WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- The Pakistani military is cracking down on tribal sheiks along the border with Afghanistan who are believed to be harboring al-Qaida terrorists, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan told reporters Tuesday.
"The Pakistani conventional military had never gone into the tribal areas in the history of Pakistan until this last year," said Army Lt. Gen. David Barno. "So they are confronting the tribal elders and making them be accountable for the behavior in their area. That's a traditional approach that has not been used till now in that particular part of Pakistan."
Tribal sheiks who do not comply could face "destruction of homes and things of that nature in some of the reports I've seen," Barno said.
The lawless and largely Pashtun region of Pakistan is suspected to be the new operating base for al-Qaida, which along with Taliban forces and fighters associated with renegade Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, continues to mount attacks against the Afghan government and people.
Barno took over the mission four months ago and has instituted monthly coordinating meetings with the Pakistani military. Two subcommittees meet monthly to coordinate border and intelligence issues.
"I've seen some very positive developments from Pakistan, and I'm going to continue to encourage them to do more in those areas," he said.
Barno said the Pakistani military is carrying out all operations on its side of the border, but as it drive out al-Qaida, U.S. and Afghan forces are waiting on the other side, an approach he likened to a "hammer and anvil."
U.S. military and civilian officials in Iraq last month intercepted a courier carrying a 17-page letter they say was written by Abu Musaab al Zarkawi, a convicted Jordanian terrorist. It was allegedly intended for his al-Qaida contacts in the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Barno said he has not yet seen an operational connection between terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the insurgents in Iraq.
"We're continuing to be watchful in terms of any movement of these elements back and forth. But I don't think there are strong indicators that I've been able to see in that regard yet. But we do see what we would believe, at least preliminarily, to be connections in terms of them trading off lessons learned, and tactics and things of that nature," Barno said.
He said there are growing similarities between the two group's ambush tactics and some of their improvised explosive devices.
Barno said Afghanistan's security problem is three-fold: the ousted Taliban in the south-central region particularly Kandahar; al-Qaida in the Paktia/Paktika and Khost areas on the eastern side; and Hekmatyar's operation.
Barno has adopted a new holistic approach to combating the opposition, beginning in Kandahar.
Key to the approach is a change in American military tactics to a classic counterinsurgency operation. Military units have tended to deploy to different regions, carry out discreet operations, then return to their home base to prepare for the next mission. Now, Barno said, battalions, companies and sometimes even platoons are being permanently assigned responsibility for regions where they work with local populations on a longer-term basis.
"And the units, then, ultimately get great depth of knowledge, understanding, and much better intelligence access to the local people in those areas by "owning," as it were, those chunks of territory. That's a fairly significant change in terms of our tactical approach out there on the ground," Barno said.
He said Taliban fighters are changing their tactics as well.
"Where last summer we would encounter hundreds of Taliban in the field and other terrorists in large groups -- and as a result of their contacts with us, they found that that was a non-habit-forming way to encounter coalition forces -- they were destroyed in large numbers. So they have adapted their tactics, based on that," Barno said.
At the same time the military focuses its efforts in Kandahar, Barno is stepping up coordination between the various aid and international groups at work there to deepen their impact.
Until now, U.S. forces and Afghanistan's fledgling government have tried to coordinate reconstruction and security efforts from Kabul, the capital. Now, Barno has created something called "reconstruction development zones," which will allow various aid groups, international organizations like the United Nations, and security forces from the U.S. military and the Afghan police and army to coordinate with each other.
The U.S. military, as well as NATO, the United Kingdom and New Zealand have deployed 11 "provincial reconstruction teams" across Afghanistan. The teams comprise 60 to 100 personnel with expertise in food and medical care, engineering, psychological operations, force protection and development. A 12th team will be deployed this month and at least four more are planned by summer, Barno said.
"We now have Afghan national police being delivered down there (to Kandahar), Afghan National Army arriving. We have a significant military presence. We have all these things coming together in a natural nexus in that part of the country...and the initial results of that I think have been very promising. We're hoping to take those lessons on down the road into other parts of the country," Barno said.
"This combination of PRTs, Regional Development Zones, and sustained presence in areas by our combat forces will present terrorist organizations with an impossible situation, one where they cannot demonstrate any viable alternative of value to the Afghan people," Barno predicted.
He also backed off an earlier prediction that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Omar would be captured this year.
"Clearly there are no certainties in the war-fighting business out here, and clearly the delivery and the bringing to justice of the senior leadership of these organizations remains a top priority, Barno said. "We're very committed to that effort ... But again, I would tell you, as we all fully understand, there's no 100 percent certainties out there."
