US will not consult Pakistan on bombing insurgents: CIA boss

Brennan says air strikes against militants will continue without consulting any world leaders

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan on Thursday said that the next US president will continue to support air strikes against militants without consulting any world leaders, including Pakistani leaders.

Speaking to participants at the Brookings Institute in Washington, Brennan said that air strikes were key to repressing insurgents on the battlefields. He said the killing of former Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour was an intentional decision.

The CIA chief also said the Taliban and their brutal offshoot, the Haqqani network, continue to wage war in Afghanistan. “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 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 Brennan.

Meanwhile, a powerful US senator John McCain, in interview with Voice of America (VOA), said that the Haqqani network was still active in Pakistan.

Senator McCain said that Pakistan must not be isolated, adding that such a step would 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.

Agreeing with US officials, Jens Stoltenberg, the chief of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), reiterated that the west would 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 we are in Afghanistan is to fight international terrorism and to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for international terrorists once again. We have also decided to step up our support for Iraq,” NATO chief Stoltenberg said.