dagblog - Comments for "William K. Wolfrum's Morning: Toke of the Town"

Yup, looks like they think

artappraiser — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 04:06:08 +0000

In reply to Pakistan:I would venture a

Yup, looks like they think it's worth all the risky behavior:

Officials think bin Laden involved in Europe plot
By LOLITA C. BALDOR (AP) – 4 hours ago
WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden emerged Friday as possibly a key figure in a European terror plot, raising speculation he may be flexing his muscles in a move to show a besieged al-Qaida remains strong and able to launch major attacks on Western targets.
U.S. counterterrorism officials said they believe that senior al-Qaida leaders, including bin Laden, were involved in the plan to strike several European cities in a coordinated assault. If bin Laden had a direct hand in the planning, it would be the most active role he has played in a terror plot since the 9/11 attacks, according to U.S. officials and analysts.
Counterterrorism officials said that they are now working under the assumption that bin Laden played a role in the plotting, but they would not detail what indications they've seen that led them in that direction. Still, some also believe that bin Laden's orders may have been delivered by one of his top commanders, since the al-Qaida leader is known to avoid close contact with anyone except his closet confidants.....

Bin Laden role eyed in latest European terror plot
Dawn, Saturday, 02 Oct, 2010
WASHINGTON: Osama bin Laden and top Al-Qaeda leadership are likely behind the latest European terror plot, US officials said on Friday....
US intelligence officials have stressed this week that Al-Qaeda...has been clear in its intentions to strike the United States and Europe.....

And the U.S. got its

artappraiser — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 03:09:36 +0000

In reply to Pakistan:I would venture a

And the U.S. got its way:

Pakistan says Nato halt temporary, Oct. 2 Dawn

meanwhile Musharraf sees Zadari's weakness:

Musharraf apologises for mistakes, launches party
Saturday, 02 Oct, 2010

...he vowed to galvanise people and fight a “jihad against poverty, hunger, illiteracy and backwardness”....He said the new party would be a ‘national salvation’ that would “galvanise all Pakistanis regardless of religion, caste or creed” and warned the country’s current government was failing to “show any signs of light in the darkness that prevails in Pakistan”...

While his name is mud in Pakistan, NATO will welcome the narrative he has chosen to follow--a small supportive Pakistani minority is better than none at all.

Pakistan:I would venture a

artappraiser — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 02:57:23 +0000

In reply to William K. Wolfrum's Morning: Toke of the Town

Pakistan:

I would venture a guess that the administration is judging something a major threat, when the CIA director flies in to further threaten, despite having already upset Pakistanis to violent levels:

Sources said the Pakistani leaders were stunned by Mr Panetta’s menacing tone and assured him of intensifying the military offensive against militants in the tribal areas.

--Dawn.com, Islamabad, Oct. 1, "CIA chief takes tough line on drone hits"

further excerpt:

...The two-day visit by the chief of the US Central Intelligence Agency comes against the backdrop of an unprecedented increase in drone strikes in Waziristan, repeated aerial incursions into the tribal areas by US-led International Security Assistance Force and revelation of a terror plot being hatched in the region to attack European cities.

The current spike in drone attacks — almost two dozen in September, one of which reportedly took out leading Al Qaeda operative Sheikh Fateh Al Masri on Sept 25 — is being linked to the plot to attack European cities.

According to sources, Mr Panetta snappily demanded full cooperation in neutralising the Europe terror plot, more intelligence sharing and greater ‘operational space’ within Pakistan to avert future threats.

American journalist Bob Woodward has recently disclosed in his book Obama’s Wars that the CIA was using secret ‘pursuit teams’ of elite Afghan fighters in Pakistan for hunting Taliban leaders.

Analysts believe the demand for more operational space pertains to those secret units, whose presence has been denied by Pakistan.

An outline of the information regarding the European plot was shared with Pakistani leaders...

Here and here is Juan Cole on the European terrorist plot a couple of days ago. Interesting that he did not pooh-pooh it as "not really Al Qaeda," which he often does, he merely suggested it was evidence of their goals being adjusted downward. Cole, from the second post: Doing several cities at once would spread panic and is an al-Qaeda MO. The whole thing seems perfectly plausible to me, and while I understand the GWOT fatigue among analysts and commentators, I don’t think it can be dismissed.