'US would invade Pakistan if the need arises'

Washington: Criticising the Bush administration for its counter-terrorism policies, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards said he would invade Pakistan to eradicate terror cells if there were actionable intelligence and the US-ally refuses to act.

"I want to be clear about one thing. If we have actionable intelligence about imminent terrorist activity and the Pakistan government refuses to act, we will," Edwards said at a campaign rally at Pace University in New York.

Maintaining that the US has not used every available tool in the book to pressurise countries like Pakistan to shut down terror camps, the 2004 vice-presidential candidate said, "We ought to use our tremendous tools — diplomacy, arm sales, trade, foreign aid — to get states to shut down terror cells."

"The recent national intelligence estimate found that al Qaida had established a safe haven in the northwest tribal areas of Pakistan," he said, adding "we have given Musharraf government billions of dollars of aid in last several years, yet they have done little to get control over these areas."

Edward, a former Senator from North Carolina, also said future American aid to Pakistan should be provided on the progress made by it, which includes strengthening the reach of police forces and working more effectively with tribal leaders and their members to ensure their acceptance of the government.

Earlier, another democrat Presidential probable Senator Barack Obama has also issued such warnings last month in Washington, and his comments recevied responses and criticism from Pakistan.

Making some critical observations on Saudi Arabia, a US ally in the Middle East, the Democratic candidate said, "and Saudi Arabia is a country we have given too much to in return for too little. We must require the Saudis to do more to stop the flow of terrorists."

Slamming the Bush administration for using 20th Century tools to deal with 21st Century problems, Edwards said the Bush administration's approach has only made the terrorist problem worse. "It had rigidly stuck to outdated approaches that are completely ineffective against the modern terrorist threat that all of us face," he said.

Edward, currently running at number three spot in the polls among the Democratic candidates, stressed on the need for a counter-terrorism policy that actually counters terrorism and matches 21st century threats against the 21st Century tactics.