Richard Whalen

Before Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was murdered, she debated the wisdom of permitting the United States to send some 20,000 special forces troops into the wild and lawless Northwestern territories of her country. She was killed by Al Qaeda before the decision was made.

The current President of Pakistan, former Army General Pervez Musharraf, acknowledges al Qaeda's threat inside his country -- but he dares not act against the Islamic extremists. The General is in every sense a captive and a hostage of al Qaeda.

His friend, Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Friday, in the Washington Times: "There are concerns about how much al Qaeda has turned inward literally inside Pakistan as well as the kind of planning, training, financing and support at the worldwide level." To emphasize his concern, Mullen deliberately repeated himself: "So the Pentagon is extremely concerned about al Qaeda influence inside Pakistan and I think continued pressure will have to be brought there."

At that point, Admiral Mullen acknowledged a geo-political reality: "Pakistan is a sovereign country and certainly it is really up to ... President Musharraf and certainly his advisers and his military to address that problem directly."

However, President Musharraf told the Straits Times an East Asian newspaper that the U.S. military presence would not be welcomed unless Pakistan requested assistance. "Nobody will come here until we ask them to come and we haven't asked them."

The U.S. will not be able to rescue its ally, President Musharraf, without a U.S. invasion through Afghanistan. On the desk of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates is an order deploying 3,000 Marines for this mission. Politically, however, there will be no wider war without Congressional approval in this election year.