Deal for U.S. to Hunt Bin Laden in Pakistan

[LiviaOlivia]

February 29, 2004
Report: Deal for U.S. to Hunt Bin Laden in Pakistan
By REUTERS
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-pakistan-usa-report.html
Filed at 1:10 p.m. ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States has struck a deal with Pakistan to allow U.S. troops to hunt for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden this spring in an area of Pakistan where he is believed to be operating, the New Yorker magazine reported on Sunday.

Thousands of U.S. troops will be deployed in a tribal area of northwest Pakistan in return for Washington's support of President Pervez Musharraf's pardon of the Pakistani scientist who this month admitted leaking nuclear arms secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea, investigative reporter Seymour Hersh wrote in the issue that goes on sale on Monday.

Full disclosure of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan's activities would have exposed him as ``the worst nuclear-arms proliferator in the world,'' an intelligence official is quoted as saying.

``It's a quid pro quo,'' according to a former senior intelligence official. ``We're going to get our troops inside Pakistan in return for not forcing Musharraf to deal with Khan.''

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[Kahuna]

1. Give me a damn break. The deal hs been on all along..

I've always believed that Musharraf knows where bin Laden is. And if Musharraf knows, his bestest friend Georgy knows.

[forgethell]

2. You know this means

that Osama will be dead or in jail by November!

[punpirate]

3. This is rather odd...

... especially considering some of the recent reports are that bin Laden had been cornered in one of the northeast provinces, near the Kashmir.

Why on earth do we want troops inside Pakistan? How effective can they be surrounded by a population clearly hostile to a US military presence, and with the Pakistani ISI helping al-Qaeda?

Ah, well, if the Bushies wanted to destabilize Pakistan, I can't think of a better way than forcing US troops into the country. There have already been assassination attempts against Musharraf, and this will likely lead to more.

[fearnobush]

6. The Haiti smoke screen,

Force Aristide to resign, invade Haiti, then sneak in this Terrorist swap deal. Has all the markings of a Rove/Chaney job.

[teryang]

4. BFEE supports nuclear proliferation and terrorism

...by its "ally" Pakistan.

[fearnobush]

5. This is an outrage.

Who the hell does Chimp think we are? A deal! free a man of mass nuke proliferation to get FUCKING PERMISSION SLIP to get OBL!!!!

[LiviaOlivia]

7. The great Seymour Hersh's article

should be available in a a little over 4 hours. I am eagerly awaiting
this read.

[ozone_man]

8. He does seem to have a finger on the pulse.

That article he wrote on the airlifting of the ISI (and OBL?) to Pakistan as the U.S. forces were ordered to stand down. Where have I heard that before. :freak: