Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

US offers Pakistan enhanced military, economic support

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad,Nov 30 ,IRNA -- US President Barack Obama has offered Pakistan an expanded strategic partnership, including additional military and economic cooperation, The Washington Post reported Monday.

The newspaper said the offer, including an effort to help reduce tensions between Pakistan and India, was contained in a two-page letter delivered to President Asif Ali Zardari this month by Obama's National Security Adviser James Jones.

The Washington Post reported that the US would also increase its military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan and that it does not plan an early withdrawal.

It was accompanied by assurances from Jones that the United States will increase its military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan and that it plans no early withdrawal, the report said.

The long-term consequences of failure there, the review concluded, far outweigh those in Afghanistan , according to The Post.

"We can't succeed without Pakistan ," the paper quotes a senior administration official as saying. "You have to differentiate between public statements and reality. There is nobody who is under any illusions about this."

This official and others emphasized that without "changing the nature of U.S.-Pakistan relations in a new direction, you're not going to win in Afghanistan ," The Post said.

"And if you don't win in Afghanistan , then Pakistan will automatically be imperiled, and that will make Afghanistan look like child's play," the paper quotes the official as saying.

US offers, outlined during Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's October visit to Islamabad , center on a far more comprehensive and long-term bilateral relationship, the report noted.

It would feature enhanced development and trade assistance, improved intelligence collaboration and a more secure and upgraded military equipment pipeline, more public praise and less public criticism of Pakistan, and an initiative to build greater regional cooperation among Pakistan, India and Afghanistan, the paper pointed out.