Secret plan to capture bin Laden 'blocked by Bush'
The White House has blocked a secret Pentagon plan to pursue Osama bin Laden in the tribal areas of Pakistan, it was reported yesterday.
For six months, the possibility of killing or capturing the al-Qa'ida leader and mastermind of the September 11 terrorist attacks has diminished because of political in-fighting, according to the 'New York Times'.
Late last year, the newspaper said, senior Bush administration officials, casting aside long-held concerns about the diplomatic ramifications, drafted a plan to enable US Special Forces to operate in the lawless tribal areas.
But the classified Pentagon order, which was designed to mark a shift from what some officials saw as an aversion to risk, became bogged down in a Bush administration turf war.
Bush administration lawyers and State Department officials are said to be concerned about military missions not being authorised by the US ambassador in Islamabad while other argue that the opportunity for success has passed.
Codenamed 'Operation Cannonball' by the CIA, the hunt for leading al-Qa'ida figures in Pakistan is seen by CIA officers in Afghanistan as best way to prevent an attack on theUS.
But the newspaper reported that CIA operatives in Pakistan had played down the al-Qa'ida presence there and senior CIA figures had intervened to ease tensions between its Kabul and Islamabad stations.
With just over six months left before the end of George W Bush's presidency, bringing bin Laden to justice remains a priority. Intelligence agencies have concluded that bin Laden has re-established a network of training camps and recruits have risen to 2,000 in recent months from 200 earlier this year.
Risks
But sending US forces into Pakistan would carry significant risks, both politically and militarily. The tribal areas are populated by bin Laden sympathisers, making it unlikely that even the best-planned raid could succeed.
State Department officials are concerned that such a move would also trigger a diplomatic outcry from the Pakistani government and could destablilise President Pervez Musharraf. (© Daily Telegraph, London)
- Toby Harnden in Washington
