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 MAR 5 - Armed with fresh intelligence, the CIA is moving
additional man power and equipment into Pakistan in the
effort to find Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al
Zawahri, U.S. officials tell ABC News.
"Reports that the trail has gone stone cold are not
correct," said one U.S. official. "We are very much
increasing our efforts there," the official said.
ABC quotes people familiar with the CIA operation saying undercover
officers with paramilitary training have been ordered into
Pakistan and the area across the border with Afghanistan as
part of the ramp-up.
Although never publicly acknowledged, Pakistan has
permitted CIA teams to secretly operate inside Pakistan.
Pakistan officials say they are aware that CIA teams have
increased their presence in northern Waziristan since last
September when Pakistan withdrew its troops from the area
under a much-criticized "peace deal" with tribal leaders.
Director of US National Intelligence Mike McConnell
testified last week that current intelligence "to the best
of our knowledge" puts both bin Laden and al Zawahri in
Pakistan. It was the first time a high-ranking U.S.
official publicly identified Pakistan as bin Laden's hiding
place.
McConnell's testimony came the day after the CIA deputy
director, Stephen R. Kappes, flew to Pakistan to confront
President Pervez Musharaff with "compelling" evidence that
new al Qaeda training camps were being established on
Pakistani territory.
U.S. officials would not describe the evidence in any
detail, but people in the intelligence community have
speculated recently that the CIA may have obtained
surveillance photos of either bin Laden or Zawahri in
Pakistan.
McConnell's public testimony was followed by a closed,
secret session with senators.
Past intelligence has indicated that bin Laden often
changed locations in March, traveling to hiding places in
the mountains once the snow cover begins to melt.
(Source: ABC News + DesPardes.com)
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