US wants broader Pakistan military ties

US: The Obama administration wants to pursue broader military ties with Pakistan to help Islamabad combat a growing threat from militant groups including the Taliban, a Pentagon official said on Tuesday.

Michele Flournoy, U.S. under secretary of defense for policy, said Washington wants to provide the Pakistani army with training and advice on counterinsurgency tactics developed in Iraq and Afghanistan and support ongoing operations with intelligence and other assistance.

"We need to substantially increase our military assistance and broaden the form," she said at a forum hosted by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

"If we could get beyond a transactional sort of equipping, support, reimbursement relationship to a strategic relationship where we are also training, advising, working together on the ground ... we would be much more effective and get a lot farther down the road of achieving our common objectives." WASHINGTON, Wednesday,

Reuters