U.S. Wants Pakistan Crackdown On Militants

Secretary Of State Rice Demands "Concrete Steps" From Islamabad In Mumbai Attack Probe

(CBS)  This story was written by CBS News' Farhan Bokhari in Dubai, Maria Usman in Islamabad, and CBSNews.com's Tucker Reals in London.

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Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into Pakistan Thursday to press the country's leaders to take a bold stand against the militants widely suspected of waging the deadly terror siege in Mumbai, India last week.

CBS News Farhan Bokhari reported that sources inside Pakistan say Secretary Rice made it clear the U.S. wants to see a series of "concrete steps" from Islamabad, going beyond just another ban on Islamic groups.

Rice said measures such as arresting people and putting them on trial on the basis of solid evidence should be, "part of a new and more acceptable effort," a senior Pakistani security official told Bokhari.

Her meeting with President Asif Ali Zardari in Islamabad led him to reiterate his commitment to cooperate with the ongoing investigation, vowing "strong action" against any militants in his country found to be involved.

Zardari stopped short, however, of meeting India's demand that any suspects be turned over to New Delhi. He said earlier this week that any suspects - with proven evidence against them - would be tried in Pakistan.

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LET), a group created in the 1980's by Pakistan's military spy agency to fight Indian forces in the disputed Kashmir region, is widely believed to have been behind the attack.

The LET was banned in Pakistan in 2002, following U.S. pressure in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, but it has recreated itself under a new name, Jamaat ud Dawa, and Western intelligence sources have told CBS News the group is likely still receiving financial and logistical support from elements inside the Pakistani security apparatus.

Lashkar-i-taiba has ordered its fighters based in the tribal areas to enter Afghanistan, in order to avoid being hunted by Pakistani authorities, according to a senior Pakistani official who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity.

"These orders have been given since wednesday" the official said.

The LET was one of the groups mentioned by Rice in her meeting with Zardari, Bokhari reported. Thus far, American officials have publicly declined to specifically name any of the groups suspected in the Mumbai attack.

Reporting on the investigation Wednesday for CBSNews.com's new World Watch blog, correspondent Sheila MacVicar reported that Ajmal Amir Qasab, the only suspect in the Mumbai attack captured alive, had named an LET commander as the controller of the operation, according to Indian officials.

MacVicar said there were numerous other pieces of evidence, including a cell phone SIM card that pointed the investigation in the direction of the LET, and Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Indian authorities put the country's airports on high alert Thursday after receiving intelligence of a possible airborne terror threat. The alert came as police continued to find unexploded ordinance at the locations attacked last week, and as criticism over the Indian government's ability to prevent the attack grew.

Rice and Zardari discussed the rising tension between India and Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai attacks and the steps that are required to resolve the issue, reported CBS News' Maria Usman in Islamabad.

The Secretary of State said neither of the nuclear-armed neighbors was considering a military response to the increase in tension. There were reports earlier in the week that India might try to target the headquarters of Jaamat ud Dawa in Pakistan with missile strikes.

Bokhari reported that, according to security sources, Jaamat ud Dawa has moved many of its senior members away from the group's headquarters in recent days.

The militant organization is based on a sprawling compound in eastern Pakistan, near the border with India, which includes Islamic schools, mosques and residential quarters.

In regards to her confidence in India's and Pakistan’s ability to deal directly with each other in this matter, Rice said she hoped both countries would "keep lines of communication open."

Rice noted that, despite the difficult circumstances presented by the Mumbai attack, relations between the nations had been improving, so there was a good base to work from, reported Usman.

Terrorism and security expert Michael Clarke told CBS News that everything possible must be done to prevent hostility between Pakistan and India.

"This crisis in south Asia will be a globally important crisis if it gets out of hand. We must prevent this becoming a war between two nuclear armed powers, or even a military standoff between two nuclear armed powers," said Clarke. (Watch interview with Michael Clarke.)

But Clarke was skeptical President George W. Bush's lame duck administration still carried enough diplomatic clout to make peace between the neighbors, "and the incoming administration has no power over anything at the moment. So there is a natural hiatus at the moment, and for all that America can make its views known, it can't do very much."

"The outside world has got to act now. It can't sit back and wait and see how things develop. They're already developing. We could be in the middle of a genuinely nasty crisis inside a couple of weeks," warned Clarke.

