Oct 01 2007
Bhutto Gives Musharraf Cover To Call In The US Cavalry
In Pakistans political battle for the next President, former Pak PM Bhutto has made a public statement on whether the US should be allowed to come into Pakistan and deal with Bin Laden (and by extension the leadershop of al-Qaeda):
Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said on Monday that she might allow a U.S. military strike inside Pakistan to eliminate al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden if she were the country’s leader.
“I would hope that I would be able to take Osama bin Laden myself without depending on the Americans. But if I couldn’t do it, of course we are fighting this war together and (I) would seek their cooperation in eliminating him,” Bhutto said in an interview on BBC World News America.
Bhutto not only gave herself cover in case she can give Musharraf a run for control of the country, but she has also given him cover in case he does let the US in to deal with the growing threat of al-Qaeda. Some might even see this as a public Green Light for US action prior to it actually being enacted. I would be one of those. This could be a signal of solidarity before something big happens. I still say the big news this year will be coming out of the frontier provinces of Pakistan – not just Iraq.
AJ
You don’t know how right you are.
A Quiet Triumph May be Brewing
There are signs that the global Islamic jihad movement is splitting apart, in what would be a tremendous achievement for American strategy. The center of the action is in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the very territory which is thought to harbor Usama, and from which Al Qaeda was able to launch 9/11. Capitalizing on existing splits, a trap was set and closed, and the benefits have only begun to be evident.