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Gates to build trust with Pakistan military

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

By Sadia Ali

US Defense Secretary Robert Gates noted a ‘trust deficit’ between the United States and Pakistan and pitched a close military relationship between the two countries to overcome the problem.

Addressing at the Pakistan National Defense University, Gates noted the far-ranging strategic relationship between the United States and Pakistan, but focused his remarks on the two countries’ military relationship – one he conceded the United States mistakenly cut off in the early 1990s due to short-sighted U.S. legislative and policy decisions.

“Perhaps the greatest consequence of these choices was the severing of military-to-military relations,” he said.

The result, he said, was a “very real and very understandable trust deficit – one that has made it more difficult for us to work together to confront a common threat of extremism.”

The United States is ready to invest “whatever time and energy is takes” to change that, he said, and forge a genuine, lasting partnership with Pakistan.

Rebuilding relationships with this current generation of Pakistani officers will take years rather than months, he said, and require openness, transparency and continuous engagement on both sides.

“You cannot rebuild trust through a speech or rhetoric,” but rather, through actions, Gates told Pakistani print journalists earlier today.

The two militaries have a lot to learn from each other, Gates told the officers. They’re already starting the process through expanded joint training exercises, and operationally, as they cooperatively deal with extremism along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan.

The troop surge in Afghanistan is intended to put more pressure on the Taliban and reverse what Gates conceded is a “deteriorating security situation” there. He acknowledged concern within Pakistan that the increased U.S. presence will lead to more attacks there.

But confronting the terrorist syndicate that threatens the region requires pressuring all the associated groups on both sides of the border.

This reality, he told the military officers, will require Pakistan’s military to do even more in the coming years.

One important way to share capabilities is through solid military-to-military ties, Gates said.

These will strengthen the other elements of the two countries’ broad strategic relationship, he said, providing a foundation on which to “renew, reinforce and strengthen the bonds of trust between our people and our nations.”

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