begun to point to Pakistan as the ground zero of terrorism But wait, I thought Iraq was ground zero. I thought we had to fight them there so they wouldn’t come here???

WASHINGTON: The Bush administration believes that Osama bin Laden and the Al-Qaida leadership have now found safe haven in Pakistan.

Washington is turning the spotlight - and heat - on its “ally” amid reports that its No.1 enemy may be in Pakistan’s Wazirstan region after crossing over from Afghanistan under protection from Pakistan’s intelligence agency ISI as recently as October 2005.

Top Bush administration officials, from the President down, have, in an increasingly strident tone, begun to point to Pakistan as the ground zero of terrorism. The country’s military ruler General Musharraf is being given the benefit of doubt.

Without referring to bin Laden by name, President Bush last week said, “Taliban and Al-Qaida figures do hide
in remote regions of Pakistan. This is wild country; this is wilder than the Wild West. And these folks hide and recruit and launch attacks.”

The President’s unusually blunt remarks, overriding Washington’s long felt concern over embarrassing Islamabad and undermining its support, comes amid serial leaks from unnamed senior administration officials pointing to Pakistan as a possible patron, sponsor, or the very least a sanctuary, of terrorism.

Read more at The Times of India