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Bush Hails Pakistan as Strong Ally
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 28, 2008; 4:02 PM
President Bush said today that Pakistan's new prime minister made a "strong commitment" to battling terrorists operating out of his country's lawless border region, whom U.S. officials have blamed for an increase in violence in neighboring Afghanistan.
Appearing alongside Bush on the South Lawn of the White House, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said extremists in the region are small in number but pose a serious threat to Pakistan. He also said most Pakistanis want peace and support the United States.
"This is our own war," Gillani said. "This is a war which is against Pakistan."
The remarks came during Gillani's first visit to Washington since Pakistani parliamentary elections in February resulted in a resounding defeat for the United States' long-standing ally, President Pervez Musharraf. [/COLOR][/U][/I][/B]
The visit comes amid growing concern among U.S. intelligence and defense officials about Pakistan's inability to contain extremists in its tribal areas, where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding, and which have become a staging ground for attacks into Afghanistan by Taliban militia.
Bush praised Pakistan as "a strong ally and a vibrant democracy," and said Gillani had promised to increase efforts aimed at quelling militants.
"We also appreciate the prime minister's strong words against the extremists and terrorists who not only would do us harm but have harmed people inside Pakistan," Bush said.
The new coalition government in Islamabad has generally emphasized negotiations with militants in the tribal areas over the use of aggressive military action. Pakistan, which receives large amounts of U.S. aid for counterterrorism efforts, also has resisted suggestions that troops from the United States or other countries be allowed into the region. During their brief remarks on the South Lawn, neither Bush nor Gillani mentioned a missile strike earlier today that hit a religious school just inside Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, killing six. The incident followed a series of strikes apparently by U.S. aircraft in recent months against militant leaders in Pakistan's tribal belt.
[Bush Meets Pakistani P.M., After U.S. Strike in Tribal Area
The New York Times
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Published: July 29, 2008
President Bush praised Pakistan’s commitment to fighting the Taliban and other extremists along its deteriorating border with Afghanistan on Monday, only hours after an American missile strike destroyed a militant outpost in that region, killing six, according to administration and Pakistani officials.
Mr. Bush, meeting with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani at the White House, sought to minimize the administration’s concerns about Pakistan’s willingness to fight extremists along its border with Afghanistan.
Senior American officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just three days ago, have publicly urged Pakistan to do more to deny safe havens to extremists and terrorists, like the one bombed on Monday.
With Mr. Gilani standing beside him on the South Lawn, Mr. Bush instead praised Pakistan as “a strong ally and a vibrant democracy” and expressed appreciation for “the prime minister’s strong words against the extremists and terrorists.”
“We talked about the need for us to make sure that the Afghan border is secure, as best as possible,” Mr. Bush said before the two leaders began a private lunch. “Pakistan has made a very strong commitment to that.”
The latest missile strike, however, underscored the increasing turmoil along that border. The strike, apparently carried out by an unpiloted drone, killed at least six people in a compound in Pakistan’s tribal regions near the Afghan border Monday, including a senior Al Qaeda operative, residents and officials in the area said.
The missile strike was one of several in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas this year that have been aimed at Al Qaeda members. One Pakistani security official and a resident in the area said the attack might have killed a trainer and weapons expert known as Abu Khabab al-Misri, though there was no confirmation of that. The same expert was reported killed in a similar raid in January 2006.
A spokesman of the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington, Carl Kropf, declined to comment on the missile strike. Another American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities of attacking targets in Pakistan, said if that Qaeda expert had been killed in the attack — and officials were still awaiting confirmation — it would deal Al Qaeda a significant blow.
“This guy is one of their absolute key specialists in poisons and explosives,” said the official. “He was also a key trainer of people involved in operations inside and outside the tribal areas.”
Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan, Pir Zubair Shah from Islamabad, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.
FOXNEWS.COM HOME
Report: Al Qaeda Operative Killed During Missile Strike in Pakistan
Monday, July 28, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Missiles hit a building in a Pakistani village on the border with Afghanistan on Monday, and intelligence officials said they were investigating reports that a senior Al Qaeda figure was among six people killed.
Pakistan's army said it had not confirmed the strike killed Al Qaeda operative Abu Khabab al-Masri, described by Washington as an expert who trained terrorists in the use of poisons and explosives. The U.S. offers a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
A Pakistani military intelligence official said al-Masri's wife told authorities that her husband died in the attack in South Waziristan. The woman was wounded and hospitalized, he said.
Another intelligence official said the strike killed four Egyptians and two Pakistanis. He identified one of the Egyptians as "Abu Khuba," but made clear he was referring to al-Masri.
While the Pentagon declined to respond to questions about possible American involvement in the strike, it followed a series of attacks in recent months on militant leaders in Pakistan's tribal belt that are widely believed to have been conducted by the U.S. military.
The attack came just hours before President Bush met with Pakistan's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, at the White House amid rising pressure on the Islamabad government to act against Taliban and Al Qaeda strongholds in his country's frontier region.
An American official in Washington expressed cautious optimism about the al-Masri reports.
