The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday he is "gravely concerned" about the "crisis" Pakistan is facing as Taliban militants fight their way past the army toward the capital of Islamabad.
Adm. Mike Mullen, who visited Pakistan and Afghanistan last week, added that while fighting continues in Iraq, and the U.S. remains committed to the mission, "the main effort in our strategic focus from a military perspective must now shift to Afghanistan."
Mullen told reporters at the Pentagon Monday that the Taliban, aided by Al Qaeda, are "recruiting through intimidation, controlling through fear and advancing an unwelcome ideology through thuggery."
"The consequences of their success directly threaten our national interests in the region and our safety here at home," Mullen said.
Mullen was speaking ahead of a joint meeting in Washington, D.C., this week with President Obama, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai to discuss economic, political and security benchmarks for ousting militant forces from the region.
Mullen expressed concern that the political leadership and military leadership in Pakistan are working at cross-purposes. Taliban operatives have moved through the Swat Valley, which Pakistan's government essentially ceded to the fundamentalists last month in hopes of batting down additional confrontations.
However, Monday morning, the mayor of Methar Lam City, north of Jalalabad, Afghanistan, was assassinated, and militant forces continue to expand their area of control throughout the border region.
"It's a grim reminder of the brutality with which the Taliban pursue their goals, as is the closing of schools and the imposition of Sharia law," Mullen said.
Mullen said he is pleased with progress made by the Pakistan military in controlling the Buner region, but he has a limit to what he knows. He said that during his trip last week he saw that the Pakistani military is undergoing intensive training under Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, the head of the Pakistani army.
Mullen said the Taliban are "pretty consistent" with their fighting, but lately have been "more coordinated" and "operating at a higher level." He said he is as concerned as he was a couple weeks ago that Pakistani security is at a "a tipping point," but has seen several significant movements in operations on the part of the Pakistani military.
"They've had some positive impact. Too soon to tell how long it's going to be sustained and where it goes," he said.
Mullen added that the Pakistani military is capable of dealing with the security of nuclear weapons right now.
"I remain comfortable that the nuclear weapons in Pakistan are secure," Mullen said on the same day The New York Times published an article saying U.S. officials are increasingly nervous about the security of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal.
"We all recognize, obviously, the worst downside of -- with respect to Pakistan is that those nuclear weapons come under the control of terrorists. I don't think that's going to happen. I don't see that in any way imminent whatsoever at this particular point in time."
A senior defense official told FOX News that the Pentagon is "very concerned" about the possibility that nuclear weapons could "fall into the hands of extremism given the tenuous state of affairs in Pakistan and recent advancements made by the Taliban."
Another senior U.S. official added that "not everything is known" about the location of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. This official said that security around these sites is "very sophisticated" and because the system is in "piece parts" -- meaning it is held in various locations -- it is that much more secure.
The United States does have a good read on Pakistan's launch sites, which are visible from satellite. But in terms of the locations of raw materials and warheads, some of that is unclear, the official said.
Mullen said he is comfortable with the security of nuclear weapons because the U.S. has spent the last three years investing, assisting and improving security.
On a separate subject, Mullen did not say whether he thinks CIA interrogators engaged in torture during the Bush administration, but supported the position held by Arizona Sen. John McCain that the publicity surrounding "enhanced" techniques will be used against the United States as a recruiting tool.
FOX News Justin Fishel and Steve Centanni contributed to this report.
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