Thursday, July 08, 2004

July Surprise
There's a new article out on The New Republic -- about what's being called the "July Surprise." The administration, it seems, is putting pressure on Pakistan to really deliver on those HVTs (High-value Al-Qaeda targets) by the end of July...oh -- you know -- around the 26th, 27th or 28th, just 3 days before the Democratic National Convention.

A third source, an official who works under ISI's director, Lieutenant General Ehsan ul-Haq, informed tnr that the Pakistanis "have been told at every level that apprehension or killing of HVTs before [the] election is [an] absolute must." What's more, this source claims that Bush administration officials have told their Pakistani counterparts they have a date in mind for announcing this achievement: "The last ten days of July deadline has been given repeatedly by visitors to Islamabad and during [ul-Haq's] meetings in Washington." Says McCormack: "I'm aware of no such comment." But according to this ISI official, a White House aide told ul-Haq last spring that "it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July"--the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

That would be convenient, no?

posted by claudine |Added at 10:20 AM| | politics