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Pak to permit commando raids on Afghanistan

T V Parasuram in Washington

Pakistan has agreed to allow the United States to use its bases as a launch pad for clandestine commando raids and air strikes, but will not permit large numbers of American troops on its soil, a newspaper reported on Friday.

Though President Pervez Musharraf has offered "unstinted" cooperation to the US in its war against terrorism, in practice this cooperation will be limited, The Wall Street Journal said.

Rear Admiral (retd) George Worthington, a former Navy SEAL (one of the elite special forces) said the US could go after terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden without access to Pakistani bases, but "you would be 90 per cent more effective with Pakistan's help".

A critical component before launching any assault will be getting in place an intelligence network that can identify important targets. There is little to attack in Afghanistan, where civil strife has been going on for more than 20 years and even before there had been little development, the paper noted.

"If the US wants to knock out air fields, training camps or key roads that the Taleban controls, its bombers could strike within hours. But those strikes could be of limited use because most roads are destroyed already and training camps are deserted," it said.

PTI

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