Posted on 02/08/2008 6:23:04 PM PST by NormsRevenge
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders Osama bin Laden and Mullah Mohammad Omar and their top commanders are hiding in Pakistan, posing a "huge challenge" to the security of the country and neighboring Afghanistan, a senior US administration official said Friday.
"There is no question that the iconic leaders of Al-Qaeda -- (Ayman al-) Zawahiri, bin Laden ... are in the tribal areas of Pakistan," the official said at a media briefing.
"We believe that the Taliban's shura (consultation) council leaders led by Mullah Omar reside in Quetta in Pakistan," he said, referring to the capital of rugged Baluchistan province bordering Afghanistan.
The sanctuaries were not only helping Taliban fight the insurgency against Afghan President Hamid Karzai's administration, which is backed by US and NATO troops, but also posing a threat to Pakistan and beyond central Asia, the official said.
"There is a threat to the east into (Pakistan), in the west into Afghanistan and there is threat beyond Central Asia to the extent that Al-Qaeda has reach," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"Just as Mullah Omar is giving strategic direction for the Taliban from Quetta, the Al-Qaeda senior leadership is in the FATA doing its planning," he said.
Pakistan's federally administrated tribal areas (FATA) borders Afghanistan.
It is among the clearest statements by the United States on the location of the Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.
Pakistan has repeatedly denied the presence of bin Laden or Omar in its territory. Washington has placed multi-million dollar rewards for their heads.
The Taliban was ousted in a US-led invasion in 2001, after the September 11 terror attacks masterminded by bin Laden, who was provided sanctuary by the extremist regime in Kabul at that time.
More than six years after the ouster, US and NATO-led troops are still waging an uphill battle against the Taliban.
The US official said the United States had seen clear links between the insurgency in Afghanistan and Pakistan through the Pashtun group, an ethnic minority mostly living along the troubled Afghan-Pakistani border.
"We also know that there are very clear Pashtun tribal links up through the FATA, especially in north and south Waziristan, where Pashtuns who live in Pakistan are supporting Pashtuns, who are fighting in Afghanistan.
"In some cases, they are the one and same people -- they live in Pakistan, they commute to the fight, they fight for a while in Afghanistan and retreat back into safe haven inside Waziristan," the official said.
He said that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda over the last six months had not only taken up their fight from their "safe haven" west into Afghanistan but also into the east, into the areas of Pakistan itself.
Underscoring concerns over the militant groups' logistical gains was the December assassination of former premier Benazir Bhutto in Rawalpindi, a city where the army has its headquarters, about seven miles from the capital Islamabad, he said.
CIA Director Michael Hayden said last month that suspected Al-Qaeda militants and allies of Pakistani tribal leader Baitullah Mehsud were behind Bhutto's murder and warned of a "newly active alliance" between Pakistani and international terrorists against President Pervez Musharraf's administration.
"Now you have a Pashtun-based insurgency that is fighting to regain control of Afghanistan, retaining safe haven, protecting its safe haven in the FATA and in some cases has now declared open hostilities with the Pakistani government as well," the US official said.
"So, you have got this sort of layering of insurgencies here that really makes this both geographically, politically and militarily a very complex setting," he said. "It is a huge challenge."
The official also said that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, her British counterpart David Miliband and Karzai had discussed in Kabul this week the appointment of a new United Nations envoy to Afghanistan.
Karzai had earlier refused to endorse senior British politician Paddy Ashdown, who was also the international community's former envoy to Bosnia.
"We are looking for someone who can work well inside the UN structure, someone who can bring coherence to this extremely complex mission and someone who can serve as Karzai's teammate, partner," the official said.
Bush will not leave them sitting there alive for the next President.
—
I would agree, or certainly hope that for his shortcomings on a couple major issues, he is no Clinton and is not going to leave the dirty work to the next occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
in the words of his Dad,, “T’wouldn’t be prudent.”
Musharref has already cut a deal to make sure Bush kills Osama and his higher-ups before the election. That recent drone bombing was a warm-up act.
The check’s in the mail
“If Bush pull this Talif**k out of a hole just in time for McLame to capitalize off it, I’m going to hurl.”
We have an ancient solution for these savages no matter where they try to hide-it’s called Predatorus Rex...swift, silent,deadly...
Yes, you have and I can vouch for ya.
Is that because he could have been found anytime in the last 7 years? If you think that we can't find one man in a mountain range in Pakistan and put a cruise missile up his a$$ with the precision of a neonatal surgeon, you need to get you head out of the sand.
Think politics, think Pakistan and think nuclear missiles.
If you see some serious progress in Pakistan and Afghanistan with "getting the tribal leaders" to fall in line, AQ getting killed by the hundreds and green zones popping up around July, August and September, then HELLO, October Surprise! ...
PS - you read it here first, ...out off the deep end.
It may not be much consolation , but they have grown gray waiting for us to find them.
the ones still alive.. anyway
Zap em with satellites and be done with em.
Or . . . certain other . . . platforms which would cause Pak little trouble because of their . . . elusiveness.
Let’s git ‘er done!
Well, that'll certainly cause Al Qaeda terrorists to shake in their boots.
lolol.. I see you’re another strong believer in if ya throw enough diplomats at a problem, the targets will eventually cave in.. or keel over from jaws&gums flapping at ‘em..;-)
While it is physically part of Pakistan , it is not necessarily to be construed as under the control of the Pakistan government. See http://www.fata.gov.pk/ for more info on the history of this locale.
It is also, to say the least, some pretty rugged country. Two frequently mentioned areas of primary concern are North and South Waziristan.
Norm, you’ve got that right...When you see pictures of those huge mountains in that area you realize what a terrible place it is, nearly impregnable..Many of the villages are at the base of the mountains,very hard to get to unnoticed...
I have seen several bombing runs on the mountains in the Central Highlands of Vietnam from a distance and when you saw the explosion on the mountainside, it was like looking at a match struck on a football field from way up in the stands—barely noticeable in other words..I feel sorry for our guys in Afghanistan- maybe one of the worst countries in the world to try and fight a war in...
Many have tried to conquer that region, none have succeeded.
We don’t need to conquer it, only reach out and touch the key perps and leaders when we can locate them. Strategic hits such as the recent one and inside intel will aid towards that end, but for a feet on the ground affair, it would take a whole heckuva lot of troops and air support to get the job done, and even then.. well, I thought it might help by posing this info.
I assume that Ashdown would be OK:
Paddy Asdon joined the Royal Marine Commandos in 1959, serving until 1972. He served in Borneo and the Persian Gulf before Special Forces training in 1965, after which he joined the elite Special Boat Service and commanded a Special Boat Section in the Far East. He then went to Hong Kong in 1967 to undertake a full-time interpreter’s course in Chinese, and returned to England in 1970 when he was given command of a Commando Company in Belfast.
After leaving the Marines, Ashdown worked for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as first secretary to the United Kingdom mission to the United Nations in Geneva. He was responsible for the UK’s relations with a several United Nations organisations and was also involved in the negotiation of several international treaties, and in some aspects of the European Security Conference (the Helsinki Conference). It has been speculated that this “cushy but dull” job was a cover for a role with MI6, but Ashdown has refused to comment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Ashdown
I think the terrorists know that. I would think they would wait to attack until after a Dem president gets in, and they are probably planning on one getting in this cycle.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.