CIA director John Brennan Thursday said that the next US president will continue to support air strikes against militants without consulting any world leaders, including Pakistani leaders.
He said that the Taliban and its brutal offshoot, the Haqqani network, continue to wage war in Afghanistan.
Speaking to participants at the Brookings Institute in Washington, Brennan said that the air strikes were key to repressing the insurgents on the battlefields. He added that the killing of former Taliban leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansour, was an intentional decision.
“The Taliban, in particular, its sub-group, the Haqqanis, have been determined and continue to carry out attacks. They at times are also successful against US personnel inside of Afghanistan. The president (Barack Obama) has emphasised many times that he is going to do what was necessary to protect the security of the Americans both here and abroad, and so the decision was made,” said CIA chief Brennan.
Meanwhile, a US powerful senator John McCain, in the interview with Voice of America (VOA), has said that the Haqqani network is still active in Pakistan.
Agreeing with the US officials, Jens Stoltenberg, the chief of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), has reiterated that the west will not allow Afghanistan to be changed into a terrorist hideout once again.
“Our military mission in Afghanistan is our biggest military operation ever. The reason why we are in Afghanistan is to fight international terrorism and to prevent that Afghanistan once again becoming a safe haven for international terrorists. We also decided to step up our support for Iraq,” NATO chief Stoltenberg said.
Senator McCain said that Pakistan must not be isolated. That such a step will encourage China to help Pakistan.
“I think it is very obvious that the Haqqani network is still operating effectively and it has created major problems for Afghanistan,” said McCain.
