US joint chief of staff Mike Mullen visits Kabul

(31 Jul 2011)
1. Various of Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, approaching soldiers
2. Close of photographer
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Admiral Mike Mullen,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
"Pakistan still is home to many many terrorists. They are home to the headquarters of al Qaeda who still is an organisation that plots to kill as many Americans as they possibly can. It is home to other terrorist organisations like LET (Lashkar-e-Taiba), obviously the Haqqani network and clearly those who live in Quetta to come here essentially with the goal of overturning the government of Afghanistan."
4. Cutaway reporters
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:
"We''ve been in discussion with President Karzai and his leaders for some time now in terms of this strategic partnership and the specific agreement. That we haven''t reached agreement yet, from my perspective, is no surprise. This is pretty common when we get into any kind of agreements with many countries. It takes time. It takes hard negotiation. It takes a very clear understanding of what the issues are on both sides and that work is ongoing."
6. Close of photographer
7. Wide of news conference
STORYLINE
After a second day of touring Afghanistan, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mullen, issued another warning that Islamabad must step up its efforts to root out militants.
"Pakistan still is home to many many terrorists. They are home to the headquarters of al Qaeda who still is an organisation that plots to kill as many Americans as they possibly can," Mullen said.
US officials have been pressing Pakistan to go after Haqqani militants and other fighters who routinely launch attacks into Afghanistan from Pakistan.
But relations with Islamabad have frayed, particularly after the US raid in May that killed al-Qaida terror network leader Osama bin Laden.
Mullen also spoke about discussions between the US and Afghanistan regarding their strategic partnership which he said had been ongoing "for some time."
"That we haven''t reached agreement yet, from my perspective, is no surprise. This is pretty common when we get into any kind of agreements with many countries. It takes time. It takes hard negotiation. It takes a very clear understanding of what the issues are on both sides and that work is ongoing," Mullen added.
Mullen, who arrived on Friday in Afghanistan, met on Saturday with commanders in southern Afghanistan.
On Sunday morning, he visited a base outside Kandahar.
He said that so far commanders are saying they are seeing some signs of improved security, but his comments came amid a series of spectacular deadly attacks across the south, including a bombing Sunday outside the main gate of the police headquarters in the southern Afghan city of Lashkar Gah.
The suicide bomber killed at least 11 people in a city where Afghans had only recently taken control of security.

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