Pakistan Strife Threatens Anti-Insurgent Plan

Other trainers would teach basic skills to Pakistan's Frontier Corps, the tribally recruited paramilitary force that patrols the tribal regions. Training would include marksmanship as well as how to set up checkpoints and gather basic intelligence, while providing the force with helicopter support such as medical evacuation by the Pakistani army.

About 400 U.S. military personnel currently work in Pakistan, and the total is expected to grow by dozens under the new initiative.

In the days since Musharraf invoked emergency powers, senior U.S. military officers have spoken publicly about the need to safeguard and strengthen counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan. "We would certainly not want to see . . . jeopardized in any way" the "very valuable" cooperation between the two militaries, Lt. Gen. Carter Ham, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, said Wednesday. U.S. military officials in Islamabad, along with their Pakistani counterparts, Ham said, are "exploring a wide range of options that could improve operations" in the tribal areas, where Pakistani efforts have been "mixed."

The U.S. military also has a critical interest in preserving bilateral ties because it depends heavily on Pakistan to facilitate air and ground transit for more than half the fuel and other supplies for the 25,000 U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan, U.S. officers said. Many military supplies go through the Pakistani port of Karachi, while fuel is trucked by Pakistani contractors over the mountain passes into Afghanistan. "We, obviously, are very interested in making sure that that stays open," Ham said.

Military officials said they worry that Musharraf's imposition of emergency rule is weakening, not strengthening, his ability to conduct military operations in the tribal areas, in part by directing troops toward a crackdown on domestic protests.

"Whereas he is saying that state of emergency will allow him to prosecute more aggressively against the counterinsurgency in the Taliban areas, I would say it is the opposite," said a senior military official with experience in Central Asia.

Within Pakistan's military, moreover, there is a lack of enthusiasm for increased operations in the tribal areas, where scores of Pakistani soldiers have been killed or kidnapped by Islamic groups in recent months, the officials said.

Nevertheless, U.S. military officials said that Kiyani, Musharraf's possible replacement as head of the military, is supportive of the counterinsurgency plan in the tribal areas, which he visited within days of assuming his current post last month. Kiyani has also indicated an openness to having the Pakistani military focus on missions other than conventional operations aimed at the threat of India, which senior U.S. officers consider diminished. "He has a different view," said one senior military official. "I'd expect he will step up and be head of the army, and there will be some changes."

The idea for the plan to strengthen and increase the Frontier Corps, along with economic development in the tribal areas, was unexpectedly raised by Musharraf during his meeting with President Bush in March 2006.

Some initial funds for the efforts have been cobbled together -- relying in part on Pentagon counternarcotics funding -- but officials familiar with the plan say the goal is to redirect current military aid toward the counterinsurgency plan.

U.S. assistance for Pakistan has totaled about $9.6 billion since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to Pentagon officials. That includes about $300 million a year for purchases of weaponry and other equipment, and about $2 million a year for military education and training.

In addition, there is about $80 million a month in "coalition support funds" -- reimbursements to the Pakistani government ostensibly for food, fuel, ammunition and other supplies for its counterterrorism operations. Those funds have totaled about $5.3 billion since the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan began in 2001, and outside analysts say oversight of the money has been limited.

Military officials stressed that under the new plan, U.S. officials will manage and direct the money to specific counterinsurgency goals. "The funds will be controlled by us," one official said.

Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.