Rice also met Thursday with Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, reported Usman, with whom she discussed the same issues. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Anne Patterson and Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qurishi were also present at the meeting.

Before leaving Pakistan, Rice told reporters that she had good discussions with leaders in both Pakistan and India, where she visited on Wednesday. She said the Mumbai attack showed a level of sophistication that warranted urgency by all the countries involved to bring the perpetrators to justice.

[cntrymuzksux]

BTW he STILL hasn''''t provided proof of legal citizenship(AKA his birth certificate).

No big deal right, he''''s only taking over the most powerful position on the face of the earth. Why prove your citizenship?

No biggie right?

Posted by Christ_Truth at 02:08 AM : Dec 05, 2008

He hasn''t provided proof enough to satsisfy YOU. In order for that proof to occur, you''d need to travel back in time to view Obama''s actual conception, stay chained to his mother throughout her pregnancy and view his live birth.

By the by, what''s got you so concerned about Israel? I guess the fact that Obama selected Rahm Emmanuel (a Jew?) as his CoS wouldn''t ally any of your fears?

[earth562]

notblue, here''''s another. Of course you''''ll actually have to read it. I doubt you will......

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/3
254/


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Posted by FloydZeppd at 05:53 PM : Dec 04, 2008

I read it

SO ?

Get a brain for Christmas moron !

[earth562]

I wish I had never heard of the name "Israel".

What were the Major powers thinking after WWII? They sure put the world into some kinda hurt.


Posted by AJMarine111 at 06:11 PM : Dec 04, 2008
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Yep. They should have been repatriated back into Europe after WWII. Instead, we made the biggest mistake of the 20th century.


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Posted by FloydZeppd at 06:14 PM : Dec 04, 2008
+ report abuse


Your mother not having an abortion with the both of you is a travesty.

What does Pakistan have to do with Israel.

You being about as stupid as a moth ball and you would blame Israel also

Enjoy your cancer next year !

[cntrymuzksux]

AGAIN - I DEFY YOU to post ANYTHING by religious, political, or any other decree, that says that the world MUST be converted to Islam.

I''''ll give you a hint - it doesn''''t exist. That IS NOT their intent.


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Posted by IwasHungry68 at 08:44 PM : Dec 04, 2008

We are at war against infidels. Take this message with you, ''I ask all Islamic nations, all Muslims, all Islamic armies, and all heads of Islamic states to join the Holy War...Holy War means the conquest of all non-Muslim territories... It will be the duty of every able bodied adult male to volunteer for this war of conquest, the final aim of which is to put Koranic law in power from one end of the earth to the other.
Ayatollah Khomeini

[thcarson-2009]

In 1998, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri co-signed a fatwa in the name of the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders which declared the killing of the North Americans and their allies an "individual duty for every Muslim" to "liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque (in Jerusalem) and the holy mosque (in Mecca) from their grip". At the public announcement of the fatwa bin Laden announced that North Americans are "very easy targets." He told the attending journalists, "You will see the results of this in a very short time."

[cbscrash072]

Israel does not matter. If Israel did not exist the Muslims would find some other reason to justify blowing up innocent people. If Israel did not exist the Arab countries would still be just as mismanaged as they are now. They would still need a scapegoat to deflect public rage.

[yongamerica]

These ruthless murdering butttt wipes are TERRORISTS! Not Militants.

Oh, and I''m so glad to see you are blaming Israel again miketotten1, I''ve missed your humor.

[ajmarine111]

Instead, we made the biggest mistake of the 20th century.

Posted by FloydZeppd at 06:14 PM : Dec 04, 2008


Amen.

Can you imagine what kind of place the World could be if this had never happened?

It''s so sad.

[ajmarine111]

You''''ve taken lessons in the art of understatement by our brit friends.... :^)

Posted by FloydZeppd at 06:10 PM : Dec 04, 2008



I like to think I have a "dry" sense of humor like they do.

[ajmarine111]

It is an interesting study of the massive mistakes the British and French made after WWI and the final collapse of the Ottoman Empire and the continued mistakes taken up by the US concerning the Middle East after WWII.


Posted by FloydZeppd at 06:09 PM : Dec 04, 2008




I wish I had never heard of the name "Israel".

