. Military Space News .




.
THE STANS
Air strike was not deliberate attack on Pakistan: US
by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Nov 30, 2011


The Pentagon insisted Wednesday that a NATO air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers near the Afghan border was in no way a deliberate US attack on Pakistan.

The incident over the weekend infuriated Islamabad, with Pakistani officials saying the air strike was unprovoked and possibly a premeditated act of aggression.

But Pentagon officials said a military investigation would uncover exactly what took place on Saturday along the Afghan-Pakistani border and maintained that the United States had not set out to kill Pakistani troops.

"Whatever happened over the weekend on the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan was a tragedy. We've expressed regret for it as well as condolences for the loss of life.

"In no way, shape or form can this be construed as an intentional attack on Pakistan by the United States," US Defense Department spokesman George Little told reporters.

"That is simply incorrect."

The precise sequence of events surrounding the incident remain in dispute. While Islamabad says there was no provocation to justify firing on two Pakistani outposts, Afghan and Western officials have reportedly accused Pakistani forces of firing first.

US military officers have previously accused the Pakistani military of turning a blind eye to cross-border rocket attacks by Haqqani insurgents who have target American troops from positions near Pakistan's Frontier Corps posts.

On Tuesday, Pakistani Major General Ishfaq Nadeem briefed local journalists on the air strikes, saying the air assault was spread over a period of two hours despite Pakistani protests to the Americans.

In the aftermath of Saturday's strike, Pakistan has refused to attend a conference in Bonn designed to lay the ground for an eventual peace settlement in Afghanistan.

Pentagon spokesman Captain John Kirby acknowledged that relations between Pakistan and the United States faced unprecedented difficulties but that Washington was determined to shore up the uneasy partnership.

"Everybody recognizes how tough the situation is right now. The relationship is going through a very difficult period," Kirby told reporters.

"But I also can tell you that everybody on the US side, particularly the military and this department... is committed to having a good, strong, strategic relationship with Pakistan that's productive for both sides.

"That's hard, that's very hard to do."

Related Links
News From Across The Stans




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries






.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



THE STANS
ISAF to retrain troops on civilian casualties: Kabul
Kabul (AFP) Nov 29, 2011
NATO's US-led force in Afghanistan will retrain its troops by December 5 on how to avoid civilian casualties following fresh deaths, President Hamid Karzai's office said Tuesday. The move comes with NATO already facing uncomfortable fallout after an air strike killed 24 Pakistani troops near the Afghan border on Saturday. Karzai's office quoted a letter from force commander US General Jo ... read more


THE STANS
Turkey conveys concerns to Iran over missile shield threat

Medvedev threatens missile deployment on EU borders

Boeing and Northrop Grumman GMD Team Statement on Competitive Missile Defense Contract

Iran 'builds own missile defense system'

THE STANS
Russia delivers missiles to Syria: report

MEADS Conducts First Flight Test At White Sands Missile Range

General killed in Iran blast 'was working on missiles'

Arms blast death toll rises to at least 36: Iran media

THE STANS
Schiebel's unmanned helo proves its worth

Indra Makes In Cadiz A Flight Demonstration Of Its Unmanned Aircrafts Pelicano And Mantis

Argus One UAV Completes Flight Testing With New Pod Bay and Propulsion System

Kratos on Winning Team to Provide Army Unmanned Aerial System Technical Support

THE STANS
Northrop Grumman Awarded Microscale Power Conversion Contract

Raytheon First to Successfully Test With On-Orbit AEHF Satellite

Lockheed Martin AMF JTRS Team Demonstrates Communications and Tactical Data Sharing At Army Exercise

Boeing Ships WGS-4 to Cape Canaveral for January Launch

THE STANS
British receive CH-47 MK4 training

Northrop Grumman Delivers Electronic Warfare Test and Measurement Systems To Turkey

Raytheon eyes Korean F-16 radar upgrades

Saab 'proud and delighted' over Swiss choice of Gripen

THE STANS
Germany now major Mideast arms supplier

Austerity endangers Europe's military ambitions

Japan firm raided over tech exports to China: reports

Contest for $1 billion jet deal heats up

THE STANS
Outside View: Buck up, America!

Hillary Clinton in historic bid to open Myanmar

Clinton on historic Myanmar visit

China urges end to Myanmar sanctions

THE STANS
Rheinmetall demonstrates laser weapons

LockMart Directed Energy Leader Receives Purdue's Outstanding Aerospace Engineer Award


.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2011 - Space Media Network. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement