March 29, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1429

WASHINGTON, March 28: The new Pakistani leaders understand that terrorists hiding in the tribal belt are a threat to them as well and are willing to fight them, says the White House.

Spokesman Gordon Johndroe made these remarks when asked to comment on a Washington Post report that the United States had increased military strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas in anticipation that the new Pakistani government might restrict such strikes.

“The Pakistanis understand that these extremists are trying to derail democracy in Pakistan, just as much as many are using some areas to plot and plan attacks on Europe and the United States,” he said. “So we have a common enemy in these extremists.”

At Pentagon, spokesman Bryan Whitman refused to comment on the Post report but said: “Our operations with Pakistan are closely coordinated. Pakistan recognises that we fight a common enemy when it comes to terrorists.”

US military officials, in recent hearings before Congress, have warned that in situations like the one they confront in Pakistan’s tribal belt, they have very little time to respond to intelligence tips. They argue that any delay could alert the suspects who may escape.

Senior administration officials — including President Bush — have, however, clearly stated that they will not wait for Pakistan’s permission if they receive “actionable intelligence” about the presence of Al Qaeda suspects in a particular area.

Since the election of a new government in Pakistan, there have been several leaks from the so-called “reliable sources” to various US news sources, reaffirming US desires to continue its military operations against the militants.

Last week, the Newsweek reported that the United States had already enhanced the use of drones to hit suspected terrorist sites inside Pakistan.

Earlier, The New York Times reported that the Bush administration was under tremendous pressure to capture or kill senior

Al Qaeda leaders like Osama bin Laden before President

Bush leaves office on Jan 20, 2009.

The report linked a sudden increase in visits to Pakistan by senior American military officers in the past two months to Washingtons desire to speed up military operations against Al Qaeda and Taliban suspects in the tribal areas.

But it was a five-column, front-page report in The Washington Post on Thursday that drew international attention, partly because of the display and partly because it confirmed earlier reports that the Bush administration had taken a policy decision to launch more airstrikes into Pakistan’s tribal areas.