General: Militants flow into Pakistan
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan - The top U.S. general in eastern Afghanistan said Friday he is seeing "some very interesting movement" of insurgents across the border into Pakistan this spring, possibly to join Taliban militants battling government troops.
Fighters from both nations have long moved back and forth across the porous frontier, a mountainous region that has been a sanctuary for both al-Qaida and the Taliban.
But Maj. Gen. Jeffrey Schloesser's remarks in an interview with The Associated Press suggest a larger transfer into Pakistan than has been seen previously, as the fighting between Pakistan's troops and the Taliban has intensified.
There has been concern in Islamabad and Washington that the buildup of 21,000 additional U.S. forces in Afghanistan may push Taliban militants into Pakistan, further destabilizing the border region there. The Obama administration has declared eliminating militant havens in Pakistan vital to its goals of defeating al-Qaida and winning the war in Afghanistan.
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