Bush Said to Give Orders Allowing Raids in Pakistan

I think the most important thing that probably won't be mentioned about the headline NYTimes article this morning is the timing and sourcing of the article.

President Bush secretly approved orders in July that for the first time allow American Special Operations forces to carry out ground assaults inside Pakistan without the prior approval of the Pakistani government, according to senior American officials.

The very classified order was signed back in July and is just now released/confirmed by "senior American officials" (top level White House) for publication right around Sept. 11.

This is a political release designed to blunt the Bin Laden question and comes as a companion to yesterday's similarly sourced WaPo, "In Hunt for Bin Laden, a New Approach."

These stories are designed to say, "See, we're doing everything we can.... Don't blame us for not catching Bin Laden...." ("Oh, and don't blame John McCain either.")

But, the bug here is that even if the Pakistanis signed on for this, having these programs confirmed and published as a policy is politically impossible for them. . (ABC) "Pakistan Army Chief Has Sharp Words on U.S. Raids." (AP) "Pakistan premier backs army chief's US rebuke."

(PS. I think this is the right policy. I question the wisdom and motivations of making it public right on the Sept. 11 anniversary.)