WASHINGTON: Success in Afghanistan and Pakistan will require an intimate local knowledge of the tribal culture and a small coalition footprint, the commander of U.S. Special Operations Command said here. Navy Adm. Eric Olson told the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on terrorism, unconventional threats and capabilities that the United States stands ready to do whatever it can to help Pakistan combat extremists, but “I think that we can’t help Pakistan more than they want to be helped,” he added. The situation in Pakistan is complicated, the admiral said, and the United States will not force help on people who don’t want it. Pakistan is a proud country with a proud military tradition, and America cannot take actions that would cause the Pakistani military to appear to be an extension of the U.S. military, Olson said. “We can only help them in a way that truly helps them, and they are much more expert in that than we are,” he told the subcommittee.
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