Kerry: U.S. Cannot Ignore Pakistan In War Policy

WASHINGTON — Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry says what happens in Pakistan is as critical to American success in South Asia as what happens on the ground in Afghanistan.

Kerry said “it would be a mistake in Pakistan or anywhere to believe” that President Obama’s statement about drawing down forces by mid-2011 in Afghanistan means the United States would be withdrawing from the region.

Speaking at the start of a hearing on the addition of 30,000 U.S. troops to the war in Afghanistan, the Massachusetts Democrat said the “interconnected forces” aligned against the U.S. “do not stop at the Pakistan border, so our efforts can’t stop there either.” The panel was to hear from Gen. David Petraeus.