Washington, May 06: Showing reluctance in supporting India’s US like move to nail 26/11 culprits, the US refrained itself from drawing any parallels between 9/11 and Mumbai attack.
“I don’t want to speculate too broadly about an operation that was clearly unique in the history of the US and the history of the world, where we had an individual who was possibly the most wanted man in the world and had perpetrated
heinous crimes against not only American citizens but citizens around the globe,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.
He was responding to question if the US policy of “right to self defense” applies to other countries including India as the perpetrators of the 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attacks are roaming freely inside Pakistan.
“I don’t want to draw too broadly a picture here. What we’ve said all along is that this was an individual where, when we had actionable intelligence against him, we acted upon that because we believed he was a direct and imminent threat to the United States,” Toner said.
Toner said he is aware of all those terrorism related cases in India including the attack on the Indian Parliament and the Mumbai terrorist attack.
“Our counterterrorism cooperation both with India and with Pakistan is ongoing and we believe that it’s directed at exactly these kinds of elements,” he said.
Pakistan based terror outfits have been accused of planning, facilitating and financing the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.
Meanwhile, the US Senators also raised questions about Pakistan’s role in hiding Osama but defends its aide.
“We must admit Pakistan is not an easy partner. But distancing ourselves from Pakistan would be unwise and extremely dangerous,” Richard Lugar, top Republican member on the Foreign Relations Committee, said during a Senate hearing Thursday assessing the limits of US policy in Pakistan after the killing of bin Laden.
“It would weaken US intelligence capabilities, limit America’s ability to prevent conflict between India and Pakistan, and further complicate military operations in Afghanistan, end cooperation on finding terrorists, and eliminate engagement with Islamabad on the security of its nuclear weapons” he said.
Defending sending money to Islamabad even after bin Laden was found hiding in Pakistan, Lugar acknowledged that it had raised questions about Pakistan’s reliability as an ally, but cautioned that it is “a strategically vital country with which we must engage.”
Democratic Committee Chairman John Kerry too said that although he is “curious” about whether components of Pakistan’s military or intelligence services were involved in protecting bin Laden, the US should not rush to judgment that might ultimately hurt its national security.
“No matter what we learn about the events that preceded the killing of Osama bin Laden, we still have vital national security interests in this region, and we have worked hard to build a partnership with Pakistan, fragile and difficult and challenged as it may be at times,” Kerry said.
US Institute of Peace South Asia adviser Moeed Yusuf urged pragmatism and realism in US expectations for Pakistan. “Relations with Pakistan will never be ‘good’. But they are still necessary,” Yusuf said.
“There are things that money cannot buy. And in Pakistan’s case, it is their strategic mindset,” he said. “India-Pakistan normalisation is critical for Pakistan, but it is not our aid that is going to do the trick,” he said
US military and civilian aid to Pakistan has totalled about $20 billion during the past decade. After Monday’s raid many have questioned what the US is paying for.
–Agencies