Bush warns(?) Pakistan

So, regarding the conversation with Pakistan, is the White House position, "Please don't let the Democrats be tougher on terrorism than we are?" Or this a more darkly veiled threat to Musharraf?

President Bush has decided to send an unusually tough message to one of his most important allies, President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, warning him that the newly Democratic Congress could cut aid to his country unless his forces became far more aggressive in hunting down operatives with Al Qaeda, senior administration officials say.

And let's not forget that Defense Secretary Gates was in Pakistan two weeks ago today.

Gates said the meeting, held at one of Musharraf's homes, was not aimed at securing assurances of action from the Pakistanis, who have been criticized for failing to adequately secure their border. Musharraf, he added, has been meeting with his military commanders to see how they can improve their operations along the border.....

Gates also said he hopes the U.S. can play a constructive role in improving the often rocky relationship between the Afghans and the Pakistan government.

Was the Gates' meeting a factfinding trip which spawned this new policy, or was Gates genuine and is now undermined after Cheney won the argument? (We know they're disagreeing on Iran.)

Just one more wrinkle, let's take a look back exactly one week when the NYTimes published this story "Terror Officials See Al Qaeda Chiefs Regaining Power," sourced this way.

The intelligence and counterterrorism officials would discuss the classified intelligence only on the condition of anonymity. They would not provide some of the evidence that led them to their assessments, saying that revealing the information would disclose too much about the sources and methods of intelligence collection.

That sounds like a sanctioned release, doesn't it? (Mark Mazzetti on the byline for both.)

So, the administration releases intel in line with what they want to accomplish, start a furor, then exactly a week later supply a solution of sorts. Interesting.