Militants’ entrenchment exposed in Pakistan

Authorities have also blamed Taliban commanders based in South Waziristan for the December assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

A controversial September 2006 peace deal between the government and Taliban in North Waziristan gave a freer hand for militants to operate. It collapsed last July.

CIA Director Michael Hayden and Mike McConnell, director of national intelligence, made a secret visit to Pakistan in early January to seek permission from Musharraf for greater involvement of American forces in trying to ferret out al-Qaida and other militant groups active in the tribal regions.

Musharraf, whose support of the war on terror has only deepened his growing unpopularity at home, was later quoted as saying U.S. troops would be regarded as invaders if they crossed into Pakistan.

But there has been scant reaction among the general public, which has "grown indifferent" to periodic U.S. strikes against al-Qaida suspects on its soil, said Masood, the retired general.

The government has steered clear of explaining what happened on Monday night and has not made a diplomatic protest as it did after the January 2006 assault that targeted and missed al-Zawahri, and killed several villagers, triggering angry protests.

"Had civilians been killed as in earlier cases it would have been criticized by the government," said Moonis Ahmer, an international relations professor at Karachi University. "As it was, just the target was eliminated. It may be that Musharraf has given a freer hand for the U.S. to carry out its operations."

Cross-border attacks reportedly decline
The killing of al-Libi is a boost for the U.S. in its battle against the terrorism network after a series of pessimistic assessments of its campaign against the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The U.S. military has reported a decline in cross-border attacks into Afghanistan from Pakistan in recent months. But militants have increasingly turned their attention to Pakistan itself, amid rising fears that Taliban fighters with al-Qaida ties and funding represent a deep threat to the stability of this nuclear-armed nation embroiled by political turmoil as it heads into parliamentary elections this month.

Masood said that while Taliban and al-Qaida remain separate entities, "they reinforce each other."

"They are networking and they draw sympathy and support from each other," Masood said. "Both are very negative on Pakistan's security and stability."

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