Cheney Asks Pakistan to Counter al-Qaida

U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney prepares to board his plane as he departs Sydney Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007. Cheney's plane from Sydney landed in Singapore on Sunday, but officials said it was a scheduled refueling stop and that the plane was not diverted. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) (Mark Baker - AP)

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Underscoring growing alarm in the West at how militants have regained ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday sought Pakistani aid to help counter al-Qaida's efforts to regroup, officials said.

However, President Gen. Pervez Musharraf insisted his forces have already "done the maximum" possible against extremists in their territory _ and insisted that other allies also shoulder responsibility in the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

Cheney, accompanied by CIA deputy director Steve Kappes, made an unannounced stop in Pakistan en route to Afghanistan, where snow prevented him from reaching Kabul for talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

The vice president made no public comment in Pakistan, but a senior aide to Musharraf said they held detailed talks, including a one-on-one lunch of more than an hour.

"Cheney expressed U.S. apprehensions of regrouping of al-Qaida in the tribal areas and called for concerted efforts in countering the threat," Musharraf's office said.

He also "expressed serious U.S. concerns on the intelligence being picked up of an impending Taliban and al-Qaida 'spring offensive' against allied forces in Afghanistan," the statement said.

The Musharraf aide, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not an official spokesman, said the two men "exchanged ideas and suggestions" on improving cooperation against terrorism. However, he said Cheney made no specific demands.

U.S. and British officials praise Pakistan publicly for its role in arresting al-Qaida suspects after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States and for a string of bloody operations against militants along the border.

Five years after the Taliban's ouster from power, however, militants have regained ground in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

There are signs of U.S. and NATO frustration at Musharraf's limited success in disrupting Pakistan-based Taliban fighters, who are expected to step up raids into Afghanistan in coming months, and in trapping Taliban and al-Qaida leaders suspected of holing up in tribal areas of Pakistan near the border.

The Bush administration wants Musharraf to be more aggressive in hunting al-Qaida operatives, and has raised the possibility that the U.S. Congress could cut aid to Pakistan unless it takes tougher steps.

"The Pakistanis remain committed to doing everything possible to fight al-Qaida, but having said that, we also know that there's a lot more that needs to be done," presidential spokesman Tony Snow said.