Air Force one-star general to lead U.S. probe of deadly Pakistan strike

By John T. Bennett - 11/28/11 08:32 PM ET

Pentagon officials announced Monday that an Air Force one-star general has been tapped with leading a military probe of a NATO air strike that has further eroded U.S.-Pakistan relations.

U.S. Central Command chief Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis has placed Brig. Gen. Stephen Clark, who is assigned to U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command, to lead the probe. NATO is conducting its own investigation of the incident, which oucrred Saturday near Salala Checkpoint in northwest Pakistan.

Mattis has instructed Clark to field input from and the participation of NATO officials and representatives from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) that is leading the Afghanistan conflict.The Afghanistan and Pakistan governments have been invited to participate in the Central Command investigation, as well.

“It is [Central Command's] intent to include these government representatives to the maximum extent possible to determine what happened and preclude it from happening again,” according to a CentCom statement.

“The investigation team will focus their efforts on the facts of the incident and any matters that facilitate a better understanding of the circumstances surrounding the deaths and injuries of the Pakistan forces,” according to the statement.

Clark's review team must deliver an interim report to Mattis by Dec. 23.

The White House has remained largely mum about the incident. Pakistan’s prime minister earlier Monday said Washington cannot expect “business as usual” after the attack, which left as many as 24 Pakistani soldiers dead.

Reaction from Capitol Hill was also mostly muted.

Senate Armed Services Committee Ranking Member John McCain (R-Ariz.), however, issued a statement saying while all Americans are “saddened” by the loss of life, Pakistan is far from a perfect ally.

“Most importantly, Pakistan’s intelligence agency continues to support the Haqqani Network and other terrorist groups that are killing U.S. and Afghan forces in Afghanistan,” McCain said, “and the vast majority of the material used to make improvised explosive devices originates from two fertilizer factories in Pakistan.”