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Bin Laden 'alive, in Pakistan'
22/07/2007 20:18 - (SA)
Washington - Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden is alive and sheltering in lawless parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, US intelligence chief Mike McConnell said on Sunday.
McConnell blamed the Pakistani government of President Pervez Musharraf for allowing al-Qaeda to regroup through a controversial peace pact last year with tribal leaders in the border areas. But Musharraf remains a key ally, he said.
"My personal view is that he's alive," the director of national intelligence said on NBC television when asked about bin Laden. "I believe he is in the tribal region of Pakistan."
A new report by the US intelligence community last week said that al-Qaeda had regrouped in its Pakistani "safe haven" and was determined to inflict mass casualties through new attacks on the United States. Peace accord
McConnell said that had been possible owing to a September peace accord between the Pakistani government and pro-Taliban tribal leaders in the ill-governed region bordering Afghanistan.
A week ago, the tribal militants tore up the pact, stoking tensions as deadly violence erupted across Pakistan following the military's crushing of a pro-Taliban uprising at the Red Mosque in Islamabad.
"Instead of pushing al-Qaeda out, they made a safe haven for training and recruiting. Al-Qaeda's been able to regain some of its momentum," the US spymaster said.
McConnell said that if Musharraf were forced from power by the Islamist violence and pro-democracy unrest sweeping Pakistan, it could have a "severe impact" on the US struggle against terrorism.
"But President Musharraf is one of our valued allies. He is a moderate," he stressed, arguing that "probably the majority of (al-Qaeda's) senior leadership" has been killed or captured thanks to Pakistani action.
- AFP
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