Posted on 01/26/2008 10:24:21 PM PST by jdm
WASHINGTON - The top two U.S. intelligence officials made a secret visit to Pakistan in early January to seek permission from President Pervez Musharraf for greater involvement of American forces in trying to ferret out al-Qaida and other militant groups active in the tribal regions along the Afghanistan border, a senior U.S. official said.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity given the secret nature of the talks, declined to disclose what was said, but Musharraf was quoted two days after the Jan. 9 meeting as saying U.S. troops would be regarded as invaders if they crossed into Pakistan to hunt al-Qaida militants.
The New York Times — which first reported on the secret visit by CIA Director Michael Hayden and Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence — said Musharraf rebuffed an expansion of an American presence in Pakistan at the meeting, either through overt CIA. missions or by joint operations with Pakistani security forces.
Pakistan has been under growing U.S. pressure to crack down on militants in its tribal regions close to the Afghan border, a rugged area long considered a likely hiding place for al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, as well as an operating ground for Taliban militants planning attacks on coalition forces in Afghanistan.
Several U.S. presidential candidates have hinted they would support unilateral action in the area.
In a Jan. 11 interview, Musharraf told The Straits Times of Singapore that U.S. troops would "certainly" be considered invaders if they set foot in the tribal regions. "If they come without our permission, that's against the sovereignty of Pakistan," he said. "I challenge anybody coming into our mountains. They would regret that day."
South Waziristan is a semiautonomous region where the central government has never had much control. It is home to scores of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters, many of whom fled there from neighboring Afghanistan after the U.S-led invasion in 2001.
The border region emerged as a front line in the war on extremist groups after Musharraf allied Pakistan with the U.S. following the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Washington has given Pakistan billions of dollars in aid to help government forces battle militants.
Musharraf, who toured Europe last week seeking support for his embattled government, rejected claims that the violence was a sign of a resurgent Taliban. More than 150 rebels and soldiers are reported to have been killed in the region this month alone.
Musharraf in the past has credited cooperation between Pakistani intelligence services and the CIA, both of whom believe that Pakistani militant leader Baitullah Mehsud was the mastermind of the Dec. 27 gun and suicide bomb attack that killed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto.
But the State Department's counterterrorism chief, Dell Dailey, said Tuesday that the Bush administration was displeased with "gaps in intelligence" received from Pakistan about the activities of extremist groups in the tribal regions.
"We don't have enough information about what's going on there. Not on al-Qaida. Not on foreign fighters. Not on the Taliban," he said.
Dailey, a retired Army lieutenant general with extensive background in special operations, said Pakistan needs to fix the problem. However, said the U.S. wasn't likely to conduct military strikes inside Pakistan on its own, saying that would anger many Pakistanis.
Rather than allow an increased U.S. presence, the Times reported that Pakistan and the United States are discussing other joint efforts, such as increased use of armed Predator surveillance aircraft over the tribal areas, and identifying ways the U.S. can speed intelligence information to Pakistani security forces.
The paper said the Jan. 9 trip by McConnell and Hayden came five days after senior administration officials debated new strategies for dealing with Pakistan. It had reported previously that no decisions were made at that meeting of the National Security Council, which included top administration officials, but not President Bush.
The times quoted a senior officials as saying "the purpose of the mission (by McConnell and Hayden) was to convince Musharraf that time is ticking away" and that the increased attacks on Pakistan would ultimately undermine his effort to stay in office.
The public needs to know this because?
It’s not a “secret” if I’m reading it online.
“Top agents in secret trip to Pakistan”
.... ... .... .. .
...and thank you VERY FREAKIN MUCH, NY Times for leaking this story because you care for this country.
If I were President Bush before my last day in office, I would want the list of those traitors who leaked a lot of stories like these to the press and get “payback”.
Agree......pretty much puts this story under cover sheet number three of this PDF file........:o)
http://fas.org/sgp/othergov/coversheets.pdf
Stay safe !
Thank you Squantos.
Smiling...well now, that pretty well covers it.
You are always welcome Cindy !
Hope yer well......Nite !
I use those at work.......:o)
Makes boring meetings a little better.
Well, they definitely have a place to round out those meetings that are real yawners.
LOL.......Agree !
Nite !
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity given the secret nature of the talks, declined to disclose what was said, but Musharraf was quoted two days after the Jan. 9 meeting as saying U.S. troops would be regarded as invaders if they crossed into Pakistan to hunt al-Qaida militants.
Would a senator be considered a senior US official? Someone on the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
The creep on the far left is my pick. He is the chairman of that committee and a sneak.
Good night Squantos.
Sleep well.
It’s a sickening reality knowing they’re all so
unscrupulous, it could be any of them ...PING~!
IMHO this secret visit wasn't a can we please hunt on your property.....this was WE ARE GOING TO HUNT whether you like it or not visit on you property.
Now I understand why Mushy is taking such a strident public tone towards us.....he got told to move aside.
Jan 9-----Hayden and McConnell take Mushy to the woodshed in a meeting in Pakistan( for those MEDIA LURKERS...this hints at a decision...:-))....Mushy by this account lashes out at us....begins to take a very strident tone with us in public statements.
Jan 16----- Somewhere in Pakistan an unknown group of men ambush a deputy of the Haqqani(sp)network and kill him.
Jan 26---- We get a press release from the US military in Afghanistan of said Haqqani deputies death.(whats up wit dat?)
Jan 27---- its leaked to the TIMES that a secret visit of Hayden and McConnell has taken place.
Strap on the seatbelts....the tribals are about to go hot.
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