Pakistan and US on diplomatic tightrope

UNITED STATES: The sensitive US-Pakistan alliance faces fresh strain — and scrutiny — amid signs that Al-Qaeda is regrouping and the Taliban plotting a new onslaught in Afghanistan, experts and officials say.

Vice President Dick Cheney’s surprise visit Monday to Pakistan underscored the delicate maintenance needed for the crucial relationship, forged as the smoke cleared from the September 11 attacks in 2001.

Washington, frustrated Pakistan has been unable to flush out Al-Qaeda, and gearing up for a new battle with the Taliban, must factor in President Pervez Musharraf’s delicate political perch as it applies pressure.

Cheney’s visit to Islamabad and a flurry of recent statements and warnings floated in the media by the US government are signs of growing concern, even though they are ritually couched in praise for Pakistan’s role so far.

“Many of our most crucial interests intersect in Pakistan, where the Taliban and Al-Qaeda maintain critical sanctuaries,” new US intelligence czar Michael McConnell told a congressional hearing Tuesday.

“Pakistan is our partner in the war on terror and has captured several Al-Qaeda leaders. However, it is also a major source of Islamic extremism.”

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Monday that “a lot more needs to be done” to combat terrorist elements in Pakistan, though he added Pakistan was committed to doing everything possible.

Given the intricate US-Pakistan relationship, top US officials reject the idea Washington is taking a hard, new tone with Musharraf.

“Let me just make one editorial comment here: I have seen some press reporting that says ‘Cheney went in to beat him up.

That’s wrong,’” said a senior Bush administration official traveling with the vice president.

The official declined to detail Cheney’s conversations with Musharraf, but noted that the Pakistani leader had already said a deal with tribal factions in North Waziristan region last September, supposed to cut the flow of militants into Afghanistan, had not worked out as hoped.

Washington had last year said the deal could work, if properly applied, but now believes its time is up.

“The tribes have not abided by most of the terms of the agreement,” Lieutenant General Michael Maples, US Army Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told a congressional committee Tuesday.

“Al-Qaeda’s network may exploit the agreement for increased freedom of movement and operation,” he said.

According to an official Pakistani statement, Cheney voiced “apprehensions” to Musharraf about Al-Qaeda regrouping in Pakistan’s tribal areas, and serious concerns about the possible Taliban offensive.

A week ago, tensions were set simmering when Islamabad dismissed as “absurd” US claims Al-Qaeda had set up new training camps in the remote tribal area.

A US official had earlier said compounds training 10 or 20 people at a time for possible attacks on the West had been detected over the past year in a semi-autonomous tribal area along the mountainous border with Afghanistan.

Washington, Wednsday, afp.