U.S. envoy praises Pakistan's campaign against militants

Richard Holbrooke says he sees a resolve on the part of the government and military, and also the populace, against Pakistani Taliban in the northwest.

By Alex Rodriguez
LA Times
June 6, 2009

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan — This war-ravaged nation has turned a corner and is now serious about crushing the Pakistani Taliban, U.S. special envoy Richard Holbrooke said Friday, yet the need is also growing for displaced Pakistanis to return home and rebuild their lives.

Ending a three-day visit to Pakistan, Holbrooke, the Obama administration's envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said he saw a population that fully grasps the gravity of the threat posed by Taliban militancy -- a dramatic shift, he said, from how people here previously viewed the issue.

And though the U.S. has criticized the military for lacking resolve in combating militants, Holbrooke said he was convinced that Pakistan's leaders and commanders were intent on completely eliminating Taliban fighters.

But Holbrooke said gains can be lasting only if Pakistan and the international community focus on the next crucial phase -- reconstruction -- so the estimated 3 million people displaced by the fighting can return safely to the lives they once led.

(More here.)