Special ops attack in Pakistan, search for al Qaeda

Washington Times:

U.S. ground forces crossed the border from Afghanistan and attacked suspected al Qaeda targets in Pakistan on Wednesday as part of an aggressive new strategy to kill or capture Osama bin Laden before President Bush leaves office, U.S. officials said.

The strategy also appears intended to take advantage of political turmoil in Pakistan, where militants associated with Pakistan's Taliban movement attempted to kill the prime minister Wednesday and parliament is due to elect a new president on Saturday.

"I know the hunt is on; they're pulling out all the stops," said a Defense Department official with knowledge of the situation who asked not to be named. "They are leaving no stone unturned. They want to find bin Laden before the president leaves office and ensure that al Qaeda will not attack the U.S. during the upcoming elections."

...

The attack took place in South Waziristan, part of Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. The tribal areas have become safe havens for al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

Bin Laden and his No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri, are thought to be hiding there. It was not clear whether any militants were killed or captured in the raid.

...

A U.S. counterterrorism official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that "finding bin Laden has always been a priority" and that targeting al Qaeda bases is based on actionable intelligence. However, he added that the November elections in the U.S. have renewed a sense of urgency to capture the terrorist leader. "Any period of transition, like the upcoming election, can be seen as a potential vulnerability," he said.

Bruce Riedel, a former senior official on the White House National Security Council and former CIA officer, agreed.

"Many people in the intelligence community are concerned about the transition in the United States as a time when al Qaeda may strike the U.S.," he told The Times. "The best defense is offense to try to decapitate al Qaeda´s leadership, but that requires extraordinarily good intelligence."

The Bush administration also appeared to be taking advantage of a power vacuum in Pakistan to mount the attack.

...

I think the boots on the ground suggest at a minimum some intelligence gathering as well as targeting a specific high value al Qaeda leader. It is also a way to make al Qaeda leadership even more nervous than just from Predator Hellfire attacks.

Keeping the leadership on the run can make it more difficult for them to plan attacks, but I suspect that any attack planned for the next few weeks was put in motion several months ago so these assaults are probably trying to stop attacks in January or in the spring.