VOA News – CIA Chief Says Al-Qaida Found Safe Haven in Pakistan  

The head of the US Central Intelligence Agency says al-Qaida has established a safe haven in the tribal areas near the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and that it presents a “clear and present danger” to the West. VOA’s Kent Klein reports from Washington.

CIA Director Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden (File)

The CIA Director, Air Force General Michael Hayden, says if there were another terrorist attack against the United States, it would almost certainly originate from that region.

“What I can tell you about is the situation along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, which presents a clear and present danger to Afghanistan, to Pakistan, and to the West in general and to the United States in particular,” said Michael Hayden.

General Hayden, interviewed on NBC’s Meet the Press, said al-Qaida has been using the advantage of that safe haven to train operatives who “look Western.”

BTW, “Clear and Present Danger” is a code word for start bombing now, or at least it leaves open that option.   Bush is bot-like in his devotion to his mangling of the Middle East, and McCain doesn’t seem to remember who it was that had the temerity to strike.  It wasn’t Huessein.  And it didn’t come from Iraq.

Also…when did Red Coleman start running the CIA?

General Hayden would neither confirm nor deny a recent US newspaper report that the United States is increasing attacks against al-Qaida suspects in the border region in anticipation that President Musharraf’s power will diminish soon. But he said the United States has not had a better partner in the war against terror than the Pakistani government.

And that is exactly why Musharraf lost the election.  And why it’s going so poorly.   Musharraf’s crackdowns, which the U.S. loves, cost him a lot of popular support.   Musharraf’s support for the U.S., which the U.S. loves, cost him a ton of popular support.  Then the Bhutto bombing solidified the opposition and then you got this.