Terrorists Still Operating Freely on Pakistan Border, According to GAO Report
April 17, 2008 by national
Filed under World Report
Terrorists are still operating freely in Pakistan along the country’s Afghanistan border, despite the U.S. giving Pakistan more than $10.5 billion in military and economic aid, according to a government watchdog agency.
The Government Accountability Office says in a report released Thursday that the U.S. lacks a comprehensive plan to deal with the terrorist threat.
Democrats called the report appalling because of congressional mandates demanding the nation do more to coordinate efforts by federal agencies.
“For anyone wondering how we’re doing in the fight to get the terrorists who killed 3,000 Americans on 9/11, this report pretty much says it all,” said Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J.
Some federal agencies, including the Defense Department, agreed with the findings. But the State Department disagreed, saying that a comprehensive strategy does exist and is being implemented.
Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said the United States is dealing with the terrorist threat in Pakistan through a variety of means across political, economic and security fronts.
“We devote resources to health, education, economic development, political reform, as well as going after Al Qaeda with the Pakistani security forces,” Johndroe said. “This is going to be a long battle against a determined enemy and I can assure you that the president and his national security advisors focus on this every day and will continue to do what is necessary to protect the American people.”
Pakistan is widely seen as the linchpin in the U.S. anti-terrorism strategy. After the U.S. invasion in Afghanistan, Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters retreated across the mountainous 373-mile border into Pakistan’s unpoliced tribal areas.
