NEW JERSEY, JULY 13 - Well known neoconservative Bill Kristol of "The Weekly Standard"
news magazine with close links to the White House has said
that Alqaeda
has gained sanctuary in Waziristan. "And this is not acceptable".
Kristol, a paid political analyst for the right wing
conservative news channel Fox News, made the remarks
during his appearance in
Fox & Friends, which was broadcast on Thursday July 12.
Appearing on the TV show, he advocated military action
against Al Qaeda "sanctuaries in Waziristan". According to
him, the group enjoys a safe haven in Western Pakistan, more
specifically Waziristan.
Pakistan, an ally in the "war on terror", has
presently more
than 80,000 troops deployed on its Western border with
Afghanistan. Another division (10 - 12,000 troops) was
recently deployed in the North West Frontier Province, to tackle unrests and fight
extremism.
 In the show, a host cited a new report that "al Qaeda ... is
running from Iraq, apparently to Pakistan" and asked
Kristol
"did this report come out on purpose so that we will have
the right ... to go after Pakistan now?"Kristol
replied: "I think the (US) president's going to have to take
military action there (Waziristan) over the next few weeks or months".
Bush has to disrupt that sanctuary, he added.
"I think, frankly, we won't even tell Musharraf," Kirstol
continued. "We'll do what we have to do in Western Pakistan
and Musharraf can say, 'Hey, they didn't tell me.'"
He's not going to lose sleep over it, the neocon analyst
said, observing that President Gen Musharraf already has problems in major
cities and may look the other way if Waziristan is visited
or struck from air by US and NATO forces.
According to Kristol, "the big problem now is Waziristan, where Al
Qaeda has made sanctuary for itself. You cannot let them
have a
safe haven.....that's one lesson we've learnt from 9/11."
Calling 2007 as the "summer of intel chatters" (
in June and July it has been to the same level as pre - 9/11), another Fox host asked Kristol
what he thought about "al Qaeda making a comeback based on a
new report that said it was on the run in Iraq and moving to
Western Pakistan.
Kristol thought Al Qaeda has reconstituted
itself in Waziristan after President Musharraf "cut deals with Taliban and left them alone"
to operate, he thought.
 The Fox host
also pointed out that Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly
called up Gen Musharraf a couple of weeks back and told him
"this is not acceptable"...referring to Al Qaeda gaining
safe haven in Waziristan, according to him.
On Thursday, Bush's administration came under
intense grilling in Congress over its "unconditional
support" for President Pervez Musharraf, as lawmakers
doubted his ability to take strong action to reign in the
problem and called for a re-evaluation of US policy towards
Pakistan, reported AFP today.
According to one observer, the coalition wants to bring the
"war on terror" card back on top of Musharraf's deck, since
the Lal Masjid issue has been dealt with and the opposition
attempt to mobilize via London meeting has apparently
failed.
"President Musharraf has gained new political capital and
goodwill. They (US) now wants him to take advantage of his
new strength and deliver more".
A new US National Intelligence Estimate is said to present a
sobering analysis of terrorism threats to the United States,
concluding that Al Qaeda has reconstituted its core
structure along the Western border of Pakistan, and may now
be a stronger and more resilient organization today than it
appeared a year ago.
Last month, NATO and US-led forces based in Afghanistan made
air strikes in Northern Waziristan, against insurgents who were said to be planning an
attack. Coalition fighter planes and U.S. helicopter
gunships were used in the strikes. More than 60 people
were killed including men, women and children, besides destroying dozens of houses and a hotel.
After initial denial, NATO admitted of the air and ground
strikes inside Waziristan but blamed them on "hot pursuits"
in borderless areas.
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