Bush approves ground assaults inside Pakistan

A senior US official told the Times the Pakistani government had assented privately to the general concept of limited ground assaults by US forces against significant militant targets, but that it did not approve each mission.
“Any new ground operations in Pakistan raise the prospect of American forces being killed or captured in the restive tribal areas - and a propaganda coup for Al-Qaeda,� the Times said. “Last week’s raid also presents a major test for Pakistan’s new president, Asif Ali Zardari, who supports more aggressive action by his army against the militants ... “
The top US military officer told Congress on Wednesday the military was not winning the fight against the insurgency in Afghanistan and said it would revise its strategy to combat militants safe havens in Pakistan.
“I’m not convinced we are winning it in Afghanistan. I am convinced we can,� Adm Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a congressional committee nearly seven years after US-led forces toppled the Taliban.
Mullen said he was “looking at a new, more comprehensive strategy for the region� that would cover both sides of the border, including Pakistan’s tribal areas.
Violence in Afghanistan has soared over the past two years as al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters have regrouped in the remote region between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The United States has stepped up attacks against militant targets inside Pakistan this year with a series of missile strikes from unmanned drones and a raid by helicopter-borne US commandos in recent days. The attacks have been widely denounced by Pakistani leaders.