Pakistan's Al Qaeda Alarms Pentagon

[Team Infidel]

I say, Pakistan is going to become a better safe haven for Al Qaeda now that Bhutto is out of the picture.

Washington Times
January 12, 2008
Pg. 1
Pakistan's Al Qaeda Alarms Pentagon
Musharraf warns against unilateral U.S. action
By Sara A. Carter, Washington Times
The Pentagon is "extremely concerned" about the emergence of al Qaeda in Pakistan, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said yesterday.
"There are concerns now about how much [al Qaeda] turned inward, literally, inside Pakistan, as well as the kind of planning, training, financing and support that the worldwide effort is," Adm. Mullen said.
"So, [the Pentagon is] extremely, extremely concerned about that, and I think continued pressure there will have to be brought," he said.
Adm. Mullen added, however, that "Pakistan is a sovereign country and certainly it's really up to ... President Musharraf and certainly his advisers and his military to address that problem directly."
Pakistan's large tribal region, situated along the border with Afghanistan, has long been a serious concern for U.S. intelligence officials who suspect al Qaeda is establishing training camps in the region and recruiting fighters from as far away as Europe and Africa.
U.S. intelligence officials suggest that the area is an operational command center for al Qaeda's senior leaders, including Osama bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.
In recent months, U.S. officials began putting pressure on Pakistan over mounting concern that al Qaeda's strong presence along the border is destabilizing progress that has been made in Afghanistan.
Recent reports that the CIA and U.S. military want to begin covert operations in Pakistan to target al Qaeda have been criticized by Pakistani officials, who contend that U.S. forces should not enter unless invited.
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf yesterday told the Straits Times, an East Asian newspaper, that U.S. military presence would not be welcomed unless assistance was requested by Pakistan.
"Nobody will come here until we ask them to come. And we haven't asked them," he said in the interview.
Mr. Musharraf said a unilateral intervention would be seen as an invasion.
"Certainly, if they come without our permission, that's against the sovereignty of Pakistan," Mr. Musharraf said.
The United States currently has more than 26,000 troops in Afghanistan, more than 50 percent of the total force provided by NATO, according to information from the House Armed Services Committee.
On Thursday, Pakistan's Ambassador Mahmud Ali Durrani told editors and reporters at The Washington Times that thwarting terrorism is a core issue for his government.
He said that despite reports that terrorists are entering Afghanistan from strongholds in Pakistan, it is in fact a "reverse flow" with terrorists entering Pakistan from the outside and recruiting members within.
Mr. Durrani added that the Pakistani military is capable of handling the growing threat of al Qaeda in the region and that discussions to send U.S. troops into Pakistan, regardless of Mr. Musharraf's permission, are "not helpful to Musharraf; they are not helpful to Pakistan; they are not helpful for Pakistan-U.S. relations."
"We never said we don't need any help," Mr. Durrani added. "We've defiantly said we don't need any interference."
There are nearly 100,000 Pakistani troops in the vast tribal area, said Mr. Durrani, comparing his nation's troop numbers with a much smaller U.S. presence in Afghanistan.
"Pakistan has caught, captured, killed the most al Qaeda people in this world," he said. "We've had the most casualties in our region. We're still having casualties in Pakistan. ... We are continuing to battle this."
Meanwhile, Pentagon officials are debating whether to send an additional 3,000 troops to Afghanistan.
Adm. Mullen said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates "is considering" the proposal to send more troops but the decision has not yet been made.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, California Republican and ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, warned NATO members yesterday that the U.S. is doing more than its share in Afghanistan, and asked NATO members to contribute to the effort or risk losing "lucrative defense contracts offered by U.S. taxpayers."
He added that the U.S. should not bear the burden of sending more troops to Afghanistan when some NATO allies fail to follow through with their commitments.
"The U.S. Department of Defense is considering the deployment of 3,000 U.S. Marines to Afghanistan, as a result of our NATO allies' inability to support the combat mission," Mr. Hunter's letter said. "In the eyes of Congress, it is unacceptable that the United States must continue to dig deeper into its military force when some of our NATO allies are unwilling to fulfill or make robust commitments to the international effort in Afghanistan."

 

[Del Boy]

What I love about the USA administration is that it tries to face facts and tell it how it is. Musharraf was the best bet for stability and it is a pity that he is no longer Army Commander.

The point that the west MUST understand is that the march of militant Islam relies upon our own democracy to defeat us. They successfully use it as our Achilles heel.

It seems they have successfully invaded Britain by stealth, with hardly a shot fired, something Napoleon and Hitler failed to do. They will rule here, Sharia and all, within a few years. Certainly this is their aim. And from here they conduct world-wide campaigns of violence etc.

I cannot tell how far under Europe is yet, because, in these matters, denial reigns, but it is known that Islam will dominate the world in the 21st century, THIS century. This domination, to a great extent, will be enabled by the widespread growth, in Europe, of those of no religion. Why those feel that a dominant Islam would accept them, given the power not to have to, is incomprehensible; surely they will become Muslim or nothing.

Only Christianity stands before the advance, but in most cases without support of soft governments with heads buried deep in the sand, throwing our treasures away.

Parts of Britain now have the appearance of third world countries, and that is where we are headed, but still our leaders will not remove their blindfolds.

The same people who support this abject surrender attempt to sit on and squash America's attempts to deal with the obvious threats they are faced with.

Americans should now look after themselves and do whatever common-sense tells them they should do, in their own interests, and that of a world THEY want to see. They have to be selfish. Their cause is the right one in this struggle against primitive agendas.

And at the moment, their critics keep complaining that USA aim still to be the policeman of the world. Crap. At the moment they are the firefighters of the world. God Bless America. And don't let the bastards grind you down.