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http://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/pakistan_taliban_cia/2008/01/06/62115.html
U.S. Weighs New Covert Push in Pakistan: Report
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Senior U.S. officials, concerned over intelligence reports that al Qaeda and
the Taliban are more intent on destabilizing Pakistan, are considering
expanding the authority of the CIA and the military to conduct far more
aggressive covert operations there, the New York Times said on Sunday.
Citing senior Bush administration officials who spoke off the record, the
Times said that while no decisions had been made, the options under
discussion included the CIA working with the military's Special Operations
forces.
Several participants in a meeting on Friday argued that the threat to
President Pervez Musharraf's government was now so acute that Musharraf and
the country's military leadership were likely to grant Washington more
latitude, the Times said.
Among those reported at the meeting were Vice President Dick Cheney,
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and top national security advisers to
President George W. Bush.
Spokesmen for the White House, the CIA, and the Pentagon declined to discuss
the meeting, but one official said the discussion reflected concerns that a
new al Qaeda haven was solidifying in parts of Pakistan and needed to be
countered, the Times said.
While no new options had been formally presented by Washington to Musharraf,
the newspaper said that officials from the White House to the Pentagon saw
an opening in Pakistan's changing political structure for Washington's
expanding authority in the nuclear-armed country.
"After years of focusing on Afghanistan, we think the extremists now see a
chance for the big prize -- creating chaos in Pakistan itself," the Times
quoted a senior official as saying.
Bush administration aides said that Pakistani and U.S. officials shared
concerns about a resurgent al Qaeda, and that U.S. diplomats and senior
military officers had been working closely with Pakistani officials to
strengthen Pakistan's counterterrorism operations, the newspaper said.
Some State Department officials contend, however, that U.S.-led military
operations in Pakistan near the Afghan border could foment a powerful
backlash and thus do more harm than good, the Times said.
New options for expanded covert operations under consideration included
loosening reins on the CIA so it could strike at select targets in Pakistan,
officials told the newspaper.
If the CIA were given wider latitude, it could call in military help or
charge Special Operations forces to act under its authority, the Times said.
Any expanded U.S. operations by the CIA or Special Operations forces would
be small and specifically tailored, military officials said.
The Friday meeting also included Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security
adviser, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and top
intelligence officials.
U.S. Weighs New Covert Push in Pakistan: Report
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Senior U.S. officials, concerned over intelligence reports that al Qaeda and
the Taliban are more intent on destabilizing Pakistan, are considering
expanding the authority of the CIA and the military to conduct far more
aggressive covert operations there, the New York Times said on Sunday.
Citing senior Bush administration officials who spoke off the record, the
Times said that while no decisions had been made, the options under
discussion included the CIA working with the military's Special Operations
forces.
Several participants in a meeting on Friday argued that the threat to
President Pervez Musharraf's government was now so acute that Musharraf and
the country's military leadership were likely to grant Washington more
latitude, the Times said.
Among those reported at the meeting were Vice President Dick Cheney,
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and top national security advisers to
President George W. Bush.
Spokesmen for the White House, the CIA, and the Pentagon declined to discuss
the meeting, but one official said the discussion reflected concerns that a
new al Qaeda haven was solidifying in parts of Pakistan and needed to be
countered, the Times said.
While no new options had been formally presented by Washington to Musharraf,
the newspaper said that officials from the White House to the Pentagon saw
an opening in Pakistan's changing political structure for Washington's
expanding authority in the nuclear-armed country.
"After years of focusing on Afghanistan, we think the extremists now see a
chance for the big prize -- creating chaos in Pakistan itself," the Times
quoted a senior official as saying.
Bush administration aides said that Pakistani and U.S. officials shared
concerns about a resurgent al Qaeda, and that U.S. diplomats and senior
military officers had been working closely with Pakistani officials to
strengthen Pakistan's counterterrorism operations, the newspaper said.
Some State Department officials contend, however, that U.S.-led military
operations in Pakistan near the Afghan border could foment a powerful
backlash and thus do more harm than good, the Times said.
New options for expanded covert operations under consideration included
loosening reins on the CIA so it could strike at select targets in Pakistan,
officials told the newspaper.
If the CIA were given wider latitude, it could call in military help or
charge Special Operations forces to act under its authority, the Times said.
Any expanded U.S. operations by the CIA or Special Operations forces would
be small and specifically tailored, military officials said.
The Friday meeting also included Stephen Hadley, Bush's national security
adviser, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and top
intelligence officials.
