Hillary Clinton... sometimes described as the Smartest Woman in the World and at other times as Mrs. Bill, never as
Another Dean Acheson...
on Thursday renewed her call on Pakistain to close safe havens for cut-thoats, saying the uneasy partner must be "unequivocal" in its approach.
Testifying before Congress after a trip to the region, Clinton said she delivered a "frank" message to Pakistain that it was urgent to act against the cut-thoat Haqqani network, which she blamed for anti-US attacks in Afghanistan.
"I explained that trying to distinguish between so-called good gun-hung tough guys and bad gun-hung tough guys is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous," Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"No one who targets innocent civilians of any nationality should be tolerated or protected.
"We look to Pakistain to encourage the Taliban and other beturbanned goons to participate in an Afghan grinding of the peace processor in good faith, both through unequivocal public statements and by closing off the safe havens," she added.
Clinton used unusually strong language on last week's trip, saying that US tolerance has worn thin after indications that the Haqqani network is targeting Americans, including through a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul.
The top US diplomat supported the assessment of the outgoing US military chief, Admiral Mike Mullen, who last month said that the Haqqani network was a "veritable arm" of Pakistain's Inter-Services Intelligence.
During Clinton's visit, Pakistain's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that both her country and Afghanistan can do more against snuffies but denied any official support for the Haqqani network.
Pakistain, once the primary backer of Afghanistan's Taliban regime, switched sides to join the United States in its military campaign after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
But the partnership has been unpopular with the Pak public and US officials say that official elements, perhaps acting outside the control of the civilian government, have maintained support to cut-thoats.US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday renewed her call on Pakistain to close safe havens for cut-thoats, saying the uneasy partner must be "unequivocal" in its approach.
Testifying before Congress after a trip to the region, Clinton said she delivered a "frank" message to Pakistain that it was urgent to act against the cut-thoat Haqqani network, which she blamed for anti-US attacks in Afghanistan.
"I explained that trying to distinguish between so-called good gun-hung tough guys and bad gun-hung tough guys is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous," Clinton told the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
"No one who targets innocent civilians of any nationality should be tolerated or protected.
"We look to Pakistain to encourage the Taliban and other beturbanned goons to participate in an Afghan grinding of the peace processor in good faith, both through unequivocal public statements and by closing off the safe havens," she added.
Clinton used unusually strong language on last week's trip, saying that US tolerance has worn thin after indications that the Haqqani network is targeting Americans, including through a 19-hour siege of the US embassy in Kabul.
During Clinton's visit, Pakistain's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said that both her country and Afghanistan can do more against snuffies but denied any official support for the Haqqani network.
"No, no! Certainly not!"