A radical shift

AS some top American officials are reportedly urging President Bush to direct US troops in Afghanistan to be more aggressive in pursuing militants into Pakistan as part of a proposed radical shift in its regional counter-terrorism strategy, the State Department and some Pentagon officials have cautioned the Administration against stepping up military operations in Pakistan without specific approval from Islamabad. The plan, according to a report by the Associated Press, could include sending US special forces teams, temporarily assigned to the CIA, into the tribal areas to hit high-value targets. The issue figured prominently at a recent meeting of the deputies committee which stressed the need for giving Americans troops greater flexibility to operate against Al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters, who crossed the Durand Line to conduct attacks inside Afghanistan. That the Afghan Ambassador to US, Said T Jawad, has supported the plan, springs no surprise. Nor does his accusation that there are places in the tribal region where terrorists are being trained.