“I’m not saying that they’re at the highest levels but I believe that somewhere in this government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda is, where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is and we expect more cooperation to help us bring to justice, capture or kill, those who attacked us on 9/11,” she told CBS programme “60 Minutes”, which was broadcast in full on Sunday night.
“Some Pakistani officials were more informed about the Al-Qaeda and the Taliban than they let on,” Clinton added.
Political observers here were stunned by her statement about Pakistanis knowing the whereabouts of Osama and Mullah Omar even though she was not asked a specific question about the Al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders.
In an excerpt of Clinton’s interview released on Friday night, she warned Pakistan that it would face “very severe consequences” if any terror plot like the failed Times Square bombing was traced to that country.
“We’ve made it very clear that if, heaven forbid, an attack like this that we can trace back to Pakistan was to have been successful, there would be very severe consequences,” she had said.
Experts believe Clinton’s threat means that the US could slow millions of dollars in economic and military aid, rather than mount directly military action in the tribal belt, although some American politicians have raised voices in favour of that, too.
In fact, the US is already engaged in its most ferocious campaign on Pakistan soil for decades through the CIA drone strikes, which are currently averaging about two per week.
A senior Pakistani intelligence official said there had been 40 drone attacks so far this year, compared with 49 in the whole of 2009. Other tallies have counted just over 30 strikes in 2010.
The CIA has received permission to strike a much wider range of suspected militants than before, including those whose identities have not been established, the Los Angeles Times reported last week. Previously, the CIA could only attack individuals on a vetted list of Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders.
When asked why Obama administration was not piling up pressure on Islamabad to hand over Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al Zawahiri, Hillary replied, “I have to stand up for the efforts the Pakistani government is taking. They have done a very significant move toward going after the terrorists within their own country.”
Source: TheNation.com.pk