U.S. training Pakistani forces to fight Taliban

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Legacy of U.S. training Pakistanis
U.S. forces already trained Pakistan's Special Services Group, a commando unit that crushed militants holding Islamabad's Red Mosque last year. Washington also has supplied the helicopter gunships that are seeing heavy use in army offensives in several Pakistani border regions.

But with the war dragging in Afghanistan, U.S. lawmakers and commentators have questioned why Pakistan still seems unable to eradicate militant sanctuaries on its side of the border.

"This thought has come pretty late in the day," Rasul Bakhsh Rais, a professor of political sciences, said of Pakistan's decision to let the trainers in. "But still I don't think it is too late, given the fact that this is going to be a very long war."

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With many Pakistanis accusing their army of fighting a proxy war against its own citizens at Washington's behest, U.S. officials have said Pakistan was reluctant to accept foreign training, but softened its stance in the light of mounting losses.

Musharraf, who was forced out of office earlier this year, announced a plan in 2007 to build up the Frontier Corps so it could confront Taliban fighters.

At the time, its troops had no body armor, few vehicles and an arsenal of only aging rifles. With U.S. help, the corps has received several more battalions, been armed with tanks and artillery and is now heavily involved in fighting in the Bajur and Swat areas.

American officials have said they are also supplying equipment such as helmets, flak vests and night-vision goggles.

Training the trainers
"The hope is that the more trainers we train, the more effective they will be in training their forces and the more capable forces will then be able to take the fight to the militants in the tribal areas where they operate," Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said.

The training program has begun despite strains in Pakistani-U.S. relations.

Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, who replaced Musharraf as army chief, and the former leader's successor as president, Asif Ali Zardari, have maintained close ties with Washington. But they have condemned the recent U.S. missile strikes, the latest of which killed nine people Thursday.

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Cooperation has also been chilled by an incident in June when U.S. warplanes killed 11 Frontier Corps troopers at a border post. U.S. officials said the action during a skirmish with militants was justified. Pakistan's army insists no shots were fired from the post.

U.S. officials suspect some Frontier Corps troops sympathize with the Taliban and ignore militants sneaking though mountain passes into Afghanistan to attack U.S. and NATO troops.

Pakistani officials agree the corps has problems, but analysts say a better trained force is more likely to have the confidence to take on the militants. American officials also hope it will become a better partner for cross-border cooperation.

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