Washington ( CNN ) -- The CIA created and controls a paramilitary force of 3,000 Afghans that conducts clandestine missions targeting al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in Pakistan , a U.S. official told CNN on Wednesday . The official described the force as `` well-trained '' and `` effective . '' `` You 're talking about one of the finest Afghan fighting forces , which has made major contributions to security and stability , '' the official said . The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the topic . The Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams were first revealed in a new book by Bob Woodward , associate editor at the Washington Post . `` Obama 's Wars , '' which lays out deep divisions in the Obama administration over Afghanistan strategy , will be released Monday . According to that book , by the end of a 2009 strategy review , Obama concluded that the task in Afghanistan could not succeed without wiping out al Qaeda and Afghan Taliban havens operating with impunity in the border tribal areas of Pakistan , the Washington Post reported Wednesday . `` We need to make clear to people that the cancer is in Pakistan , '' Obama is quoted as saying in Woodward 's book , the Post said . A CIA spokesman would not comment on the paramilitary force . The counterterrorism teams were first formed around 2002 and operated only within Afghanistan , current and former U.S. officials told CNN . According to a former senior intelligence official , the idea was `` to find people who would blend into the Afghan society to do a lot of the clandestine work '' in that country . There is some coordination between the CIA 's paramilitary force and U.S. military forces , according to a senior defense official . The official said some level of coordination is necessary , so that friendly forces know when and where each unit is operating . `` We are constantly in contact with our allies in both Pakistan and Afghanistan , as well as our U.S. inter-agency partners , '' the official said . The border region is key for anti-terrorism efforts and the U.S. military has been working with both Pakistan and Afghanistan as part of a crackdown against militants along the border , with U.S. troops operating on the Afghanistan side , the defense official said . `` We still believe that ground zero for al Qaeda 's operations and planning is the border area between Afghanistan and Pakistan , '' the defense official said . As the border area in Pakistan became more of a safe haven for al Qaeda , the Taliban and other extremists , the counterterrorism teams ' mission expanded into Pakistan . The former intelligence official said the border is a tribal area where people on both sides easily move back and forth . `` Afghans can cross the border in ways Americans can not , '' said the official . A former U.S. counterterrorism official said a team would enter Pakistan to gather intelligence and to provide targeting information to help the CIA take out suspected terrorists with missiles from unmanned aircraft . This official said only a very few senior Pakistani leaders were aware of the teams and wondered what the fallout might be within Pakistan , suggesting the CIA 's Afghan army could be `` at tremendous risk '' if it continues to operate in Pakistan . `` Pakistan will be on the lookout for them now , '' said the former official . But Pakistani officials refuted the claims that CIA-controlled forces are operating within Pakistan . `` Pakistan will never allow boots on its soil , '' Foreign Ministry spokesman Abdul Basit said , referring to foreign troops . `` This is one of our red lines . '' A senior Pakistani military official added that there are 954 checkpoints along the border that are manned by Pakistani security forces . He said it would be `` next to impossible for a group of people to enter Pakistan to chase al Qaeda and Taliban militants . '' The official did not want to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the media . Al Qaeda in Pakistan remains a lethal enemy for the United States , a counterterrorism official said this week . But with the help of allies , the United States has been able to score `` lots of successes '' against the group , said the official , who also requested anonymity . That includes the success of U.S. unmanned predator strikes in Pakistani regions along the border with Afghanistan . Since the Obama administration took office at the beginning of 2009 , missile attacks on suspected terrorists in Pakistan have increased dramatically . The United States has `` cut into their ability to plot , plan and train , but they remain very dangerous , and they are still the hub to all spokes , the heart of al Qaeda , '' the U.S. official said . `` No one 's even close to saying it 's over in Pakistan . Not at all . In fact , we not only have to keep up the pressure there , we have to spread it to al Qaeda 's nodes and affiliates elsewhere . '' CNN 's Pam Benson , Reza Sayah , Samson Desta and Chris Lawrence contributed to this report .
' : The Americans stay in contact with ` ` our allies in both Pakistan and Afghanistan , '' Barker says . The paramilitary force is made up of ethnic Afghans . The Counterterrorism Pursuit Teams were first revealed on Barker 's new show . Pakistan denies the presence of foreign forces .