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| India-Pakistan |
| Pakistan Rebuffs Secret U.S. Plea for C.I.A. Buildup |
| 2008-01-27 |
| The top two American intelligence officials traveled secretly to Pakistan early this month to press President Pervez Musharraf to allow the Central Intelligence Agency greater latitude to operate in the tribal territories where Al Qaeda, the Taliban and other militant groups are all active, according to several officials who have been briefed on the visit. But in the unannounced meetings on Jan. 9 with the two American officials — Mike McConnell, the director of national intelligence, and Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the C.I.A. director — Mr. Musharraf rebuffed proposals to expand any American combat presence in Pakistan, either through unilateral covert C.I.A. missions or by joint operations with Pakistani security forces. Instead, Pakistan and the United States are discussing a series of other joint efforts, including increasing the number and scope of missions by armed Predator surveillance aircraft over the tribal areas, and identifying ways that the United States can speed information about people suspected of being militants to Pakistani security forces, officials said. The Jan. 9 meetings, the first visit with Mr. Musharraf by senior administration officials since the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, also included the new army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, and the director of Pakistan’s leading military intelligence agency, Lt. Gen. Nadeem Taj. American officials said the visit was prompted by an increasing sense of urgency at the highest levels of the United States government that Al Qaeda and the Taliban are intensifying efforts to destabilize the Pakistani government. Pakistani authorities, in interviews, say they have more than 100,000 troops operating in the region, including a sizable force conducting what they said was a major offensive in South Waziristan. But in the White House, the Pentagon and the C.I.A., frustrations remain high, and there is concern that Mr. Musharraf’s political problems will distract him from what the administration regards as its last chance to take aggressive action. Accounts of the discussions between Mr. Musharraf and the intelligence officials were provided by American and Pakistani officials over the past two weeks after The New York Times inquired about the secret trip. While officials confirmed some details of the discussion, much remains unknown about the continuing dialogue between Islamabad and Washington. The trip by Mr. McConnell and General Hayden, a 14,000-mile over-and-back visit for one day of discussions, occurred just five days after senior administration officials debated new strategies for dealing with Pakistan. No decisions were made at that meeting of the National Security Council, which gathered all of Mr. Bush’s top national security officials but not the president. In the ensuing three weeks, however, the debate appeared to be intensifying, as senior American officials said they believed that American forces — whether as combat troops or trainers — could enhance the efforts of Pakistan’s military in the mountainous and lawless Federally Administered Tribal Areas. “The purpose of the mission,” a senior official said, “was to convince Musharraf that time is ticking away,” and that the increased attacks on Pakistan would ultimately undermine his effort to stay in office. The C.I.A. operatives in Afghanistan and the covert Special Operations forces there have made little secret of their desire to move into the tribal areas with or without Mr. Musharraf’s explicit approval. In the administration, there has been discussion of whether Mr. Bush should give orders to allow them more latitude. Mr. Musharraf has explicitly rejected that, and within days after Mr. McConnell and General Hayden’s departure, he told a Singapore newspaper that any unilateral action by the United States would be regarded as an invasion. In Davos, he dismissed the idea that Americans could be effective in the tribal areas. |
| Posted by:ryuge |
| #8 No nukes = no need to concern ourselves with those skidmarks ever again. I wish it were that easy, Bigjim. The problem is, Pakistan is the source of 90% of the cannon fodder in the "War on Terror". It's also a center for the movement of funds, a source of top-notch phony credentials, and a haven for people like Zawahiri and bin Laden. If we're going to be in Afghanistan for the next 20-30 years (a very real possibility, with the stupid way we're fighting), we need better supply lines. Pakiwakiland needs to cease to exist. Utterly destroying Pakistan would serve many functions: it would remove a source of manpower and training; it would remove one set of Islamic nukes from the battlefield; it would secure one set of supply lines for US Forces; it would reunite the Pashtuns into a single country (which would remove most of the reasons for the tribal clashes); and it would solve most of India's problems with its internal muslim population and reunite Jammu & Kashmir - under Indian control. That would allow India to free up several million troops to confront China and Chinese-backed "insurgent" groups. The only losers would be the Pakistani political and religious class, which needs to be slammed up the side of the head with a metal cluebat anyway. It would also put the rest of the world on notice that we will NOT continue to support a status-quo that kills our people - something the Islamists really need to learn. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-01-27 13:45 |
| #7 perv does not want cia to find out the reality on the ground that isi train/host most of the taleban especially in quetta |
| Posted by: Paul 2008-01-27 12:32 |
| #6 Why don't we just gatecrash Wakiland, grab the damned nukes, and throw Perv to the dogs? No nukes = no need to concern ourselves with those skidmarks ever again. |
| Posted by: bigjim-ky 2008-01-27 10:21 |
| #5 Accounts of the discussions between Mr. Musharraf and the intelligence officials were provided by American and Pakistani officialsofficials This article seems to be pure speculation Washington's most important person--the Anonymous Senior Official ("ASO") (from John Bolton) seems to have been very busy briefing the MSM! |
| Posted by: Jeremiah Glock4046 2008-01-27 08:59 |
| #4 Methinks he doth protest too much. |
| Posted by: doc 2008-01-27 08:14 |
| #3 The C.I.A. operatives in Afghanistan and the covert Special Operations forces there have made little secret of their desire to move into the tribal areas with or without Mr. MusharrafÂ’s explicit approval. Happy hunting guys....get some! |
| Posted by: Chenter Unimp7361 2008-01-27 08:07 |
| #2 The tribals are about to go hot. |
| Posted by: Chenter Unimp7361 2008-01-27 08:05 |
| #1 he told a Singapore newspaper that any unilateral action by the United States would be regarded as an invasion. OK |
| Posted by: lotp 2008-01-27 08:04 |