Top US intelligence chief Dennis Blair meets Husain Haqqani

The top US intelligence chief held meetings with Pakistani-Americans as the United States expands its drone attacks on militants in the South Asian nation, his office said Wednesday.
Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair held the roundtable discussion on Tuesday with Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States Husain Haqqani as part of an effort to boost the recruitment and retention of Pakistani-Americans in US intelligence agencies, French news agency reported.
"We need you to help us build a better relationship between the United States and Pakistan," Blair said during the meeting, according to remarks released by his office. He also stressed the "common threat" both countries face.
US President Barack Obama has put Pakistan at the heart of his administration's fight against Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
Among the gathering's participants were two dozen business leaders, college students and federal employees with Pakistani roots. Blair's office said the meeting delved into "past problems of mistrust," the role of the media and "the rise of religious extremism in Pakistan."
"The more inroads the US Intelligence Community makes, and introduces itself to regular Pakistani-Americans, relationships and trust will be built," said lawyer Amina Khan, a member of the IC Heritage Community Liaison Council, an umbrella group that coordinates outreach and recruiting activities.
Blair's directorate oversees the United States' 16 spy agencies.
More than 740 people have been killed in about 80 US drone strikes in Pakistan since August 2008, in a program that Obama has vastly expanded since taking office a year ago.
The Pakistani government publicly condemns the strikes but US officials say they are necessary to protect foreign soldiers stationed in Afghanistan, and say a number of high-value extremists have been killed in the bombing raids.