Taliban angry about losing their al Qaeda guy

AFP:

A militant Taliban group warned on Thursday of reprisals in Pakistan if there was another US drone attack, as the government condemned the latest missile strike in its territory.

Top Pakistani Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadur warned he would mount revenge attacks if the US carried out further strikes in tribal territory after missiles fired from a drone Wednesday killed six people, including a major Al-Qaeda operative.

Bahadur's group has been accused by the United States of launching attacks across the border in Afghanistan, but it abstains from violence in Pakistani territory under an understanding with military authorities.

"We will start revenge attacks across other districts if the US drone attacks do not stop after November 20," Taliban spokesman Ahmadullah Ahmadi said in a statement.

Speaking in parliament, Pakistani premier Yousuf Raza Gilani denounced the latest US spy drone attack, which occurred at Bannu district in northwest Pakistan.

"These attacks are adding to our problems. They are intolerable and we do not support them," Gilani told the national assembly.

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Yeah, right. Pakistan is continuing to play its double game but this time it is the Taliban that is getting the lip service while they are also getting the shaft.

The reaction of the Taliban is evidence of how much this attack stung their war effort. Their threats, though, are hollow. The Taliban is already doing the kind of attacks they are threatening including especially attacks on the main supply route for our forces in Afghanistan.

The US needs to keep the pressure on the Taliban and al Qaeda leadership. The decapitation strategy in Pakistan is degrading the enemy's ability to continue its war effort.