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    February 25, 2012

US Ambassador Complains About Haqqani Havens

   VOA News
   U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker speaks during a press
   conference at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, December 10,
   2011.
   Photo: AP
   U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ryan Crocker (file photo)

   A prominent U.S. newspaper says the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan sent
   a top-secret cable to Washington last month warning that the existence
   of "enemy havens" in Pakistan was placing the success of the U.S.
   strategy in Afghanistan in jeopardy. The report says the message was so
   secretive that it was sent through CIA channels rather than the usual
   ones in the State Department.
   The Washington Post, citing unnamed officials, reported late Friday
   that Ryan Crocker wrote the cable that amounted to an admission that
   years of U.S. efforts to curtail militant activity in Pakistan by the
   Haqqani network were failing. The network is a key Taliban ally.
   The report says one official described the Pakistan militant
   sanctuaries as a "deal-killer" for the Afghan war strategy.
   The U.S. has long been frustrated with the insurgent havens in
   Pakistan. The relations between the two countries have further
   deteriorated since the U.S. raid last year in Pakistan that killed
   al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden who was residing in a Pakistani
   garrison town.
   The Washington Post says the contents of the cable could become
   "ammunition" for some senior military officials who favor more
   aggressive action by the U.S. against the Haqqani havens in Pakistan.
   The report says the cable could also support calls by senior military
   officials for a more gradual withdrawal of U.S. forces from
   Afghanistan. The U.S. plans to end combat operations in 2014 and hand
   security over to the Afghans.
   The U.S.-led coalition invaded Afghanistan in late 2001 to topple the
   hardline Islamists and to hunt for bin Laden after the September 11,
   2001, attacks against the United States.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP.