U.S. Takes Heat Over Pakistan Border Raids

Pakistan Army Chief Warns Country's Sovereignty Will Be Defended "At All Cost"

(CBS/ AP)  Pakistan's military chief on Wednesday lashed out at the United States over cross-border raids by American troops from Afghanistan and said his country's sovereignty will be defended "at all cost."

In an unusually strong public statement, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said a raid last week into Pakistan's South Waziristan region killed innocent civilians and could boomerang on Islamabad's anti-terror allies.

He said the move was covered by no agreement between Pakistan and U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan and risked stoking militancy in a region that Washington regards as an intolerably safe haven for al Qaeda and Taliban militants.

"Falling for short term gains while ignoring our long term interest is not the right way forward," Kayani said, according to the statement released through the military's media wing.

"To succeed, the coalition would be required to display strategic patience and help the other side the way they want it, rather than adopting a unilateral approach," he added.

The Pakistani government already hauled in the U.S. ambassador to Islamabad to lodge a stiff protest over a highly unusual raid by helicopter-borne grounds troops that residents said killed about 15 people.

U.S. officials have acknowledged that American troops carried out the operation, but have provided no details. The objective and results of the mission remain unclear.

Along with a barrage of suspected U.S. missile strikes into Pakistan's border zone, the raid indicates that Washington is getting more aggressive against militant targets beyond Afghanistan's frontier, despite the political fallout in Pakistan, a key U.S. ally.

A U.S. missile strike Monday in the North Waziristan tribal region destroyed a seminary and houses associated with a veteran Taliban commander and killed 20 people, including some women and children as well as four foreign militants, officials said.

The tribal belt is considered a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri.

Three Pakistani intelligence officials identified the foreign militants as Abu Qasim, Abu Musa, Abu Hamza and Abu Haris. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of their jobs' sensitivity.

Abu Haris led al Qaeda efforts in the tribal areas, while Abu Hamza led activities in Peshawar, the main northwest city, according to the intelligence officials, who said they got the details from informants and agents in the field.

An Arab diplomat based in Pakistan with responsibilities including intelligence gathering cautioned against putting too much value in the strike, regardless of who may have been killed by the missiles.

"Al Qaeda may be moving already to replace these characters who have been killed," said the diplomat, who spoke to CBS News' Farhan Bokhari Wednesday on condition of anonymity.

Lets be clear about one thing; It is impossible to tell if one guy is head of al Qaeda operations in the tribal areas or in Peshawar... There is no single al Qaeda operation commander anywhere. If one fellow goes down another comes up. Al Qaeda is more like a tradition or a cult where one individual after another doesn't matter. I am sure, unless decimated otherwise, al Qaeda will continue even after bin Laden. No one is immortal, but causes continue, they carry on," the diplomat said.

Abu Haris' nationality had yet to be confirmed, but Abu Hamza was from Saudi Arabia, the officials said. The other two - an Egyptian and a Saudi - appeared to be lower-ranking al Qaeda members.

Two U.S. officials said the strike was carried out by the CIA. The American officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss CIA operations.

Kayani has maintained an impeccably low profile since taking over the pivotal position of army chief from former coup leader Pervez Musharraf last year.

Parties that won February elections forced Musharraf to quit as president last month. The military, which has dominated Pakistan for much of its 61-year history, has said it will follow the lead of the new civilian government.

But in Wednesday's statement, Kayani let loose his first public criticism of American policy - a measure of the sensitivity surrounding U.S. military action on Pakistani soil, even in the tribal belt where the state has minimal control.

"The rules of engagement with the coalition forces are well defined" and foresee Pakistan alone taking action inside its borders, Kayani said. "There is no question of any agreement or understanding with the coalition forces" that allows them to operate in Pakistan, he said.

Kayani defended Pakistan's policy of seeking reconciliation in its wild tribal belt. He insisted the army was committed to eliminating militants, but said it had to be sure of popular support.

"Reckless actions" which kill civilians "only help the militants and further fuel the militancy in the area," he said.

"The sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country will be defended at all cost and no external force is allowed to conduct operations inside Pakistan," he said.

In the latest violence, the army said it killed more than 20 militants in Bajur, a tribal region next to the Afghan border where the military claims to have killed hundreds of fighters in recent weeks. Four soldiers also died, army spokesman Maj. Murad Khan said.

The army said security forces killed another 11 suspected militants in the Swat Valley, another northwest region where the military has been battling insurgents.

In the Dir region, also near the border, police said a bomb killed 10 people in a mosque. The motive was unclear.

[skyk239]

These are the nice folks responsible for 911, thousands of US citizens killed on our own soil. I say we just carpet bomb the entire region and if Pakistan does not like it, we introduce them to the concept of the ICBM.

Posted by HDRadio at 10:28 AM : Sep 11, 2008

But didn''t you agree with Bush/McSame? Didn''t you say these folks weren''t important anymore when Sir Lies-A-Lot was invading IRAQ? YOU know the PRETEND "FRONT" in the War on Terror? For some reason I hardly think continuing to follow the likes of McSame and YOU are going to gain us much at this point!!

[skyk239]

I wonder how much heat we''''ll take when Obama invades Pakistan.

How is Pakistan going to defend itself, it''''s military won''''t even go into that region of the country.

Posted by gunfighter51 at 06:59 AM : Sep 11, 2008

LOL You poor dead from the neck up fool... OBAMA has been telling us ALL ALONG this was going to happen. HE told us BEFORE Sir LIES-A-LOT invaded Iraq that this was going to happen! Being a fool is one thing but expecting everyone else to be is another matter! OBAMA 08

[skyk239]

f the enemy for which we are engaged is in a country that obviously is allowing refuge, why wouldn''''t we attack them?
Many of you have condemned Bush for not going after Bin Laden, and when we do, you complain about the actions.
War is War. This is not a police action. These people attack in Afganistan and then take refuge amongst women and children in Pakistan.

Posted by tcandrews62 at 09:19 AM : Sep 11, 2008

BUSH told us that Al Queda didn''t matter BEFORE they escaped into this SAFE HAVEN. Bush signed the Agreement that created this SAFE HAVEN within Pakistan. BUSH decided to invade Iraq instead of finishing the job in AFGANISTAN BEFORE Al Queda and the Taliban got to Pakistan. Obama 08

[hotpaulie]

Thanks mr. Bush for all your "great" accomplishments.

[hdradio]

Pakistan has had plenty of time to remove the terrroists from within its borders. It''s lame attempts do not impress us, and it has even made treaties with these terrorists. It has now become an issue of "harboring terrorism", and history show''s that this is not something you want to do unless you want your country invaded. These are the nice folks responsible for 911, thousands of US citizens killed on our own soil. I say we just carpet bomb the entire region and if Pakistan does not like it, we introduce them to the concept of the ICBM.

[oscarez]

The U.S. ambassador to Bolivia, Philip Goldberg, has been asked to leave. Just another example of Bush and company empire building.

[petro49l]

George W. Bush must have an I.Q. of about -10. Islamabad protects Waziristan to the extreme degree. Coalition Forces will never get near the place.

[TommyCraig]

If the enemy for which we are engaged is in a country that obviously is allowing refuge, why wouldn''t we attack them?
Many of you have condemned Bush for not going after Bin Laden, and when we do, you complain about the actions.
War is War. This is not a police action. These people attack in Afganistan and then take refuge amongst women and children in Pakistan.

[babooph]

The surges & invasions of adjoining nations was he "solution" in Nam -no?

[kittykatty2]

Samthetvcat...get with the program. You can''t vote for Obama until November.

[n8yvn29]

Will we never cease to be amazed by the criminal actions of this boy?: Forging documents, lying to Americans, outing a CIA agent, spying on Americans, and now, pursuing secret military operations on the sovereign soil of an allied country. Our country has again been hijacked by these criminals to a new low in the eyes of the world.

[dsr57]

I''m glad we did, The American people have been giving them around 12 billion a year to combat terror and they haven''t done a D@mn thing. I kno wwhy they haven''t either, If they do something about it then there will be no money coming in. I wouldn''t do anything either

[samthetvcat]

Double-talk Barack was just on Letterman talking circles around himself . . . sounds like he''s not going to continue to give Pakistan money, although he didn''t come out and say that. He didn''t say anything about getting Bin Laden, he didn''t say anything about where he stands on this invasion into sovereign Pakistan.

It''s too bad we didn''t have cross-party debates during the Primaries, I think Barack''s slippery talk might have been more obvious. I never would have voted for him if I had known he was like that . . .

[rushliberal]

The US military said that its findings were corroborated by an independent journalist embedded with the US force. He was named as the Fox News correspondent Oliver North, who came to prominence in the 1980s Iran-Contra affair, when he was an army colonel.

Sources close to one of the investigations said that a video film was shot by Afghan officials the morning after the attack. It corroborates the doctor%u2019s footage but has not been made public.

In a statement released on Saturday, the commander of Nato forces, General David McKiernan, appeared to back away from previous US accounts. He said: %u201CFollowing the recent operation in Azizabad, Shindand district, we realise there is a large discrepancy between the number of civilian casualties reported by soldiers and local villagers. I remain responsible to continue to try and account for this disparity in numbers, but above all I want to express our heartfelt sorrow to all families that lost loved ones in this firefight.%u201D

[hermitdave]

GET REAL---Americans could care less how many little heathen Muslim boys and girls crusader George kills in his hunt for a dead man Osama Bin Laden.

[marshall65]

Some of our leaders continue to act as if we were going to take the Black Hills from the Sioux, despite our treaties. We''re nice up to a point, then we take what we want. Hand out choclate bars and candy. One of these days, it is going to backfire badly.

[gce65]

The US has done the same thing it accuses Russia of doing in Georgia recently: violating a nation''s territorial sovereignty.

The US looks very hypocritical in international eyes.

Pakistan has forbidden the US from any further incursions into its territory. US STAY OUT!

The next incursion may find a military response from shoulder-fired stinger-type missiles, so don''t begin whining when your next helicopter or aeroplane is shot down in the border regions.

[middleman8]

Pakistan won''t do anything,
This little speech was prepared before the strike to appease the people.

[tapsettle]

I think Pakistan should get tough and retaliate with military strikes. How dare america lambast Russia for breaching the territorial integrity of another country when the US do it ALL THE TIME. Pakistan would be right to respond militarily and I hope they do.