State Department wants to run war against al Qaeda in Pakistan

Washington Post:

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The administration is hopeful that Pakistan's new army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, will support more robust efforts involving U.S. intelligence and military operatives targeting al-Qaeda's terrorist sanctuaries in the country, the officials said.

"Kiyani has a strong recognition that things haven't worked," said one senior military official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. "He recognizes the level of competence and proficiency" of Pakistan's forces "will need attention."

The unrest has led to a greater focus in Washington on threats facing Pakistan, including not only terrorism, but increasingly a growing religious insurgency, said another senior military official. "The conditions we face are not waiting, so why should we wait?" he said.

Senior U.S. officials discussed at the White House last week a new proposal to give U.S. Special Operations forces and the CIA greater leeway to conduct operations in the tribal areas.

But that proposal, along with several different U.S. scenarios for addressing the sanctuary, remains hampered by bureaucratic infighting in Washington, according to senior military officials familiar with the plans. "There should be a plan, singular. That is what we are trying to do now," one official said.

One point of contention involves who within the U.S. government would approve operations in the Federally Administered Tribal Area, the rugged and lawless region bordering Afghanistan.

The Pentagon seeks greater authority to conduct operations while coordinating with the State Department. Adm. Eric Olson, head of U.S. Special Operations Command, visited Pakistan last month and discussed with President Pervez Musharraf and senior military leaders how else the U.S. military can assist in countering "a very complex insurgency," one military official said.

The State Department position is that the U.S. ambassador should approve every operation in Pakistan.

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The State Department would be too timid to run a war effort against a wicked enemy like al Qaeda. they would tie themselves in knots worried about political maybes while the enemy got away. State Department control over military operations in Laos during the Vietnam war was a disaster, They restricted operations to the point where they were ineffective and permitted the communist to blatantly violate the Geneva Accords that were supposed to have neutralized Laos.

What I find interesting about this article is how it completely ignores the Pakistan insistence that no covert or overt operations be conducted within the country by US forces. That is probably for domestic consumption, but it is part of the political reality. the covert operations would have to look like Pakistani operations.

The NY Times profiles the new general in charge of the Pakistan army that we will be working with in counterinsurgency operations.