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US stepping up unilateral attacks in Pakistan: report
Washington (AFP) March 27, 2008 The United States has stepped up unilateral strikes against Al-Qaeda and foreign fighters in Pakistan's tribal areas, partly because of fears the country's new leaders will insist they be scaled back, the Washington Post reported Thursday. The Pentagon declined to comment on the substance of the report, which said US-controlled Predator aircraft have struck at least three sites used by Al-Qaeda operatives over the past two months. "Our operations with Pakistan are closely coordinated," said Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman. "Pakistan recognizes that we fight a common enemy when it comes to terrorists." Musharraf's allies lost elections last month, and new prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani told US President George W. Bush this week that a broader approach to the "war on terror" is necessary, including political solutions. The strikes followed a "tacit understanding" with Musharraf and army chief General Ashfaq Kayani that permits US strikes on foreign rebels in Pakistan, but not against Pakistani Taliban, the Post quoted officials as saying. It quoted one senior official as describing the strikes as a "shake the tree" strategy designed to force Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and key lieutenants to move in ways that US intelligence can detect. In January, a missile strike attributed to the United States killed senior Al-Qaeda commander Abu Laith al-Libi. There was no immediate response from Pakistani officials on the report. Pakistan has never formally admitted to allowing such missile strikes and Musharraf earlier this year said that unauthorized military actions on Pakistani soil would be treated as an invasion. The report came as two senior US diplomats, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian affairs Richard Boucher, continued a visit to Pakistan apparently aimed at wooing the new government. A senior partner in the new coalition government, former premier Nawaz Sharif, warned the envoys earlier this week that parliament would review Musharraf's "one-man" strategy against Islamic extremism. Sharif said he told them that it was unacceptable for Pakistan -- which has suffered a recent wave of suicide bombings blamed on militants -- to become a "murder-house" for the sake of US policies. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto, of whose party the new prime minister is a member, was assassinated in a suicide attack in December. Related Links News From Across The Stans
US military not planning bases in Uzbekistan: ambassador
Tashkent (AFP) March 27, 2008The US military is not planning to use Uzbekistan as a base for operations in Afghanistan, Washington's ambassador to Tashkent said on Thursday, dispelling media reports about such plans. |
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