There can be NO excuse for Al Qaeda training camps running in Rawalpindi, which is city populated with hundreds of thousands of Pakistan army men and hosts the Pakistan military HQ.
No one is denying that al Qeade is still within Pakistan (of course they are) - They are also in about every ME Country as well (including Iraq and Afghanistan).
However, the point here being Musharraf has acted in support of the GWOT more so than any other Country (outside of the UK) in support of us (America). The first soldiers into Afghanistan were based out of Pakistan.
It was Pakistan facilities that were a tremendous help for logistical reasons early on in our war to remove the Taliban and go after al Qeade. In war logistics can be half the battle (if not more!).
The fact is no other nations have stepped up like Musharraf has (especially with the complex situation within his own Country). Turkey wouldn't even step up to the plate for us (America) when we needed them for solely logistics help in OIF -
Do we wish some more would be done within Pakistan. Of course we do. But like I said, name another Nation we couldn't say that of. Hell, we wish more could be done HERE in the United States with regard to the GWOT by our own Democrats!! (yet we can't get them to budge!) -
But you somehow suggest Musharraf should be able to do more within Pakistan. Please - It is called dealing with the reality of the real world. Which is exactly what we have to do.
There is a terrorist cell in California that has now managed to train in 2004 in Pakistan and successfully get into the US. We were lucky that they were caught before they could kill Americans.
How can you explain a terrorist camp outside the capital of a country that is supposed to be helping us? "Opps., we missed one?" Does it not strike you odd? Will you be willing to sing the same tune were some terrorists trained in Pakistan today to successfully kill Americans in the future?
Musharraf's only use to us is in capturing terrorists. We are paying them a billion and half dollars a year in hush money outside of the aid just for their bases. There is no excuse for letting terror camps operate right under his nose.
Khalil has a strong grudge against us because of the 1998 cruise missile attacks on camps in Afghanistan where some 30 of his men were killed, along with Pakistani spooks. Again, right at the start of the air campaign after 9/11, a few dozen of his thugs were killed in Kabul. He has routinely conducted press conferences saying that he will send his men to attack America in revenge.
Anyway, despite our repeated requests, Pakistanis have refused to hand him over to us or shut him down. They just underplayed his role saying that he is a low ranking guy.
See this article, dated January 26, 2004
A barrage of U.S. cruise missiles several years ago didn't sap Fazlur Rehman Khalil's devotion to holy war, and two subsequent bans issued by Pakistan's government haven't silenced his invective against Jews and Americans. But Khalil, who co-signed Osama bin Laden's 1998 edict that declared it a Muslim's duty to kill Americans and Jews, is not leading his holy warriors from inside a secret mountain cave. He lives comfortably with his family in this city adjacent to Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, next to his Koranic girls' school and bookshop, just down the street from a police checkpoint. And he still is urging his followers to fight the United States.The back cover of November's issue was an ad for the "All-Pakistan Training Convention of Jamiat ul Ansar Activists" at Khalil's headquarters, the Jamia Khalid bin Waleed Mosque, across from an army base on the edge of Islamabad. Last month's cover showed a giant fist holding a sword, rising from flames in the desert to slash the U.S. flag. ...A headline says that "moujahedeen attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan have bankrupted America politically, economically and mentally," and adds: "Due to the blessings of jihad, America's countdown has begun. It will declare defeat soon."
There were many other reports by American reporters on how Khalil was training terrorists openly, in and near Islamabad. Musharraf has had advance notice and second and third reminders. Still he has allowed terrorists to train in his capital city and go to the US for the purpose of causing harm to the US. How do you explain that? Please keep your answer specific to the above and regarding Khalil
Correction..... Musharraf has acted.
The key word being acted. A great actor, he is.