BUT WILL OBAMA GO ALONG? – AT 8:14 A.M. ET:  The United States is apparently preparing for a strike into Pakistan in response to a future terror attack here.  From WaPo:

The U.S. military is reviewing options for a unilateral strike in Pakistan in the event that a successful attack on American soil is traced to the country's tribal areas, according to senior military officials.

I'm somewhat amused by the term "unilateral," as if a unilateral attack is some kind of historical crime.  If there's an attack on the American homeland, the United States has a perfect right to strike back unilaterally, and doesn't need the blessings of an international coalition, or the UN Security Council.

Ties between the alleged Times Square bomber, Faisal Shahzad, and elements of the Pakistani Taliban have sharpened the Obama administration's need for retaliatory options, the officials said. They stressed that a U.S. reprisal would be contemplated only under extreme circumstances, such as a catastrophic attack that leaves President Obama convinced that the ongoing campaign of CIA drone strikes is insufficient.

Well, if there's a catastrophic attack that would certainly hint that the drone campaign hasn't entirely done the job. 

"Planning has been reinvigorated in the wake of Times Square," one of the officials said.

At the same time, the administration is trying to deepen ties to Pakistan's intelligence officials in a bid to head off any attack by militant groups. The United States and Pakistan have recently established a joint military intelligence center on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, and are in negotiations to set up another one near Quetta, the Pakistani city where the Afghan Taliban is based, according to the U.S. military officials. They and other officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity surrounding U.S. military and intelligence activities in Pakistan.

The problem is that the Pakistani intelligence services are shot through with extremist agents and sympathizers.  This is not necessarily a reliable ally. 

I suspect this story was intentionally leaked as a warning to Pakistan that we take activities on its soil very seriously, and that any alliance would not preclude an American retaliatory attack.  That is sound thinking, although I have doubts about how effectively the Obama administration would carry out a toughened policy.

May 29, 2010