ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) -
In the troubled region surrounding Iraq, a frequent question posed to the top U.S. military officer visiting the area was not when his troops will pull out of Iraq, but how long they will stay.
From the glittery King's palace in Saudi Arabia to the devastated slopes of the Pakistani mountainside and a staid Turkish symposium, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sought last week to ease concerns about whether opposition to the war at home could pressure American forces to leave Iraq before it is stable.
"I think it's fair to say that in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, there is a clear desire for the U.S. to stay with it until the job is done - which, coincidentally, is how we look at it," Pace said Sunday as he left Istanbul for Washington.
snip and spin...
The Saudis, meanwhile, are concerned that sectarian violence in Iraq will bleed into Saudi Arabia, and that a weakened Iraq will allow Iran to gain a foothold there, said Rachel Bronson, a Middle East specialist at the Council on Foreign Relations.
In Pakistan, there are ongoing efforts to ferret out terrorists traveling back and forth across the mountainous Afghan border, where some believe Osama bin Laden may be hiding and directing his al-Qaida network.
more...
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-me/2006/mar/27/032704868.html
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