US concerns about Pakistan’s intelligence service

A spokesman from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the charge, but connections between extremist groups and the Pakistani intelligence service, known as the ISI, are well documented. This analyst has written about them for years. He says it’s hard to determine if these recent allegations are true but if they are, the target on embassies and involvement with Al Qaeda would be new. President Bush is said to have raised the issue of intelligence leaks with Pakistan’s Prime Minister who visited Washington earlier this week, but the recent claims say this is not the work of rogue agents acting on their own. this analyst worked with ISI agents at the CIA and he says the ISI agents are mostly military officers who take their orders from military superiors, and thus if the ISI is involved in terrorist operations, it’s because the highest level of the Pakistani military is telling them to do so. The Pakistani government is not in firm control of its military and the government itself is divided by what to do over insecurity in its border regions. Other than applying diplomatic pressure, Washington has few options: stepping up military pressure would weaken the Pakistani government which is something that most in Washington want to avoid. There may be a long term strategy to shift aid to Pakistani away from the military.