Pentagon Getting Panicky Over Al Qaeda In Pakistan
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.”
Be respectful of others and their opinions. Inflammatory remarks and inane leftist drivel will be deleted. It ain’t about free speech, remember you’re in a private domain. My website, my prerogative.
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Duncan Hunter in ‘08.
January 12th, 2008 at 7:44 pm“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.”
This is laughable. And how’s the Pakis doing this anyways? By running away from the mustifoons?
Pakistan has become the base of operations for every Islamo-facist nutcase on the planet. By allowing this crap to continue ad nauseum status quo, both European and US security are endangered.
Fook Musharaff. He’s a pussy. Let’s get in there and show the irhabis the entrance to the gates of hell.
January 12th, 2008 at 7:45 pmAs I’ve said before, we need to start seeing the lands under the Shariah as in fact inherently lawless, pirate/bandit-dominated zones, or zones wherein crimes against humanity are legitimized, and act accordingly. How do our forces respond to pirates?
January 12th, 2008 at 8:54 pmAQ being supported in Pakistan Huh? It’s a mystery?
Ok. Pollard Bears.
Let’s do a quick exercise using geographical observations.
Take a quick look at a Eurasian map and focus on the the region surrounding Pakistan. Google Earth Works great.
Let’s ask a few question looking at the map. What two countries are bordered to the east? Good. Now, let me ask if everyone is aware that these two border countries share a military pact together?
Let me further assist with my point by quoting some MSM archive media release prior to 9/11.
Here is a news clip from 1999.
Radio Pakistan, Islamabad - February 21, 1999
Pakistan: Foreign minister says China-Pakistan friendship, “strong pillar of peace”
Pakistan: Foreign minister says China-Pakistan friendship, “strong pillar of peace” Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz says that friendship between Pakistan and China is a strong pillar of peace and stability in the region and it will remain the cornerstone of Pakistan’s foreign policy. He was speaking at the banquet he hosted in Islamabad yesterday in honour of Gen Chi Haotian, Chinese defence minister and vice-chairman of Central Military Commission…
Or check the date on this press release as follows. Needless to say that this news piece was drowned out a few days later by other events.
JOE McDONALD, Associated Press Writer
AP Online
09/03/2001
China, Pakistan Deny Missile Trading
BEIJING (AP) — A state-owned Chinese company and the Pakistani government on Monday denied U.S. accusations that they have been trading in missile technology.
An executive of China Metallurgical Equipment Corp. said it had made sales to Pakistan, but only of civilian equipment, while Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called the sanctions “regrettable and without any justification.” It accused Washington of being more critical of Pakistan’s military industries than those of its rival, India.
On Saturday, the United States accused the Chinese company of violating a Chinese commitment not to spread missile…
These are real. If you have access to historical archives than you can find many many many more in this vain. Wow! The MSM has a very short term Memory problem!
January 12th, 2008 at 11:44 pmMusharraff is learning what an “ally” of Bush means.
Just last year and previous 5 he was our number one guy in the “War on Terror”.
See Mushy you thought you were dealing with the America of Ike. Cold lesson in reality coming up for you!!
This gang would fuck a snake to push their Neo Con goals.
NeoCon has only two question’s
“Where is the condom?
How much money will I make for this beastial sex act??
January 13th, 2008 at 7:15 am