McChrystal in ‘damage control’ mode after US’ ‘tough line’ with Pak post NY plot

WASHINGTON - General Stanley McChrystal, the top US Commander in Afghanistan, has rubbished media reports that soon after the failed Times Square bombing he met Pakistan Army Chief General Parvez Kayani in Islamabad and asked him to launch a military offensive in North Waziristan.

“Yes, there was an unfortunate news story that came out that was completely inaccurate that represented that I had expressed to General Kayani US policy on doing more, and that just didn’t happen,” said General McChrystal, who commands US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.

“It was a one-on-one meeting and it did not occur. And I’d made it clear to Gen Kayani that I did not represent it that way,” he explained during a White House briefing.

Speaking during the briefing on Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai’s visit to Washington, White House’ Press Secretary Robert Gibbs tried to tone down the tension between the US and Pakistan, which has seen the Obama Administration openly warning Islamabad over its lack of action against extremists flourishing on its soil.

Commenting on Secretary of States Hillary Clinton’s stern warning to Pakistan that it would have to face “very severe consequences” if militants succeeded in attacking the US, Gibbs said the Pakistan government was also aware about the threat posed by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is widely believed to have trained and assisted Faisal Shahzad, the confessed Times Square bomber.

“The Pakistani government recognises the threat that Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan poses to them, just as we recognise the threat it poses to us,” The Dawn quoted Gibbs, as saying.

“I think there is, without a doubt, an alignment of interest in understanding where that threat is and what it poses,” he added, while denying reports of any confrontation between US and Pakistan. (ANI)