"There is a real sense that this guy is gone," the official. But he cautioned that there was no material evidence yet to confirm al-Masri's death, such as a photograph of the dead man at the bomb site.
One of the Pakistani intelligence officials said al-Masri's body was now in the hands of local militants — complicating efforts to verify its identity.
Al-Masri was previously reported killed in a January 2006 missile strike in the Pakistani tribal region of Bajaur that targeted and missed Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri. Pakistani officials said then that al-Masri was among five al-Qaida militants believed killed in that attack, but bodies were never found.
The U.S. official said al-Masri was not an operations planner for Al Qaeda, but played a crucial role because of his knowledge of explosives and poisons and his death would be a significant blow for the terrorist network.
"Not only does he know about these things, he's trained people on them. He has a role to play, a vital role in external operations. He trains the people who go out to perform them," the official said.
Several Pakistani officials told The Associated Press that missiles hit a compound near Azam Warsak, a village about 2 1/2 miles from the Afghan border. Security officials initially described the building as a religious school, but a local administrator said the school sed years ag
ne intelligence official said al-Masri had been living in that area for some time training suicide bombers and rigging cars with explosives for attacks inside Afghanistan.
The official said al-Masri's wife, daughter and son were all wounded in Monday's attack and were being treated at a private hospital in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.
The second intelligence official said the government was working to confirm al-Masri's death. "We believe he's the same guy," the official said.
Both officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment to journalists.
The Pakistani army's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said troops were trying to reach the area to determine what happened.
The Web site of the U.S. government's Rewards for Justice program says al-Masri, 55, ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan before the hard-line Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001.
Al-Masri's "whereabouts are unknown at this time, though he may be residing in Pakistan. It is likely that he continues to train Al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists," the Web site says.
Asked if he had any details about Monday's attack, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "We have a very close working relationship with Pakistan. We respect their sovereignty. Pakistan is an ally in the global war on terror. Beyond that, I have nothing specific for you."
The recent missile strikes in the border region have strained Pakistan's relations with Washington, particularly since a new government took power nearly four months ago and sidelined the U.S.-allied President Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistani officials are seeking peace agreements in the border region in hopes of curbing Islamic extremists who have been blamed for a wave of suicide attacks across the country in the past year.
NATO contends the cease-fire deals have allowed militants based in the frontier region to step up attacks in Afghanistan, while U.S. officials warn that Al Qaeda leaders hiding along the border could be plotting another Sept. 11-style attack on the West.
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 28, 2008; 4:02 PM
President Bush said today that Pakistan's new prime minister made a "strong commitment" to battling terrorists operating out of his country's lawless border region, whom U.S. officials have blamed for an increase in violence in neighboring Afghanistan.
Appearing alongside Bush on the South Lawn of the White House, Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani said extremists in the region are small in number but pose a serious threat to Pakistan. He also said most Pakistanis want peace and support the United States.
"This is our own war," Gillani said. "This is a war which is against Pakistan."
The remarks came during Gillani's first visit to Washington since Pakistani parliamentary elections in February resulted in a resounding defeat for the United States' long-standing ally, President Pervez Musharraf. [/COLOR][/U][/I][/B]
The visit comes amid growing concern among U.S. intelligence and defense officials about Pakistan's inability to contain extremists in its tribal areas, where al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is believed to be hiding, and which have become a staging ground for attacks into Afghanistan by Taliban militia.
Bush praised Pakistan as "a strong ally and a vibrant democracy," and said Gillani had promised to increase efforts aimed at quelling militants.
"We also appreciate the prime minister's strong words against the extremists and terrorists who not only would do us harm but have harmed people inside Pakistan," Bush said.
The new coalition government in Islamabad has generally emphasized negotiations with militants in the tribal areas over the use of aggressive military action. Pakistan, which receives large amounts of U.S. aid for counterterrorism efforts, also has resisted suggestions that troops from the United States or other countries be allowed into the region. During their brief remarks on the South Lawn, neither Bush nor Gillani mentioned a missile strike earlier today that hit a religious school just inside Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, killing six. The incident followed a series of strikes apparently by U.S. aircraft in recent months against militant leaders in Pakistan's tribal belt.
[Bush Meets Pakistani P.M., After U.S. Strike in Tribal Area The New York Times
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Published: July 29, 2008
President Bush praised Pakistan’s commitment to fighting the Taliban and other extremists along its deteriorating border with Afghanistan on Monday, only hours after an American missile strike destroyed a militant outpost in that region, killing six, according to administration and Pakistani officials.
Mr. Bush, meeting with Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani at the White House, sought to minimize the administration’s concerns about Pakistan’s willingness to fight extremists along its border with Afghanistan.
Senior American officials, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just three days ago, have publicly urged Pakistan to do more to deny safe havens to extremists and terrorists, like the one bombed on Monday.
With Mr. Gilani standing beside him on the South Lawn, Mr. Bush instead praised Pakistan as “a strong ally and a vibrant democracy” and expressed appreciation for “the prime minister’s strong words against the extremists and terrorists.”
“We talked about the need for us to make sure that the Afghan border is secure, as best as possible,” Mr. Bush said before the two leaders began a private lunch. “Pakistan has made a very strong commitment to that.”
