Military rift with Pakistan hurts war: Washington Times

Sara A. Carter

Two senior U.S. military officials say the U.S.-led war on terror is facing challenges in part because Pakistan's young military officers don't have the same relationship with their U.S. counterparts that their predecessors had.

In a recent interview with The Washington Times, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a top priority for the Pentagon is healing the longtime rift between the two militaries, which he said has deprived both nations of the trust needed to combat extremism.
"We don't know each other well enough, and us participating with them in their country is equally as important as them participating with us in our country," he said.

Army Maj. Gen. John M. Custer agreed. The commander of the U.S. Army Intelligence Center at Fort Huachuca, Ariz., he said U.S. forces are "dealing with guys who don't have any exposure to us."

"The older military leaders love us, they understand American culture, and they know we are not the enemy, but they are aging out of the force," he said.

Tensions with Pakistan's army go back long before the emergence of the Taliban and al Qaeda, both officers said.

"There's not a Pakistani junior officer that doesn't know who former Senator Pressler is, and there's not a junior officer in the U.S. military that knows who Senator Pressler is," Adm. Mullen said.

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