Tierney briefs press from Pakistan

PEABODY – The hills are alive with Taliban.That’s the word from U.S. Rep. John F. Tierney, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, who briefed the press on the situation in Pakistan during a conference call Friday from Islamabad.According to Tierney, who was joined on the trip by Congressional colleagues from New York, Minnesota, Wyoming and Virginia, the new government is taking hold as the country adjusts to the administration of Prime Minister Yousuf Raz Gilani, sworn into office on Wednesday.Gilani will share power in a land accustomed to the military regime of President Pervez Musharraf, who seized control in a 1999 coup and served as army chief and de facto prime minister as well.”We support the idea of a strong legislature and strong judiciary,” said Tierney, adding that many Pakistanis perceive that the administration of U.S. President George Bush put all of its resources behind Musharraf. “People thought they should have had more free and fair elections, more democracy.”Tierney said the congressional delegation met many of the new government representatives and were hospitably received, unlike U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher who earlier this week were met with chill.The congressman was quick to differentiate his visit from that of the administration officials. “We had been there before,” he said. “We had a totally different reception here.”The Dawn newspaper in Islamabad on Thursday described the arrival of Negroponte and Boucher in Pakistan as being in “indecent haste,” opining that Washington should have allowed the new government time to settle in.Speaking on the military presence and overall security in Pakistan, Tierney said the Taliban isn’t simply an easily-labeled and identified group of insurgents, but a widespread organization that encompasses many factions, some hostile, some not, a few at odds with the others.”Certainly there is more than one Taliban here. Some are not associated with al-Qaida,” he said, explaining that many factions are angry with the government due to ongoing family disputes or unresolved grievances.Tierney said military blunders were made when the U.S. failed to defeat Taliban insurgents on open ground and instead allowed them to take shelter in the mountains on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.On Friday, the U.S. launched missiles into those mountains from airborne drones, causing additional unrest amid the new Pakistani government. Tierney acknowledged that previous air strikes in Pakistan were conducted with inaccurate intelligence and resulted in collateral damage.The new government in Pakistan represents an opportunity for the U.S. to demonstrate its leadership, not only with counter-terrorism strategies, but also through assisting with local law enforcement training and building roads and schools, Tierney said.