Commander: US Can't Seal Afghan-Pakistan Border

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Commander: US Can't Seal Afghan-Pakistan Border
ANNE FLAHERTY | 12/28/10 09:34 PM | AP

WASHINGTON — There's no practical way for U.S. troops to seal Afghanistan's vast border with Pakistan and stop all Taliban fighters from slipping through, so they are focusing on defending vulnerable towns and fighting insurgents on Afghan soil, a U.S. military commander said Tuesday.

Army Col. Viet Luong said that "to secure the border in the traditional sense" would "take an inordinate amount of resources." He said it also would require far more cooperation from the tribes inside Pakistan who often provide Taliban fighters safe passage.

Other senior U.S. military officials have said they hope the Pakistan military does more to shut down Taliban hideouts. But the U.S. has denied reports that American forces are pushing to expand special operations raids inside Pakistan's tribal areas to target militants.

"It's naive to say that we can stop . . . forces coming through the border," said Luong, who oversees troops in a part of eastern Afghanistan that includes the volatile Khost province and 162 miles of border.

Instead, Luong said, he is choosing to fight insurgents outside Afghan villages where they are more vulnerable anyway.