May 14 (ANI): As the Pakistan Army continues to pound the Taliban and other extremists in the Swat Valley and claims to have killed scores of militants amid immense US pressure, several policymakers both from the United States and Pakistan, have expressed dissatisfaction over the strategy regarding the issue, saying they have not been properly briefed.

It seems that Washington itself is unclear about how to conduct the war against the extremists, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Washington is certainly confused over what it wants to do in Pakistan and Afghanistan, as was evident from the sudden dismissal of the overall commander of US forces in Afghanistan, General David McKiernan from the post.

The abrupt removal of General McKiernan underscores that the Obama administration is still modifying its strategies for both the countries.

Lieutenant General Stanley McChrystal has replaced General McKiernan, and experts believe it is a good move.

"McChrystal is known as one of the smartest and least conventional thinkers in the Army, and a counterinsurgent's counterinsurgent," Spencer Ackerman said.

Many experts also supported the appointment of Lieutenant General David Rodriguez as deputy commander of US forces in Afghanistan.

However, it still remains unclear exactly how the generals' expertise will be brought to yield desired result in the war against terrorism in the region.

Recently, a leading Pakistan daily described the first 100 days of President Obama's response to the growing crisis in Pakistan as 'confused, confounded and contrived.'

It said that nobody knew who's running the show on Pakistan. Whether it was Joe Biden, Richard Holbrooke or anybody else is definitely unclear. (ANI)