There are a number of interesting items floating around the internet right now that are making me think it's possible.
Reliapundit at Astuteblogger pulls together some information regarding the current operations in southern Afghanistan.
- Currently NATO Forces have up are engaging up to 700 Taliban rebels in Kandahar province, and have killed up to 200.
- At the same time Pakistan and Afghanistan are trying to reach an agreement on improving relations and co-operating on fighting terrorism.
- In addition Pakistan and tribal leaders in Waziristan reached an agreement yesterday to end fighting in that region.
A key provision of the deal is that tribesmen will expel foreign fighters from the area. The region is believed to be a haven for al-Qaeda fighters and members of the former Taleban regime in Afghanistan. (source: Times of London)
Couple the above with this article from ABC New's The Blotter
Osama bin Laden, America's most wanted man, will not face capture in Pakistan if he agrees to lead a "peaceful life," Pakistani officials tell ABC News.
The surprising announcement comes as Pakistani army officials announced they were pulling their troops out of the North Waziristan region as part of a "peace deal" with the Taliban.
I can't say I like this, but I can understand Musharraf's dilemma. bin Laden is very popular in Pakistan and the country has to function. However what if bin Laden is on the Afghan side of the border? He isn't immune to arrest there. And I notice that it doesn't say anywhere that Afghan forces will withdraw.
Update: ABC News's The Blotter
The government of Pakistan today denied it would allow Osama bin Laden to avoid capture under terms of a peace agreement it signed with Taliban leaders in the country's North Waziristan area.
"If he is in Pakistan, today or any time later, he will be taken into custody and brought to justice," the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, Mahmud Ali Durrani, said in a statement.
The ambassador said a Pakistani military spokesman, Major General Shaukat Sultan, had been "grossly misquoted" when he told ABC News Tuesday that bin Laden would not be taken into custody "as long as one is being like a peaceful citizen." The comments were recorded in a telephone interview with ABC News.
Q. ABC News: If bin Laden or Zawahiri were there, they could stay?
A. Gen. Sultan: No one of that kind can stay. If someone is there he will have to surrender, he will have to live like a good citizen, his whereabouts, exit travel would be known to the authorities.
Q. ABC News: So, he wouldn't be taken into custody? He would stay there?
A. Gen. Sultan: No, as long as one is staying like a peaceful citizen, one would not be taken into custody. One has to stay like a peaceful citizen and not allowed to participate in any kind of terrorist activity.
The rest of the statement is a little confusing, but to me it sounds like the General is talking in more general terms about the deal than specifically about bin Laden.
Update #2: Allah at Hot Air is pretty upset by the announcement that Pakistan will not allow coalition forces into the tribal areas. I agree with Ace at Ace of Spades. This is status quo. I also see this as a cost of doing business. The Pakistani government is on shaky ground, it has to act in it's own self-interest sometimes.
Here is AP's take on the news:
Key U.S. anti-terror allies Afghanistan and Pakistan must join forces to fight the "common enemy" of terrorism and extremism being fanned by al-Qaida and Taliban militants, Pakistan's president said Wednesday.
Visiting President Gen. Pervez Musharraf also said Pakistan would never allow U.S.-led coalition forces currently hunting al-Qaida and Taliban fighters on the Afghan side of the border into tribal areas on its side.
"On our side of the border there will be a total uprising if a foreigner enters that area," he said. "It's not possible at all, we will never allow any foreigners into that area. It's against the culture of the people there."
tags: Afghanista, Pakistan, bin+Laden, Terror, Global+War+on+Terror, War
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