Gates: Pakistan is 'most worrisome'

According to the US Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, Pakistan is 'most worrisome' because of the safe havens the taliban and al Qaida enjoy. As long as the terrorists operate out of Pakistan with practical impunity, then there is little hope in winning in Afghanistan.

The tribal areas of Pakistan have always been used as a springboard by mujahideen to launch attacks into Afghanistan. Surely the military commanders must have known this. But for some reason the government opted to rely on Pakistan to take care of that area. Everyone knows how that is turning out.

The tribal areas of Pakistan should be considered no mans land since Pakistan has no real jurisdiction over the lands. Then a massive bombing campaign should follow which should flatten the mountains there. Thats the only way to defeat the terrorists there. CNN

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The "most worrisome" part of the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan has become the havens the Taliban and other insurgents have carved out in neighboring Pakistan, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said.

Gates said the United States had a similar perch in Pakistan when U.S. and Pakistani officials supported Afghanistan's mujahedeen rebels against the Soviet Union in the 1980s -- "and let me tell you, it made a big difference."

"I think as long as they have a safe haven to operate there, it's going to be a problem for us in Afghanistan," he told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.

The Pentagon is in the process of sending an additional 17,000 troops to Afghanistan, the original front in the "war on terrorism" sparked by the September 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. They will be tasked primarily with clamping down on that border, a military official with specific knowledge of the deployment told CNN earlier this month.