Petraeus says al-Qaida not operating in Afghanistan, but affiliated groups have sanctuaries

October 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Pakistani leadership and its spy agency ISI still consider India as its greatest threat, even greater than the Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorists, a stance that affects US strategy in the region, says a top US military commander "It is important to note that India is still seen as the greatest threat, greater than the Taliban, greater than even Al Qaeda," Gen David Petraeus, commander of the US Central Command said at the Association of the US Army annual meeting here Tuesday. "So there are still some dynamics there that are challenging," he said.

October 6th, 2009 Gen. Petraeus gets radiation treatment for cancerWASHINGTON — Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S.

July 10th, 2009 Petraeus: Tough fight still ahead in AfghanistanSAN FRANCISCO — The head of U.S. Central Command in Afghanistan warned that months of fighting lie ahead in what will likely be the biggest military operation there since the American-led invasion of 2001.

May 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A top US general has said that al Qaeda's senior leadership has moved to the western region of Pakistan, and warned that the next few weeks would be pivotal for the country's future. General David Petraeus, the head of the US Central Command, noted that Pakistanis have also realised this and had galvanised themselves to protect their country from militants.

May 10th, 2009 Petraeus: Taliban threaten existence of PakistanWASHINGTON — The head of the U.S. Central Command says Taliban militants are a "true threat" to the existence of Pakistan.

May 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A top US military commander said Sunday that the senior leadership of Al Qaeda has moved to the western region of Pakistan and the terrorist group is no longer operating in Afghanistan. Gen. David Petraeus, head of US Central Command, said Al Qaeda has suffered 'very significant losses' in recent months, but he still believes that Osama bin Laden and his No.2 Ayman al-Zawahiri remain in charge of the terrorist network.

May 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON -Terming Pakistan as the "nerve center of al Qaeda's global operations", the US Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said that top commanders of the outfit are utilizing the terror safe havens situated in country's ungoverned tribal regions to plot terror strikes around the world. General Petraeus said that Al-Qaeda was also using the Pakistan based sanctuaries to channelize finance, recruit young men and pass orders to affiliates operating across the world.

May 9th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Pakistan has become the nerve centre of Al Qaeda's global operations to plan attacks around the world even while the Pakistani Taliban are planning a 'surge' of their own, according to a top American military commander. Senior leaders of Al Qaeda are using sanctuaries in Pakistan's lawless frontier regions to plan new terror attacks and funnel money, manpower and guidance to affiliates around the world, Gen.

April 25th, 2009 Petraeus: Taliban, not India, top Pakistan issueWASHINGTON — Pakistan's leaders should focus on the looming threat posed by a stronger Taliban and extremists within their nation's borders, instead of their rivalry with India, a top U.S. military official said Friday.

April 24th, 2009 Petraeus: Pak focus should be Taliban, not IndiaWASHINGTON — Pakistan's leaders should focus on the looming threat posed by a stronger Taliban and extremists within their nation's borders, instead of their rivalry with India, a top U.S. military official said Friday.

April 24th, 2009 Petraeus says Pakistan should focus on TalibanWASHINGTON — Pakistan's leaders should focus on the looming threat posed by a stronger Taliban and extremists within their nation's borders, instead of their rivalry with India, a top U.S. military official said Friday.

April 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - General David Petraeus, architect of the US military surge credited with dramatically reducing violence in Iraq, has said that Pakistan's leaders need to realise that their biggest threat comes from internal extremists, not from neighbouring India. 'It's an intellectually dislocating idea for the institutions of Pakistan,' Petraeus, the leader of US Central Command, which oversees the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, told a forum at the Harvard University Tuesday, referring to the country's military and political establishment.

April 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Expressing serious concern over the rising extremism in the country, the US Central Command chief General David Petraeus has said that religious extremists operating along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border pose a direct threat to Pakistan's existence. Addressing a Senate Armed Services Committee meeting on Obama's revamped policy for Pakistan and Afghanistan General Petraeus said that the outlawed groups such as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda based on the Pakistani soil along the Afghan border are posing more serious threat to Pakistan's existence.

April 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - Even as Pakistan faces 'an existential threat' from terrorists, many Pakistani leaders consider India as its principal threat and regard extremist groups as potential strategic asset against India, according to a top US commander. 'Destabilization of the nuclear-armed Pakistani state would present an enormous challenge to the United States, its allies, and our interests,' General David Petraeus, commander of US Central Command told the Senate Armed Services Committee Wednesday.

March 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The commander of the U.S. Central Command has said that an Iraq-style increase in troops cannot be a solution to the problems in Afghanistan.