http://www.star-telegram.com/279/story/244565.htmlThe Fort Worth Star Telegram
Ability to pursue al Qaeda doubtfulBy GREG MILLER
Los Angeles Times
Sept. 23, 2007
Musharraf WASHINGTON -- Political turmoil and brazen attacks by Taliban fighters are forcing Pakistan's president to scale back his government's pursuit of al Qaeda, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
The development threatens a pillar of U.S. counterterrorism strategy, which has depended on Pakistan to play a lead role in keeping al Qaeda under pressure to reduce its ability to coordinate future strikes.
President Pervez Musharraf, facing a potentially fateful election in October and confronting calls to yield power after more than seven years of autocratic rule, appears too vulnerable to continue pursuing counterterrorism operations for the United States, the intelligence officials said.
At the same time, the Pakistani military has suffered embarrassing setbacks at the hands of militants in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan where Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda figures are believed to be hiding.
As a result, U.S. intelligence officials said, the conditions that have allowed the terrorist network to regain strength are likely to persist, enabling it to continue training foreign fighters and plot attacks.
"We are worried," said a senior U.S. counterterrorism official who monitors Pakistan's pursuit of al Qaeda in the rugged frontier region.
If Musharraf is removed from office or agrees to a power-sharing arrangement with political foes, there are also concerns that the "change in government could well mean a diminution of cooperation on counter terrorism," the official said.
A senior U.S. intelligence official said Pakistani retrenchment appears to have begun.
U.S. dilemma
Over the years, Musharraf's commitment to rooting out al Qaeda and Taliban elements has sometimes been questioned. Last fall, the president reached a peace agreement with tribal leaders in North and South Waziristan, scaling back military operations in return for a pledge that the tribes would rein in foreign fighters.
Instead, American intelligence officials said, the deal took pressure off al Qaeda at a critical time, enabling it to regroup and re-establish ties with terrorist affiliates in other parts of the world.
In recent months, Musharraf has sent troops to the tribal areas, particularly after suicide bombings by militants who vowed revenge after a July showdown in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, in which government forces stormed a radical mosque.
Musharraf's popular support has eroded this year, starting with a failed attempt to oust the nation's chief justice. Musharraf, who seized power in a coup in 1999, hopes to secure another presidential term in a vote by national and provincial lawmakers Oct. 6.
The unfolding situation has put the United States in the conflicted position of pressing for democratic reforms in a nation where doing so is likely to undermine efforts to apprehend bin Laden and shutting down terrorist camps linked to plots against Western targets.
With polls in Pakistan suggesting that bin Laden is more popular than many of the Muslim nation's politicians, analysts say it is extremely difficult for the beleaguered Musharraf to remain aligned with the U.S.