US faces a dilemma in dealing with Pakistan: Experts

In debating what to do about Pakistan following last weeks grim National Intelligence Estimate, the Bush Administration is caught between a familiar rock and a hard place.

Washington, July 24 : In debating what to do about Pakistan following last week's grim National Intelligence Estimate, the Bush Administration is caught between a familiar rock and a hard place.

An analysis published in the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) says that the debate in Washington is centred around whether the US should continue to support President Pervez Musharraf, to root out Islamist extremists from safe haven in Pakistan's border areas.

There is also a view that pressing Musharraf too hard for swift action, would create a nightmare for the US-led war on terror.

"For the moment, we're stuck," said Bruce Riedel, a former national security adviser on counter-terrorism and South Asian issues.

"We have a policy that looks increasingly bankrupt, but I don't see the Bush Administration prepared as yet to move away from it, or the military dictator" who stands at its core, he added.

Riedel believed that militarily, the US has two options. One would be to seize or kill Osama Bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman Zawahiri, in a "snatch and grab" operation, and added that the intelligence for such a move must be reliable and timely.

A second option, according to Riedel is for the US military take out the al Qaeda and the Taliban camps in remote tribal areas - with or without General Musharraf's approval.

US officials insist that no action has been ruled out to address the threat posed by the al Qaeda in Pakistan, and said Washington is still banking on Musharraf's cooperation before examining the option of an unilateral action.

The CSM quotes Stephen Cohen of the Brookings Institution as saying that the options for US policy in Pakistan after six years of unquestioned support for Musharraf range from "worse to worst."

Cohen maintained that no alternative would be able to deliver a positive result - a stable, democratic Pakistan where the Islamist extremist forces have withered away - in the short term.

"There can be no wait-and-watch approach by the US in dealing with Pakistan, but neither can there be any unilateral action like a covert operation against these areas," adds Karl Inderfurth, a former Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs.

He recommends that Washington should deal with the threat of terrorism from Pakistani territory, and added that the US must also pressure General Musharraf into opening up Pakistan's political system and restore democracy.

Riedel said the problem for the US would be to find a balance between encouraging democratic forces and abetting Musharraf's demise.

"Having backed Musharraf to the hilt for six years, the slightest hint of a turn by the US could set off his collapse," he added.

ANI