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WASHINGTON, Feb 19: The Pentagon has advocated direct US strikes against alleged Al Qaeda training camps inside North Waziristan where the terrorist group appears to have made new inroads, the New York Times reported on Monday.
The concern about a resurgent Al Qaeda has been the subject of intensive discussion at high levels of the Bush administration, the report said, and has reignited debate about how to address Pakistan's role as a haven for militants without undermining the government of President Pervez Musharraf.
The Pentagon, the report said, wanted direct US strikes against the camps, but others warned that any raids could result in civilian casualties.
ââ¬ÅState Department officials say that increased American pressure could undermine President Musharraf's military-led government,ââ¬Â the report added.
Last week, President Bush's senior counterterrorism adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, went to Afghanistan to consult security officials about rising US concerns on Al Qaeda's resurgence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Quoting unnamed intelligence sources, the newspaper reported that Al Qaeda, the terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden, had established a new operating organization after being ousted more than five years ago from its safe haven in formerly Taliban-run Afghanistan.
Osama bin Ladenââ¬â¢s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in particular appeared to be coordinating operations from North Waziristan, where the Pakistani government had little control, the report claimed.
The report identified several new Al Qaeda compounds in North Waziristan, including one that it said might be training operatives for strikes against targets beyond Afghanistan.American analysts told the newspaper that the compounds functioned under a loose command structure and were operated by groups of Arab, Pakistani and Afghan militants allied with Al Qaeda. They receive guidance from their commanders and Zawahri. Osama bin Laden, who has long played less of an operational role, appears to have little direct involvement.
The report said the training camps had yet to reach the size and level of sophistication of the Al Qaeda camps established in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. But groups of 10 to 20 men were being trained at the camps, the officials said, and the Al Qaeda infrastructure in the region was gradually becoming more mature.
As recently as 2005, American intelligence assessments described senior leaders of Al Qaeda as cut off from their foot soldiers and able only to provide inspiration for future attacks. But more recent intelligence describes the organization's hierarchy as intact and strengthening.
American officials and analysts said a variety of factors in Pakistan had come together to allow "core Al Qaeda leadershipââ¬Â to regain some of its strength. The emergence of a relative haven in North Waziristan and the surrounding area has helped senior operatives communicate more effectively with the outside world via courier and the Internet.
The newspaper said that investigation into last summer's failed plot to bomb airliners in London has led counterterrorism officials to what they say are "clear linkages" between the plotters and core Al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan. American analysts point out that the trials of terrorism suspects in Britain revealed that some of the defendants had been trained in Pakistan.
In a videotaped statement last year, Zawahri claimed responsibility for the July 2005 London suicide bombings. Included in the same tape was a statement by one of the London suicide bombers, pledging allegiance to Al Qaeda. Two of the four bombers travelled to Pakistan prior to the attack.
The NYT report said that some counter-terrorism experts question the seriousness of Pakistan's commitment to the fight against terror. They argued that elements of Pakistan's military still supported the Taliban and saw them as a valuable proxy to counter the rising influence of India.
Since 2001, members of various militant groups in Pakistan had increased their cooperation with one another in the tribal areas, the report said.
It quoted analysts as saying that North Waziristan became a hub of militant activity last year, after President Musharraf negotiated a treaty with tribal leaders in the area.
Officials told the newspaper that the United States still had little idea where Osama bin Laden and Zawahri had been hiding since 2001, but that the two men were not believed to be present in the camps currently operating in North Waziristan.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/20/top6.htm
The concern about a resurgent Al Qaeda has been the subject of intensive discussion at high levels of the Bush administration, the report said, and has reignited debate about how to address Pakistan's role as a haven for militants without undermining the government of President Pervez Musharraf.
The Pentagon, the report said, wanted direct US strikes against the camps, but others warned that any raids could result in civilian casualties.
ââ¬ÅState Department officials say that increased American pressure could undermine President Musharraf's military-led government,ââ¬Â the report added.
Last week, President Bush's senior counterterrorism adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, went to Afghanistan to consult security officials about rising US concerns on Al Qaeda's resurgence in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Quoting unnamed intelligence sources, the newspaper reported that Al Qaeda, the terrorist network led by Osama bin Laden, had established a new operating organization after being ousted more than five years ago from its safe haven in formerly Taliban-run Afghanistan.
Osama bin Ladenââ¬â¢s deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, in particular appeared to be coordinating operations from North Waziristan, where the Pakistani government had little control, the report claimed.
The report identified several new Al Qaeda compounds in North Waziristan, including one that it said might be training operatives for strikes against targets beyond Afghanistan.American analysts told the newspaper that the compounds functioned under a loose command structure and were operated by groups of Arab, Pakistani and Afghan militants allied with Al Qaeda. They receive guidance from their commanders and Zawahri. Osama bin Laden, who has long played less of an operational role, appears to have little direct involvement.
The report said the training camps had yet to reach the size and level of sophistication of the Al Qaeda camps established in Afghanistan under Taliban rule. But groups of 10 to 20 men were being trained at the camps, the officials said, and the Al Qaeda infrastructure in the region was gradually becoming more mature.
As recently as 2005, American intelligence assessments described senior leaders of Al Qaeda as cut off from their foot soldiers and able only to provide inspiration for future attacks. But more recent intelligence describes the organization's hierarchy as intact and strengthening.
American officials and analysts said a variety of factors in Pakistan had come together to allow "core Al Qaeda leadershipââ¬Â to regain some of its strength. The emergence of a relative haven in North Waziristan and the surrounding area has helped senior operatives communicate more effectively with the outside world via courier and the Internet.
The newspaper said that investigation into last summer's failed plot to bomb airliners in London has led counterterrorism officials to what they say are "clear linkages" between the plotters and core Al Qaeda operatives in Pakistan. American analysts point out that the trials of terrorism suspects in Britain revealed that some of the defendants had been trained in Pakistan.
In a videotaped statement last year, Zawahri claimed responsibility for the July 2005 London suicide bombings. Included in the same tape was a statement by one of the London suicide bombers, pledging allegiance to Al Qaeda. Two of the four bombers travelled to Pakistan prior to the attack.
The NYT report said that some counter-terrorism experts question the seriousness of Pakistan's commitment to the fight against terror. They argued that elements of Pakistan's military still supported the Taliban and saw them as a valuable proxy to counter the rising influence of India.
Since 2001, members of various militant groups in Pakistan had increased their cooperation with one another in the tribal areas, the report said.
It quoted analysts as saying that North Waziristan became a hub of militant activity last year, after President Musharraf negotiated a treaty with tribal leaders in the area.
Officials told the newspaper that the United States still had little idea where Osama bin Laden and Zawahri had been hiding since 2001, but that the two men were not believed to be present in the camps currently operating in North Waziristan.
http://www.dawn.com/2007/02/20/top6.htm
