U.S. boosts pressure on Musharraf over al Qaeda

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration said on Wednesday it would insist on a tougher approach to fighting al Qaeda in Pakistan, acknowledging that a strategy pushed by President Pervez Musharraf had not worked.

"There's no doubt that more aggressive steps need to be taken," White House spokesman Tony Snow said.

The call for a new approach came a day after an intelligence report showed al Qaeda, which carried out the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, had gained strength in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

Democrats seized on the National Intelligence Estimate as evidence the war in Iraq had diverted resources from the fight against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

Musharraf, a U.S. ally, signed a truce last September with tribal leaders in North Waziristan and touted it as a way to fight terrorism by isolating militants.

President George W. Bush was initially supportive of the deal. Tenth months on, his spokesman said it had failed.

"President Musharraf attempted to engage in ... carrot diplomacy with tribal leaders in the tribal areas and it didn't work," Snow said.

The NIE showed the strategy had "created an opportunity for al Qaeda basically to find some safe haven," Snow said. "That is the chief difference in the security outlook in the last 12 to 18 months, and it is something that is absolutely going to have to be addressed," he added.

The area near the Afghan border is believed to be a hotbed of al Qaeda and Taliban activity and U.S. officials say Osama bin Laden and other top Qaeda leaders are hiding there.

Under the North Waziristan deal, Pakistan agreed to stop military operations against the militants in return for their pledge not to send fighters across the border into Afghanistan and to refrain from attacks on Pakistan's army.

The militants announced on Sunday they were pulling out of the deal after accusing the government of violating it by deploying more troops in North Waziristan and launching attacks.

Other U.S. officials, including White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley and homeland security adviser Fran Townsend, also have said it is clear that allowing the tribal leaders to police the area themselves has not worked.

'BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE'

The Bush administration has attempted to convey a tougher message to Musharraf about the need to combat al Qaeda and the Taliban through high-level visits this year from U.S. officials, including Vice President Dick Cheney.

The Democratic-led Congress is considering proposals that would link U.S. military aid to Pakistan to its progress in fighting terrorism and improving human rights.

Musharraf has been engulfed in a crisis at home amid violence that has surged since government forces stormed an Islamabad mosque last week to crush a siege by militants.

"Musharraf is caught between a rock and hard place," said Craig Cohen, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

While Musharraf faces pressure from the United States to do more to fight al Qaeda, he is also concerned about adding to the firestorm at home if he allows large-scale military operations in the tribal region that could kill civilians, Cohen said.