What were the Major powers thinking after WWII? They sure put the world into some kinda hurt.

[ajmarine111]

Posted by AJMarine111 at 06:03 PM : Dec 04, 2008
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My honest opinion - we could do no more in Pakistan that we have in Iraq or Afghanistan. We should stay out. We may not be able to stop this train wreck now anyway....


Posted by FloydZeppd at 06:05 PM : Dec 04, 2008



I am truly surprised that we aren''t into a full blown WWIII by know..........the coming years should be very, very interesting to say the least.

[ajmarine111]

Posted by AJMarine111 at 05:53 PM : Dec 04, 2008
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They are determined. I fear - because of the instability of Pakistan, which I told people was a seriously unstable problem several years ago when the bumpkins were screeching about irrelevant Iran - that they are seriously trying to get the ultimate weapon of terror.


Posted by FloydZeppd at 05:55 PM : Dec 04, 2008



So, this brings us back to the question, "Is there a clear and present danger to the USA in Pakistan that needs some action under taken from us or, "The world is not ours to manage"?


I''ve said in the past to let Russia, China, Iran, and Venezuela take care of things for a while and we will go on vacation.

Everyone is saying we are becoming a Third world country anyway.

[notblue]

Hungry, have you ever read any of Bin Ladens or Al zawahri''s messages, ever listened to one? Then re-read your post. LOL!

[notblue]

hungry, I read many books just because it''s not the Koran doesn''t mean I don''t read.

Floyd, you think some leftwing speech made at Columbia is truth, it is just opinion, kind of like noses, everyone has one.

you or I could say anythin g it doesn''t nmake it truth or fact, I''m more pragmatic and go by what is witnessed by the world. Do you ever ask yourself why these miltants purposely target civilians? What is your answer, they don''t have to be Americans just innocent civilians, then tery to explain again how their agenda is justified.

[ajmarine111]

Again, exactly. The world is not ours to manage.
Posted by FloydZeppd at 05:44 PM : Dec 04, 2008




Now if we could only get notblue to pick up a book or watch something other than Fox News.....


Posted by IwasHungry68 at 05:49 PM : Dec 04, 2008




What is your take on this?



Graham said the threat of a terror attack using nuclear or biological weapons is growing "not because we have not done positive things but because adversaries are moving at an even faster pace to increase their access" to those materials.


Al-Qaida remains the only terror group judged to be actively intent on conducting a nuclear attack against the United States, the report notes. It is not yet capable of building such a weapon and has yet to obtain one. But that could change if a nuclear weapons engineer or scientist were recruited to al-Qaida''s cause, the report warns.

The report says the potential nexus of terrorism, nuclear and biological weapons is especially acute in Pakistan.

"Were one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan," the report states.

In fact, commission members were forced to cancel their trip to Pakistan this fall. The Islamabad Marriott Hotel that commission members were to stay in was blown up by terrorist bombs just hours before they were to have checked in.

"We think time is not our ally. The (United States) needs to move with a sense of urgency," Graham said.

[notblue]

avoice, you are liar, I also have been to New york, while New Yorkers will continue to live their lives and not let terrorism win, not one has ever justified the attack, only the terrorist supporters here at leftwing central attempt to do that.

[notblue]

Floyd, name a few of these, "experts" your local Imam and his daily sermons do not count.

[notblue]

Hungry, says the radicals, says Al Zawahri, says the Imams at daily prayer, says Bin laden, it''s their evil twist on the religion of peace, it''s their evil twist on justifying their agenda of death destruction, it''s their wish to control the greater middle east, it''s their wish to wipe out the "great Satan" and all non believing infidels. Have you been living on this planet? Guess not, but that explains alot!

[cntrymuzksux]

Right.

The NATO countries that won''''t let their troops outside the confines of the bases, and let the us do ALL of the work in Afghanistan?

It was our war, and they''''ve NEVER taken control.


Posted by IwasHungry68 at 05:35 PM : Dec 04, 2008

You mean 40 other nations that have contributed troops? And then tell the Polish Battle Group they''ve never been outside the wire and have never experienced any combat.

[notblue]

Floyd when you resort to the trailer trash crapp you have lost the debate, you have never addressed the truth about the militants instead you just blame America and justify their savagery. Now that''s a yawn! Good luck with that!