American Airstrikes in Pakistan: Bush Sends Message to Musharraf

By Andrew Cochran

It is no coincidence that the meeting between new Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf was preceded by admissions by U.S. commanders in Afghanistan that they've fired artillery units at Taliban forces across the border in Pakistan. The commanding general who made those statements also reiterated what U.S. officials have said since the Waziristan "accords" - that Taliban incursions into Afghanistan have increased markedly, by one count a threefold increase. So the general's admission to the press, made after talking to the U.S. Army vice chief of staff, was probably intended as a shot across Musharraf's bow and and a first step towards increased U.S. and NATO action in Afghanistan and possibly Waziristan this spring. Recently departed State Department counterterrorism coordinator and CIA veteran, Ambassador Henry Crumpton, spoke last month at a Potomac Institute event, and I asked him if we could do with respect to Waziristan or whether it would be a permanent training ground for Al Qaeda and Taliban, and his reply was very pessimistic. Newsweek ran a very good story in late December with details of the recruitment and training activities there for worldwide attacks.

We've addressed the Pakistan's surrender and the Al Qaeda-Taliban presence in Waziristan often here - a sample:

Daveed Gartenstein-Ross:

New York Times: "Taliban Mini-State" in Waziristan
Cross-Border Raids into Afghanistan Accelerate
Pakistan's Peace Deal with Terrorist Factions a Major Blow to U.S.

Animesh Roul:

Oxymoronic Perception: “Pakistan is genuine in fighting terror,” & “Al Qaeda active, strong in Pakistani hideout”

My posts:

Is Musharraf Buying His Survival and Is Bush Giving Up on Him?
Pakistan Expert Discusses Powerful Al Qaeda-Taliban Network in Waziristan

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