US Steps Up Pakistan Raids To Thwart al-Qaeda 'October Surprise' Plot -- The Telegraph
US secret forces are intensifying their cross-border raids into Pakistani tribal areas because of fears of a high-profile al-Qaeda attack during the American election campaign, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.
The Pentagon has ordered that raids on suspected terrorist targets within Pakistan be stepped up to pressurise al-Qaeda leaders and distract them from preparing attacks on American targets elsewhere.
"The aim is to disrupt their scope for planning and keep their leaders on the move so that it is more difficult for them to co-ordinate complicated plots," a senior US intelligence official told The Sunday Telegraph.
The operations launched from neighbouring Afghanistan have led to sharply increased tensions with Pakistan's armed forces since President George W.Bush recently authorised assaults involving "boots on the ground" without prior approval by Pakistan's government, a supposed US ally.
Those hostilities almost turned lethal last week when Pakistani troops shot at two clearly marked US helicopters, and the two sides then traded fire. The Pentagon said the aircraft were just inside Afghan air space but Pakistani officials insisted they had crossed the volatile border.
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My Comment: U.S. Intelligence Agencies are clearly worried that Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda offshoots are planning a spectacular terrorist strike on the U.S. before the U.S. Presidential election. These Intelligence Agencies also believe that support and resources for such an attack will originate from the Frontier Tribal Zones of Pakistan .... hence the activity in these areas.
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