It's more than a hunch. By all accounts we've got CIA operatives and presumably special forces working with Pakistani troops, and there are indeed troops in the tribal areas. But I think this move is perhaps showing more of an willingness by the Pakistani government to work openly with American forces.
Honestly, I don't see much operational news in these reports. Over the past two plus years we've undoubtedly had countless op plans in the works regarding such scenarios. What's changed? I doubt much at all from a military perspective, but politically it's probably another story. Just my two cents...
Pakistan rules out US Al-Qaeda offensive on its territory
Agence France-Presse
Islamabad, January 29
Pakistan on Wednesday ruled out any US military offensive on its territory against Al-Qaeda terrorists, after an American newspaper claimed Washington was planning to deploy its troops to Pakistan.
United States daily Chicago Tribune reported yesterday that the Pentagon had drawn up contingency plans for a military strike against Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network inside Pakistan.
Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said Pakistan had rejected past requests by the US for hot pursuit over the border from Afghanistan, where some 10,000 US troops have been deployed for over two years to hunt al-Qaeda operatives.
"The US has asked in the past that they should be allowed to operate in Pakistan, and they should also be allowed to chase the Al-Qaeda people coming into Pakistan, and Pakistan has always denied this to the US," he told AFP.
Pakistan "has resisted and will continue to resist" such requests from the US.
Quoting Pentagon sources, the Tribune said the US military planned to deploy thousands of US troops, many of them drawn from US forces already on the ground in Afghanistan, and the deployment of a Navy aircraft carrier to the Arabian Sea possibly this year.
The US forces would work with Pakistani troops.
Shaukat dismissed the report as "total fabrication."
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So the question is, was the original article completely bogus, or was it supposed to be kept secret and now Pakistan has no choice but to publicly deny?