The latest missile strike, however, underscored the increasing turmoil along that border. The strike, apparently carried out by an unpiloted drone, killed at least six people in a compound in Pakistan’s tribal regions near the Afghan border Monday, including a senior Al Qaeda operative, residents and officials in the area said.
The missile strike was one of several in Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas this year that have been aimed at Al Qaeda members. One Pakistani security official and a resident in the area said the attack might have killed a trainer and weapons expert known as Abu Khabab al-Misri, though there was no confirmation of that. The same expert was reported killed in a similar raid in January 2006.
A spokesman of the National Counterterrorism Center in Washington, Carl Kropf, declined to comment on the missile strike. Another American official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities of attacking targets in Pakistan, said if that Qaeda expert had been killed in the attack — and officials were still awaiting confirmation — it would deal Al Qaeda a significant blow.
“This guy is one of their absolute key specialists in poisons and explosives,” said the official. “He was also a key trainer of people involved in operations inside and outside the tribal areas.”
Ismail Khan contributed reporting from Peshawar, Pakistan, Pir Zubair Shah from Islamabad, and Eric Schmitt from Washington.
FOXNEWS.COM HOME
Report: Al Qaeda Operative Killed During Missile Strike in Pakistan
Monday, July 28, 2008
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Missiles hit a building in a Pakistani village on the border with Afghanistan on Monday, and intelligence officials said they were investigating reports that a senior Al Qaeda figure was among six people killed.
Pakistan's army said it had not confirmed the strike killed Al Qaeda operative Abu Khabab al-Masri, described by Washington as an expert who trained terrorists in the use of poisons and explosives. The U.S. offers a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.
A Pakistani military intelligence official said al-Masri's wife told authorities that her husband died in the attack in South Waziristan. The woman was wounded and hospitalized, he said.
Another intelligence official said the strike killed four Egyptians and two Pakistanis. He identified one of the Egyptians as "Abu Khuba," but made clear he was referring to al-Masri.
While the Pentagon declined to respond to questions about possible American involvement in the strike, it followed a series of attacks in recent months on militant leaders in Pakistan's tribal belt that are widely believed to have been conducted by the U.S. military.
The attack came just hours before President Bush met with Pakistan's prime minister, Yousuf Raza Gilani, at the White House amid rising pressure on the Islamabad government to act against Taliban and Al Qaeda strongholds in his country's frontier region.
An American official in Washington expressed cautious optimism about the al-Masri reports.
"There is a real sense that this guy is gone," the official. But he cautioned that there was no material evidence yet to confirm al-Masri's death, such as a photograph of the dead man at the bomb site.
One of the Pakistani intelligence officials said al-Masri's body was now in the hands of local militants — complicating efforts to verify its identity.
Al-Masri was previously reported killed in a January 2006 missile strike in the Pakistani tribal region of Bajaur that targeted and missed Al Qaeda's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri. Pakistani officials said then that al-Masri was among five al-Qaida militants believed killed in that attack, but bodies were never found.
The U.S. official said al-Masri was not an operations planner for Al Qaeda, but played a crucial role because of his knowledge of explosives and poisons and his death would be a significant blow for the terrorist network.
"Not only does he know about these things, he's trained people on them. He has a role to play, a vital role in external operations. He trains the people who go out to perform them," the official said.
Several Pakistani officials told The Associated Press that missiles hit a compound near Azam Warsak, a village about 2 1/2 miles from the Afghan border. Security officials initially described the building as a religious school, but a local administrator said the school sed years ag
ne intelligence official said al-Masri had been living in that area for some time training suicide bombers and rigging cars with explosives for attacks inside Afghanistan.The official said al-Masri's wife, daughter and son were all wounded in Monday's attack and were being treated at a private hospital in Wana, the main town in South Waziristan.
The second intelligence official said the government was working to confirm al-Masri's death. "We believe he's the same guy," the official said.
Both officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment to journalists.
The Pakistani army's spokesman, Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas, said troops were trying to reach the area to determine what happened.
The Web site of the U.S. government's Rewards for Justice program says al-Masri, 55, ran a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan before the hard-line Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001.
Al-Masri's "whereabouts are unknown at this time, though he may be residing in Pakistan. It is likely that he continues to train Al Qaeda terrorists and other extremists," the Web site says.
Asked if he had any details about Monday's attack, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "We have a very close working relationship with Pakistan. We respect their sovereignty. Pakistan is an ally in the global war on terror. Beyond that, I have nothing specific for you."
The recent missile strikes in the border region have strained Pakistan's relations with Washington, particularly since a new government took power nearly four months ago and sidelined the U.S.-allied President Pervez Musharraf.
Pakistani officials are seeking peace agreements in the border region in hopes of curbing Islamic extremists who have been blamed for a wave of suicide attacks across the country in the past year.
NATO contends the cease-fire deals have allowed militants based in the frontier region to step up attacks in Afghanistan, while U.S. officials warn that Al Qaeda leaders hiding along the border could be plotting another Sept. 11-style attack on the West.
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when will we learn our lesson.
