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Musharraf Nixes Greater CIA Role in Pakistan

In secret meetings, US spy chiefs sought larger combat role

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 27, 2008 9:00 AM CST
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(Newser) – Washington's top two intelligence officials made a secret trip to Pakistan this month "to convince Musharraf that time is ticking," the New York Times reports, quoting senior officials. DNI director Mike McConnell and CIA chief Michael Hayden sought greater latitude for the CIA to operate in Pakistan's near-lawless tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, but President Pervez Musharraf nixed any expansion of US combat presence.

But the two sides did agree to exchange information more quickly and to expand air missions. American intelligence services organized the Jan. 9 meeting, the first since Benazir Bhutto's assassination, amid heightened fears that the Taliban and other Islamic militants are stepping up efforts to destabilize the Pakistani government. Washington fears that Pakistan's internal political problems will distract Musharraf.

Pakistani tribal people fleeing from the troubled town of Makin, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, arrive in Miran Shah, the capital of Pakistan's tribal area of Waziristan, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. In a major battlefield success, Islamic militants attacked and occupied a Pakistani military fort on the Afghan border, officials said...
Pakistani tribal people fleeing from the troubled town of Makin, near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, arrive in Miran Shah, the capital of Pakistan's tribal area of Waziristan, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008....   (Associated Press)
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf speaks at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in central London, Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. Musharraf arrived Friday to argue his case to Britain's large Pakistani community and vowed to hold free and fair elections as scheduled next month. He told security and defense experts at...
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf speaks at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in central London, Friday, Jan. 25, 2008. Musharraf arrived Friday to argue his case to Britain's large Pakistani...   (Associated Press)
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf speaks during a working session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday Jan. 24, 2008. Climate change topped the agenda as well as pursuing a workable peace process in the Middle East and how technology is ushering in a new age of social networking...
Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf speaks during a working session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday Jan. 24, 2008. Climate change topped the agenda as well as pursuing a...   (Associated Press)
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Musharraf leaves Davos for London, rails against foreign military operations
Dawn (Pakistan)

 
Taliban • CIA • Pakistan • Pervez Musharraf • Michael Hayden • Benazir Bhutto • Mike McConnell • tribal areas

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