Biden In Pakistan To Talk Terror

By: Farhan Bokhari
Topics: World Watch

(AP Photo/B.K.Bangash)

Vice President-elect Joe Biden was in Pakistan for talks Friday with the leaders of the country at the heart of the fight against Islamic extremists, the U.S. Embassy confirmed.

Biden was due to meet president Asif Ali Zardari and prime minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, said a senior Pakistani government official, who said a third meeting was likely to take place with Gen. Ashfaq Kiyani, the army's chief of staff.

Biden's visit came just hours after a U.S. counterterrorism official told CBS News correspondent Bob Orr that an American missile strike had killed two senior al Qaeda figures in Pakistan.

The men were identified as Usama al-Kini, al Qaeda's operations chief in Pakistan, and Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan, a top lieutenant.

A senior Pakistani security official confirmed the killing of the two militants, saying Pakistan had, "knowledge of the killing," but declining to give further details on the grounds that it would compromise important security information.

Al Kini and Swedan, "were very high on our list of people that we (U.S. and Pakistan) wanted to catch," said the Pakistani security official.

A Senior Western diplomat said it was important to note that confirmation of the killings coincided with Biden's visit. It's not the first time the arrest or killing of important terror suspects linked to Pakistan has come just as senior U.S. officials visit the country.

"The Pakistanis will be keen to impress Mr. Biden, who will be a key figure in the next U.S. administration, that they are vital players in the war on terror," said one Western diplomat in Islamabad, who, like the other sources, did not want to be named.

Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University, told the Washington Post that the targeted strikes by U.S. drones appear to be hitting al Qaeda's senior members hard, and it could be thanks to the Pakistanis.

"It is a stunning testament of the accuracy of intelligence that the United States is obtaining," Hoffman told the paper. "Either we have built up an impressive network of sources that facilitates such precision targeting, or the Pakistani authorities are cooperating big-time." (Click here to read the Washington Post's article.)

Pakistani officials expect Biden to visit India during his current trip to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in an attempt to bridge differences between the two south Asian nuclear-armed countries following the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

22 Comments +

Add a Comment

See all 22 Comments


by vexit January 9, 2009 5:58 PM EST: a href=" http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/One_World_Government/Bilderberg_Group_TBG.html" target="new" class="link" The real people behind the terrorism. /a; Reply to this comment


by Dwaraka36 January 9, 2009 4:27 PM EST: Pakistan, according to some reports, stated that it will extradite terrorists to the US as it has an extradition treaty with the US. But Pakistan would not send terrorists implicated in the Mumbai attacks to India as it has no such treaty with India. Since, US citizens were killed in the November 2008 terrorist incident in India, the US should bring the terrorists and their support network here and try them. That should satisfy both India and Pakistan. Since the US courts do not hesitate to award capital punishment in deserving cases, a trial in the US should be welcomed by Indian citizens. The US had pursued many other terrorist groups successfully around the globe. This can be a feather in Vice President-elect Biden%u2019s cap.; Reply to this comment


by dbstevens January 9, 2009 4:18 PM EST: It''s "terrorism" not "terror."; Reply to this comment


by notblue January 9, 2009 3:59 PM EST: Mcliar, thanks for informing us on the level of your understanding, explains alot.; Reply to this comment


by downtowner97 January 9, 2009 2:01 PM EST: I''ll lay odds that Biden doesn''t shoot an old man in the face in the next 8 years. If he does, then Conservatives can start making fun of him; Reply to this comment


by jn122736 January 9, 2009 1:43 PM EST: Hide the booze- Biden is coming. World leaders wil be stunned when they meet this buffoon. Enter Biden with both feet stuck in his mouth.

Posted by junglejimy12 at 10:12 AM : Jan 09, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Not to worry, junglejimy12,

Compared to Bush, world learders will view Biden as another Einstein.; Reply to this comment


by jn122736 January 9, 2009 1:14 PM EST: Mcliar, are you able to comprehend that there were Dems in congress the last eight years? Do you realize that the repubs never had a super majority and the dems had to vote with them in order to fund the war etc.? Guess not ! Geesh!

Posted by at 09:55 AM : Jan 09, 2009
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

notblue;

A super majority is only needed to OVERRIDE a presidential veto.

For the first six years of the Bush administration, the republican-controlled senate simply rubber-stamped and/or passed everything Bush asked for.; Reply to this comment


by mbourn2 January 9, 2009 1:10 PM EST: During the election, Biden could not keep his foot out of his mouth for 2 days in a row.... Is he REALLY the one we want negotiating foreign policy?; Reply to this comment


by carlylaine January 9, 2009 12:59 PM EST: McLIAR: Interesting name for an idiot. YOU.; Reply to this comment


by notblue January 9, 2009 12:55 PM EST: Mcliar, are you able to comprehend that there were Dems in congress the last eight years? Do you realize that the repubs never had a super majority and the dems had to vote with them in order to fund the war etc.? Guess not ! Geesh!; Reply to this comment