Musharraf meets US Defence Secretary Gates скачать в хорошем качестве

Musharraf meets US Defence Secretary Gates

(12 Feb 2007) 1. Wide of Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf in meeting with US Defence Secretary Robert Gates 2. Pan from mid of Gates to mid of Musharraf 3. Wide of meeting 4. Gates walking into news conference 5. Reporters 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Robert Gates, US Defence Secretary: "We talked about the importance of seizing the offensive this spring to deal the Taliban and al-Qaida a strategic setback. I congratulated him on his efforts to strengthen modern Islam and encouraged him to continue those efforts and that the United States thought this was a significant contribution." 7. Reporters 8. Wide of Gates at podium 9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Robert Gates, US Defence Secretary: "After the Soviets left, the United States made a mistake. We neglected Afghanistan and extremism took control of that country and the United States paid a price for that on September 11, 2001. We wont make that mistake again. We are here for the long haul." 10. Various of Gates leaving 11. Gates climbing aboard plane STORYLINE: US Defence Secretary Robert Gates sought Pakistan's support on Monday to prevent an expected Taliban spring offensive in neighbouring Afghanistan, saying the allies had the chance to deal a "strategic setback" to the militants. Gates, on his first visit to Pakistan since becoming Pentagon chief, said he had discussed with President General Pervez Musharraf and US commanders in Afghanistan how to increase pressure on insurgents on both sides of the frontier. "We talked about the importance of seizing the offensive this spring to deal Taliban and al-Qaida a strategic setback," Gates told reporters at an air base near the capital Islamabad after the talks with the Pakistani leader. Gates described Pakistan as a "very strong ally" of the United States in its war on terrorism. 2006 saw the deadliest upsurge in violence in neighbouring Afghanistan since the hard-line regime's ouster five years ago. Pakistan has faced repeated claims that the Taliban militia stage attacks from its border regions against Afghan government, NATO- and US-led coalition troops. Taliban fighters are again expected to step up attacks when warmer weather melts snow in the mountain passes used by the insurgents infiltrating from Pakistan in what could prove a critical year in the Western-backed mission to build a stable democracy in Afghanistan. Gates said he hoped to play a constructive role in improving the relationship between Musharraf and the Afghan government, ties frayed by the cross-border violence. Pakistan insists it is doing all it can to stop cross-border militancy, and has deployed about 80-thousand troops along its rugged border with Afghanistan. But the US military says the use of Pakistan's largely ungoverned Waziristan area as a haven for Taliban and al-Qaida fighters has worsened since Pakistan put in place a peace agreement there with tribal leaders in September. American forces in eastern Afghanistan have launched artillery rounds into Pakistan to strike Taliban fighters who attack remote US outposts, the commander of US forces in the region said. Gates said Musharraf had acknowledged there were problems with the Waziristan agreement and they had discussed ways to enforce it better. Asked about the artillery fire, Gates said: "Our operations are coordinated with the Pakistanis." Such firing across the border is a sensitive issue in Pakistan, where opposition to Musharraf's support of the Bush administration's war on terror runs high. There have since been a series of bombings and suicide attacks, including at an Islamabad hotel and its airport. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...