Odishatv Bureau
Washington: Days after the US put the Taliban-linked Haqqani network on its list of designated foreign terrorist groups, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has indicated that Washington was still undecided on a similar measure to blacklist the Taliban.

In an interview with Bloomberg Radio, Clinton asserted that the US will use every tool to pressure the Pakistan-based Haqqani network. The US has been pressing Pakistan to launch an operation in North Waziristan to target militants of the Haqqani network.

Haqqani network was designated as a foreign terrorist organisation by Clinton last week.

Asked if the Taliban should be blacklisted, Clinton did not give a direct answer.

"We do very intensive analysis before we designate someone as a foreign terrorist organisation, and I think I'll let the designation speak for itself. We have reached that conclusion about the Haqqani Network and we think it's the right decision," Clinton said.

She said "No" when asked if designation of the Haqqani network is about sending a message to Pakistan that it was not doing enough.

"It is about squeezing them in the ways that now are available to us under the designation and the Executive Order.

It gives us much greater reach into any financial assets or fundraising that they may engage in, gives us better traction against assets that they might own," she said.

"So we think it adds to the pressure on the Haqqanis, and it's part of the continuing effort to try to send a message to them ? not to anybody else, but to them ? because of the really incredibly damaging attacks that they have waged against us, against other targets, and inside Afghanistan.

"And it's important that we use every tool at our disposal to go after them," Clinton said.

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