Military Commanders Meet In Islamabad

UPDATE: Check out the new blog covering the Mid East: Outsider On The Inside

A two day symposium ends today in Islamabad, where senior military commanders from 21 countries met to discuss cooperation on the war on terror. Countries represented at the event include the United States, Egypt, Saudi Arabia:

The two-day symposium was co-hosted by the Pakistan and U.S. armies in an attempt to improve military ties between various regional allies in the U.S.-led war on terror.

Addressing the conference's closing session Thursday afternoon, Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf rejected criticism that his country was somehow falling short in the fight against terrorism.

"There must be trust. If there is no trust, no commitment, then I think the coalition is meaningless," he said. "It is meaningless if we are not all on board, if we are bluffing each other, if Pakistan is bluffing, and if I am bluffing, I think we should be out of the coalition."

Both U.S. and Afghan authorities say hundreds, perhaps thousands of Taleban insurgents have established military bases inside Pakistan's remote tribal areas.

Security experts have also linked elements within Pakistan's powerful military intelligence to many of the fugitive Taleban insurgents.

President Musharraf denied any ties between Pakistan's intelligence agencies and the militants and promised to continue his country's role in fight against regional extremism.