Supporting Pakistan

The US National Security Adviser, Stephan Hadley, came out today on the talk show circuit and pledged American support to Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf for a major crackdown on the Taliban hiding out in the "tribal areas" of Northwestern Pakistan.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's 10-month-old peace deal with tribal elders in northwestern Pakistan that was aimed at marginalizing pro-Taliban militants, has failed, said Stephen Hadley, the adviser.

"It has not worked the way he wanted. It has not worked the way we wanted it," he said on the ABC television program "This Week."

Concern about a resurgent militant threat has grown over the last two months, Hadley added. "And we're responding to it … In the short run, we need to take it on operationally," he said without elaborating.

Musharraf, a key ally in the U.S.-declared global war on terrorism, has been moving more troops into western areas of the country near the Afghan border, said Hadley, who appeared on four U.S. network interview programs.

"We are supporting that effort in order to get control of the situation," he told ABC.

He added on CNN's "Late Edition" program: "We have provided all appropriate support that we can consistent with Pakistani sovereignty,"

Hadley said Taliban havens in northwest Pakistan were a threat to both Musharraf's government and the United States. "There is pooling of Taliban there. There is training, and there are operations," he said on Fox News.

The al Qaeda big number two, Ayman al Zawahiri was reportedly behind the entire mess at the Red Mosque in Islamabad. So the folks in al Qaeda now have the war they wanted o provoke. Be careful what you wish for.