I have been Pakistan’s best friend: Mike Mullen

In an interview conducted by The Wall Street Journal, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen explained what prompted him to review his outlook on Pakistan, and how his “partnership approach” had “fallen short and would be difficult to revive”.
“I am losing people, and I am just not going to stand for that,” Mullen told WSJ. “I have been Pakistan’s best friend. What does it say when I am at that point? What does it say about where we are?”
The report said that while Mullen earlier believed Pakistan was serious in its commitment to battle terrorism, the attack on the US embassy in Kabul on September 13 was a turning point. Mullen blamed Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for collaborating with the Haqqani network, the militant group the US blames for the Kabul attack. However, he believes that while the ISI may not control details of Haqqani’s operations, it provides the group “strategic support”.
“It is very clear they (Pakistan) have supported them,” Mullen said in the interview. “I don’t think the Haqqanis can be turned on and off like a light switch. But there are steps that could be taken to impact the Haqqanis over time.”
Mullen also said that earlier on he had worked on a plan with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Pervez Kayani to launch an offensive in North Waziristan which Mullen believed would take away a “key haven” from the Haqqani group. He said he was disappointed when the operation did not materialize, and in the events that followed, he refrained from his practice of limiting public criticism of Pakistan.
On September 22, Mullen bluntly said he believes the Haqqani network acts as a “veritable arm of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Agency”. He went on to say that the Pakistani government, army and intelligence agency jeopardize the Pak-US partnership in the war on terror by “choosing to use violent extremism as an instrument of policy”.
Pakistan has condemned these allegations, maintaining that it is committed to fighting the war on terror as it has been the greatest victim of militancy.