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Summary
The US asked Pakistan that more aggressive efforts are needed against terrorists safe havens located in Pakistans tribal belt, that are home to groups like the Pakistani Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the failed bombing of Times Square on Saturday. The Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morell, however added the pace of such operations must be determined by the Pakistani government. Morrell said the United States would not be putting pressure on Pakistan to do more to fight terrorist groups, but he said more needs to be done. Clearly, there are safe havens that are yet to be fully targeted -- as aggressively targeted as can be, as need be. But the pace and the timing and the schedule to undertake those operations is of the Pakistanis' choosing, he said. Morrell said Pakistan has been reluctant to try to do more than its military can handle at one time, preferring to consolidate gains before moving into new areas along its northwestern frontier with Afghanistan. He praised Pakistan, as US officials have done frequently, for recognizing and beginning to deal with the terrorist groups in recent years. There has been through repeated operations an attrition of the leadership. There has been clearly a disruption of operations that were in the works there. And so they are clearly making real and dramatic progress against this shared enemy, said Morrell.
