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Gold9472
01-24-2006, 07:54 PM
Pakistan PM Discusses Airstrike With Bush

http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/ap/2006/01/24/ap2473048.html

By FOSTER KLUG , 01.24.2006, 02:51 PM

President Bush said Tuesday that the United States and Pakistan are working closely to defeat terrorism, but he did not comment on the deadly U.S. airstrikes that have strained relations between the two countries.

Later in the day, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told The Associated Press that he raised concerns with the president during their Oval Office meeting about a Jan. 13 missle attack aimed at an al-Qaida leader that instead killed at least 13 civilians.

"The relationship with Pakistan is a vital relationship for the United States," Bush said. "I want to thank the prime minister and thank the president for working closely with us on a variety of issues. We're working closely to defeat the terrorists that would likely to harm America and harm Pakistan."

Bush announced that he would visit Pakistan and India in March.

Bush has not said anything about the missile strike in a remote area near the Afghan border, which the Americans say was aimed at Osama bin Laden's second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahri. He did not take questions when appearing before reporters at the end of their private meeting and ignored shouted inquiries about whether they had discussed the attack.

Aziz said he and Bush agreed that better communication between the allies was necessary, though they didn't agree on specifics.

"We leave it to our officials," he said, adding that representatives of the United States, Afghanistan and Pakistan would discuss the attack at a meeting in the next few days.

"That's the appropriate forum to discuss those issues."

Aziz thanked Bush for assistance that the United States gave to Pakistan after October's earthquake that killed over 80,000 people. He said the area around Pakistan has a lot of challenges, and the country is pursuing peace with its neighbors.

"We want to see a strong stable Afghanistan," he said.

Aziz has condemned the strike near the Afghan-Pakistani border, saying the United States failed to notify Islamabad beforehand. But during a speech Monday at the Heritage Foundation, Aziz played down deteriorating relations, calling America "our friend and ally."

"Whenever our relations have declined, both countries have paid a price," he told an audience at the conservative think tank. "The stability of the region demands a ... constructive, long-term relationship between our two countries."

The missile strike has infuriated many Pakistanis. It appears to have stoked support in some areas for the al-Qaida terror group, the leaders of which, including bin Laden, are thought to be hunkered down along the Pakistani-Afghan frontier.

Although the attack failed to get al-Zawahri, Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said Tuesday there were indications that al-Qaida members were killed.

Bin Laden issued a new threat of attacks in the United States in a videotaped message released last week.

Analysts have said the airstrike also undermined the goodwill cultivated in Pakistan by generous U.S. relief in the wake of October's earthquake that killed over 80,000 people.

Anti-American rallies in Pakistan are entering their second week.