The US intelligence agencies and Democratic Congress leaders has mounted pressure on the Bush administration to take castigatory action against the suspected Al-Qaida camps in Pakistan.
The newly appointed Director of National Intelligence, John McConnell said that Pakistan is a haven for terrorists where senior leaders of Al-Qaida, including Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri were regrouping and rebuilding the network’s bases. He said this in the Senate Armed Services Committee in his first global threat assessment to Capitol Hill.
McConnell said further that more steps must be taken to go after Al-Qaida. He later warned that Al-Qaeda’s people might plan for future attacks against the United States while hiding in western mountains in Pakistan. They are re-establishing their bases in that region.
He said the camps in Pakistan are certainly existing. More than three-quarters of Al-Qaida’s leaders had been replaced by equally committed jihadis in those camps.
The intelligence has also show unpleasant expression on Pakistan’s recent peace deal with the Taliban. Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said that Pakistan has signed the deal with the tribes who have not abided by most of the agreement’s terms. As a result of the deal, Al-Qaida’s training camps is being increased in the region.
However, the US administration is still praising President Musharraf on his policies against Al-Qaeda activities in the region. The White House is openly supporting him even though Pakistan promised almost nothing to US regarding the training camps during the visit of the vice-president Cheney.
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