U.S.: ‘No Options off the Table’ to Target AQ in Pakistan
U.S. officials are mapping out new options of how to deal with what appears to be the gravest threat facing the United States: the resurgence of al Qaeda in Pakistan.
President Bush’s top counterterrorism advisor told Diane Sawyer on “Good Morning America” today that the U.S. does not rule out sending in American soldiers if Pakistan allows the safe haven to continue.
“The answer…is what we want to do is work with our Pakistani partners,” Frances Townsend said in response to Diane Sawyer’s question about sending U.S. troops into the tribal areas. “But the president’s been very clear. There are no options off the table because job No. 1 is protecting the American people, and nothing will get in our way.”
But Pakistani officials reiterated today that U.S. troops are not and would not be welcome there.
And U.S. officials say they have little confidence that the Pakistani army will do the job.
“It’s gone in half-hearted, and it’s been ineffective,” said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who now works at The Brookings Institution. “I think part of the problem is that a good part of the army and the intelligence services are actually sympathetic to the Islamic extremists.”
The options for U.S. military action are limited in Pakistan, which boasts the same vast, rugged areas that have bogged down U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
But U.S. analysts do not rule out a pinpoint strike if there was hard intelligence on the location of Osama bin Laden or his top deputies.
“There are obviously certain risks you take if you undertake that kind of operation,” Bob Grenier, a former CIA official who now works with the global security firm Kroll, said, “but that is something which is quite feasible. If we’re talking about denying a safe haven, that’s a very different thing.”
Officials say hundreds of terrorists have been trained and dispatched for attacks against the U.S. and Europe from that safe haven.
As the Blotter on ABCNews.com reported last week, senior law enforcement and intelligence officials had “multiple and credible” reports that an al Qaeda terror cell may be on its way to the United States or could already be in the country.
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If I were a betting man, I’d be betting that Musharaff and GW have already made plans to deal with AQ. I’m betting that in the near future we will hear of a Predator strike on an AQ safehouse in Pakistan. Or maybe Musharaff will send his own aircraft to pound AQ targets.
I’m of the opinion, that all of this has been in the works for awhile. Call it Plan B to cover Mushaff in the event things got too hot…as in…like now?
July 18th, 2007 at 4:52 pmSend in some bombers and carpet the place…it’s a lawless area and they are obviously supporting the Taliban so screw any collateral damage.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:58 pmWell, it’s easy enough to say we should hit Pakistan, but if the government falls as a result and Islamists gain power, we’ll be facing jihadists armed with nuclear weapons.
It ain’t so simple.
That said, I think Dan has it about right.
July 18th, 2007 at 5:14 pmbombing these subhumans back to the stone age would actually be a step forward to these pre-cambrian freakshows…..i, for one, advocate the “curtis lemay soulation.”
July 18th, 2007 at 5:19 pmAlos Al-Queda is trying to take the heat off of the Mullahs of Iran.
July 18th, 2007 at 5:30 pmUnleash overwhelming force on that area. It can be cleaned up in 3 days. Just do it!!!
July 18th, 2007 at 6:29 pmDan
I read somewhere that the new Reaper squadron was headed to Afghanistan first not Iraq like first insinuated. + that with the previous strikes on Warizistan we have done all via UAV, or at least only admitted as such. So either way whether its more strikes via Reapers or even just more strikes attributed to the more powerful Reapers it would work either way.
I will tell you what thou… I am 100% for going where ever when ever the Radicals want to try to stand up but Pakistan’s Warizistan even if Pakistan proper turns a blind eye will be allot rougher than even Iraq has been to date. Terrain, gen pop uneducated, not westernized in least bit, tribal insanity, everything in Warizistan plays to our weaknesses were Iraq even with all its faults are still to our strengths on all these fronts. Warizistan wouldn’t be easy and it would be very very infantry intensive operation.
Now knowing that I would hope some UAV/SOF action with Pakistan playing the major role would be the order of the day but can Musharaf pull off the 300+ casualties he was losing when deployed into the Tribal Areas? Can we really bluff ourselves being able to pull off such action when we are literally crumbling over sacrifices that by any historical norm is minor?
I don’t know on either point. time will have to tell.
July 18th, 2007 at 8:56 pmThe predator is on station. The Reaper is just now moving into theatre. Mostly to Iraq. I’m fairly certain, that SOF ops are already underway….just a guess…I have no inside info…and have been underway for quite sometime.
If Musharaff is feeling too much heat from MMA, Taliban and AQP, then it is up to him to make the call.
However, it is obvious to anyone that AQ and the Taliban are using Pakistan as a base from which to lauch ops against us and our allies.
Sooner or later, with or without Mushaff’s permission, we will have to deal with this reality with fire and steel.
And if the majority in Pakistan wants to continue to enjoy western things, they all had better get off their duffs soon and go after the radicals. Or they are going to find themselves sold into slavery by the Taliban/MMA/AQ.
At that point, we would have no choice but to invade.
July 19th, 2007 at 3:54 amEven the Dhimocrats want OBL and his gay lover out of commission. At least that is their current rhetoric.