Pakistan Warns U.S. on Attacking Al Qaeda on Its Own

[Gunny]

By ERIC SCHMITT
Published: January 12, 2008

WASHINGTON — President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan warned in an interview published Friday that any unilateral attacks by the United States against Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in his country’s tribal areas would be treated as an invasion.

But Mr. Musharraf also left open the possibility of American and Pakistani forces working together in broader combined operations to kill or capture senior Qaeda leaders believed to be hiding in the rugged border area near Afghanistan.

“You’re talking about Osama bin Laden; any action against him will be free, if we know where he is, if we have good intelligence,” Mr. Musharraf told The Straits Times of Singapore. “The methodology of getting him will be discussed together, and we’ll attack the target together.”

Asked in the interview about a proposal under review by President Bush’s senior national security advisers to expand the authority of the Central Intelligence Agency and the military to conduct far more aggressive covert operations in the tribal areas, Mr. Musharraf said he would oppose the conduct of unilateral strikes by American forces without Pakistani approval.

more ... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/12/w...rss&adxnnlx=1200150401-aamDxNc7EAMxKLJwGDAAUQ

I wouldn't have a problem with this if Pakistan would shit or get off the pot. As it stands right now, Pakistan is a safe haven for the Taliban much as Cambodia and Laos were for the VC.

Where's Nixon when you need an Easter Offensive?

 

[Dirt McGirt]

I wouldn't have a problem with this if Pakistan would shit or get off the pot. As it stands right now, Pakistan is a safe haven for the Taliban much as Cambodia and Laos were for the VC.

Where's Nixon when you need an Easter Offensive?

Musharaff needs al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the tribal areas of Pakistan so that he has a scape goat after he kills his political opponents.

 

[Gunny]

Musharaff needs al-Qaeda and the Taliban in the tribal areas of Pakistan so that he has a scape goat after he kills his political opponents.

If nothing else, he seems to be using the topic as deflection.

I much prefer the way then-Colonel Barrows (later Gen Barrows - CMC) handled it during Operation Dewey Canyon II in Vietnam. he pursued the VC into Laos, blew up a bunch of their stuff, THEN called and asked permission to pursue them into Laos.

He was told no.

 

[onedomino]

I wouldn't have a problem with this if Pakistan would shit or get off the pot. As it stands right now, Pakistan is a safe haven for the Taliban much as Cambodia and Laos were for the VC.

Where's Nixon when you need an Easter Offensive?

I do not understand Musharraf's lack of going all out against AQ which has invaded Pakistan and tried to assassinate him more than once. He has made some effort, and I have read somewhere that around 800 Paki soldiers have been killed over time while fighting in the NW Territories. But Pakistan has a huge army and it seems to have not made its best effort on the ground against AQ and its supporters in the NWT. What many are worried about is the reliability of the Paki army and the degree to which it has been infiltrated by Islamic extremists.