WASHINGTON: In the fight against religious extremists, the use of military force should be the first and not the last option, says Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen who also believes that the Pak-Afghan border area will play a key role in the larger war against terrorism.

In an address to the US Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth on Friday, the admiral noted that America has been at war continuously over the last nine years against a syndicate of Muslim extremists, led by Al Qaeda and supported by a host of both state and non-state actors.

Admiral Mullen, as the military chief, advised two US administrations on this war and this experience forced him to conclude that that “military power should not, maybe cannot, be the last resort” of the state. “Sometimes, the military, because of its unique flexibility and speed, may be the first, best tool to use,” he said,

But, he warned, “It should never be the only tool.”

The US military chief, however, also conceded that America’s foreign policy was “still too dominated by the military”.

Mullen said it was important to reduce the trust deficit which had increased manifold after the White House imposed certain sanctions on Islamabad in 1990s.

“If you don’t trust each other we are not going to work together well,” he said.