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Pakistan Army told to fire at intruding Americans

By Khalid Hasan

Washington: Pakistan has issued new rules of engagement permitting its Army to fire at US forces that cross the border from Afghanistan without coordinating first, according to a report contributed to the magazine ‘American Conservative’ by a former CIA officer.

Philip Giraldi, now an international security consultant and writer of intelligence matters, writes in the February 28 issue of the magazine’s ‘Deep Background’ column that “President Musharraf has been receiving angry reports from his military that US forces have been engaging in hot pursuit across the border in violation of bilateral agreements.

Musharraf is also said to be unhappy about the recent abrupt withdrawal of Predators and other surveillance resources from Pakistan for transfer to Iraq for use against Iran. According to high level Pakistani sources, Musharraf and his Army chiefs expended a great deal of political capital in their support of the Al Qaeda hunt, clashing frequently with hostile tribesmen along the border. The US Central Command’s January announcement that the drones and other supporting surveillance technologies that were being used against Al Qaeda would be withdrawn to support ‘elections in Iraq,’ was an unpleasant surprise, particularly when ‘in Iraq’ turned out to be a euphemism for ‘against Iran.

The drones have not yet been returned and many operations in the border areas are reported to be on hold. Musharraf has had a difficult time explaining to his own supporters in the military, and to the Pakistani public, why he continues to be so supportive of US policies in the region.

Earlier Giraldi, quoting Seymour Hersch, reported in ‘Intelligence Brief,’ a newsletter he co-edits that the White House has given the Pentagon permission “to operate unilaterally in a number of countries where there is a perception of a clear and evident terrorist threat,” including Algeria, Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Malaysia and Tunisia. The chain of command reportedly includes Donald Rumsfeld and two of his deputies.

Under these new arrangements, “US military operatives would be permitted to pose abroad as corrupt foreign businessmen seeking to buy contraband items that could be used in nuclear-weapons systems. In some cases, according to the Pentagon advisers, local citizens could be recruited and asked to join up with guerrillas or terrorists. This could potentially involve organising and carrying out combat operations.”

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