WASHINGTON - The United States said on Wednesday it would continue to bomb Al Qaeda positions in Afghanistan and Pakistan, with President Barack Obama retaining his right to take unilateral action to protect his countrymen.
"Quite frankly, also at the end of the day the president is going to do what he has to do, unilaterally. He will always use the prerogative to protect the security of the American people and our interests," a top defense official said.

Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict Michael Sheehan told lawmakers at a congressional hearing: "Hopefully, we will be able to work together and find some common interests."

He expressed frustration with Pakistan, but insisted the US had no other option but to continue working with the South Asian nation. "I think sometimes -- it's actually a mixed story. Sometimes it looks worse than it is and actually we're making progress…"

However, the official added he remained remain somewhat optimistic that even with all the extent of the problems, the US was going to continue to pound Al Qaida so that it could not attack Americans.

"And if we stay focused on that and not get discouraged with all the other political drama, we can keep a level of optimism moving forward. And sometimes I think that's important, because we can beat ourselves to death about all the different problems we have, but at the end of the day we've been successful, and hopefully we'll be able to continue that," Sheehan said. (Pajhwok)