[E]ven as inspectors and intelligence officials press their investigation of Dr. Khan, officials in Pakistan have declared the scandal over and have discussed the possibility of setting him free. In recent weeks, American officials have privately warned the new government in Pakistan about the dangers of doing so. “We’ve been very direct with them that releasing Khan could cause a world of trouble,” a senior administration official who has been involved in the effort said last week. “The problem with Pakistan these days is that you never know who is making the decision — the army, the intelligence agencies, the president or the new government.”
(Emphasis supplied.) That inspires confidence no? Well, at least we DO know that the Bush Administration accepted Pakistan's decision to NOT allow the U.S. to interrogate Khan about his activities. To this day, no American has been permitted to present a question to Khan.
Pakistan's ties to Al Qaida and the Taliban are well documented. It is no wonder that Afghani President Hamid Karzai has declared:
President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan threatened on Sunday to send soldiers into Pakistan to fight militant groups operating in the border areas to attack Afghanistan. His comments, made at a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, are likely to worsen tensions between the countries, just days after American forces in Afghanistan killed 11 Pakistani soldiers on the border while pursuing militants.
“If these people in Pakistan give themselves the right to come and fight in Afghanistan, as was continuing for the last 30 years, so Afghanistan has the right to cross the border and destroy terrorist nests, spying, extremism and killing, in order to defend itself, its schools, its peoples and its life,” Mr. Karzai said. “When they cross the territory from Pakistan to come and kill Afghans and kill coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to go back and do the same,” he said. “Today’s Afghanistan is not yesterday’s silent Afghanistan,” he warned. “We have a voice, tools and bravery as well.”
You think someone might want to ask the Presidential candidates about this? Me neither. More fun to chase the trivia. Tim Russert, may he rest in peace, has led the Media down this primrosse path of pathetic punditry.
Speaking for me only
