This latest development doesn’t bode well for the cooperation between the U.S. and the nation of Paskistan, which is central to the war on terrorism.
By Josh Meyer
Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — — U.S. efforts to identify and thwart the growing threat posed by Pakistani extremists who enjoy easy access to the United States — and already have a significant presence here — are being undermined by the government of Pakistan, according to current and former U.S. and Western counter-terrorism officials.
After the terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, in November, which killed more than 170 people, the FBI and other U.S. agencies went on high alert, searching without success for evidence of plotters in the United States.
But they were essentially shut down in efforts to work the Pakistan side of the investigation, not only to find additional plotters but to learn more about the Al Qaeda-affiliated Pakistani militant group suspected of orchestrating the attacks, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and its global network of cells, the officials said.
FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III flew to Islamabad last week, in part to press for better cooperation. But the FBI and other U.S. officials have been denied access to about 20 members of Lashkar, including about six senior officials also suspected of heading the group’s global operations and fundraising.
