The US on Wednesday dismissed Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari’s view that US-backed coalition forces are losing the war in Afghanistan, saying actions taken in the last several months were keeping in mind the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama, who had earlier said progress was being made in Afghanistan, would not agree with Zardari’s conclusion.
“Well, I don't think the (US) President would agree with President Zardari’s conclusion that the war is lost. I haven't seen the interview. I don’t know why he’s come to that conclusion,” Gibbs told reporters.
In the interview to France-based daily newspaper Le Monde, Mr Zardari had said, “the international community, of which Pakistan is a part, is losing the war against the Taliban because we have lost the battle for hearts and minds.”
“Military reinforcements are only a small part of the response. To win the support of the Afghan population, you must bring economic development and prove you cannot only change their lives, but improve them,” Mr Zardari had said.
Mr Gibbs said that the actions and the efforts of the coalition forces, international and the US, taken over in the last several months “have very much the hearts and minds of the Afghan people at the forefront.”
“The Afghan people know of the brutality of Taliban, just as the Pakistani people on the actions that their extremist counterparts were taking in Pakistan in 2009, to move on the capital of Pakistan is why the country of Pakistan started to take more direct action against safe havens,” Mr Gibbs said.
“So I think that the hearts and minds of those in Afghanistan and Pakistan are obviously a key part of our strategy, as well as the hearts and the minds of the extremists that seek to do Afghans or Pakistanis harm,” he said.
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley also dismissed Zardari’s remarks, saying “As our military leaders have made clear, we have not yet won, but I don’t think that I would characterise that we are losing.”
“We are determined to work as hard as we can for as long as it takes to succeed, not just in one part of the world, but obviously, we are concerned that some of these elements are linked to global networks, and this is not just a struggle in South Asia,” he said.
Mr Gibbs also said that Pakistan “unquestionably” needed to do more to combat terrorists operating from its soil.
“If you look at the progress that we have made with Pakistan on safe havens, on confronting terrorists, I think that is a record that they and we can be proud of,” he said.
“Does more have to be done? Unquestionable.
“We have tough work ahead in Pakistan and in Afghanistan. And together with our partners, we’ll make progress,” Gibbs said.
He was asked about the questionable role of Pakistan in the war against terrorism as revealed by the release of thousands of classified documents by WikiLeaks last week.
The leaked documents suggested that Pakistan’s spy agency ISI continues to play a role in supporting Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan, even as the US continues to route billions of dollars in funds to Islamabad in the war against terror.