As Alan Greenblatt writes for NPR.org this morning, there are at least "5 things the Afghan war review didn't say."
For example, he says that the report released Thursday by the Obama administration "calls for greater cooperation with Pakistan but is short on specifics about how to get there."
Today onMorning Edition, the man who's now the acting top civilian official in charge of U.S. policy for Afghanistan and Pakistan told NPR's Steve Inskeep and Tom Bowman that parts of Pakistan do indeed remain sanctuaries for al-Qaida and the Taliban. And, said Frank Ruggiero, "yes, the Pakistanis could do more." But, he added, "I think we should also recognize that they have taken some significant actions over the past year and a half."
Ruggiero, who has stepped into the "acting" role following this week's death of U.S. special representative Richard Holbrooke, said it should be noted that Pakistan has "taken action in six of the seven" tribal areas where terrorists have been operating and "have taken significant casualties ... 30,000 Pakistanis have been killed in this fight."
The U.S., Ruggiero said, will "continue to work with the government of Pakistan (to) engage them on actions we want them to take."
Here's some of the conversation:
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