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The Irish Times April 27, 2002 �� US and British special forces are hunting al-Qaeda in Pakistan >From Chris Stephen, in Bagram, Afghanistan US and British special forces are operating in Pakistan as the war against al-Qaeda spreads beyond the borders of Afghanistan, a military source has told The Irish Times. The operations involve small teams of elite soldiers from the US Delta Force and the British SAS, with increasing numbers being deployed in recent weeks as the focus of the war shifts to Pakistan. Coalition planners believe the remnants of al-Qaeda and the Taliban have moved into Pakistan to escape the increasing numbers of coalition troops facing them in Afghanistan. "We've had special forces operating in Pakistan for months," said a Western military source. "They have also been in Afghanistan, in Kazakhstan, in Uzbekistan. They are operating with the full co-operation of the Pakistan government." He said the operation was conducted directly from Washington and London, a mark of the sensitivity of the operations in Pakistan, a country where the Taliban and al-Qaeda enjoy broad support. "They do not operate in the normal way, they are not under control of commanders in Afghanistan," said the source. "They will be tasked from London and Washington, they won't necessarily come under brigade control. They are operating with Pakistan's full consent." There is urgency behind the operation: Snow is melting in the mountains and there are fears that the Taliban, rested and rearmed, will launch new offensives. Stopping at Shannon airport en route for a tour of Central Asia and Afghanistan, the US Defence Secretary, Mr Donald Rumsfeld, said yesterday: "My guess is as spring comes and the weather improves, and as they find ways to communicate with each other, that they will probably again try to attack the interim (Afghan) authority and opposing factions in the country as well as US and coalition forces." He acknowledged that the chance to trap al-Qaeda in a major set-piece battle has now gone. "My impression is that the al-Qaeda and Taliban are avoiding, for the time being at least, concentrating themselves in larger groups," he said. While arms caches continue to be found, the al-Qaeda units who escaped the coalition offensive last year appear to have dispersed themselves throughout the mountain belt in south-western area of Afghanistan. The special forces units, working in small groups, are trying to pinpoint "safe houses" and cut supply routes through the towering Paktia mountains, some of the most inhospitable terrain in the world - the so-called Tribal Belt. This area is the Taliban's birthplace: It was from madrasas, or religious colleges, here that the Taliban - who's name means "religious student" - sprang in the mid-1990s to seize control of Afghanistan. Thousands of trails lead across the border, many old smuggling routes. Although much of Afghanistan has defected away from the Taliban, they remain popular in this zone. Pakistan has denied coalition involvement: "No US personnel are present in Pakistan's tribal areas searching for al-Qaeda men," said Mr Aziz Ahmad Khan, spokesman for the Pakistani Foreign Ministry. Politically, the mission is risky for Pakistan, where anti-American sentiment is strong. President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan is holding a referendum next Tuesday on his presidency, three years after he seized power from the democratically-elected government. He has defied strong anti-US sentiment to support the war against al-Qaeda and there are fears that news of US involvement would turn support away from him.Major political parties in Pakistan have announced a boycott of the referendum saying it is unconstitutional and not how a president should be elected. __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Health - your guide to health and wellness http://health.yahoo.com --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9617B Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
