WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Pakistan to expand and reorient its fight against the Taliban and al-Qaeda, warning that failing to do so would undercut the new strategy for Afghanistan, American officials say.
Afghanistan has dominated the public discussion of Obama’s forthcoming strategy, but Pakistan is returning to center stage in internal administration planning.
Obama’s national security adviser, Gen. James L. Jones, was sent to Islamabad last week. His message, officials said, was that the new American strategy would work only if Pakistan broadened its fight beyond the militants attacking its cities and security forces and goes after the groups that use safe havens in Pakistan for plotting and carrying out attacks against American troops in Afghanistan.
