Bush administration officials have responded with skepticism to an appeal by visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani for increased intelligence cooperation, which he said would help his country attack militant groups and terrorist encampments near its border with Afghanistan. "The problem from our perspective has not been an absence of information going into the Pakistani government," said one Bush administration official familiar with discussions this week between the two governments. "It's an absence of action."
Both governments stressed that their meetings have been cordial, and public statements underlined a shared commitment to counterterrorism. President Bush, in an appearance with Gillani after a White House meeting Monday, twice noted U.S. respect for Pakistani sovereignty. In an interview yesterday, Gillani emphasized Pakistan's desire "to maintain excellent relations with the United States."
| That's the polite chit-chat part. They always do that. |
But beneath the surface pleasantries and what the administration official called "a desire to make this a nonconfrontational meeting," there was little indication that tensions over their respective contributions to the fight against al-Qaeda and the Taliban had eased.
| Because Bush is smart enough to watch the hands, not the lips. |
The differences were illustrated Monday when a U.S. missile, believed to have been fired by a CIA-operated Predator drone, killed seven people in Pakistan hours before Bush and Gillani met. U.S. officials said they thought the target, al-Qaeda operative Abu Khabab al-Masri, was killed, although U.S. and Pakistani officials said yesterday they were still seeking confirmation. |