Musharraf concession--but why and to what effect?

Is Musharraf in such a compromised position that admitting the self-evident is considered a political risk? Pakistan, when it's hand has been forced, has occasionally cracked down, but only on foreign jihadists, not indigenous Taliban. Does this statement signal a new policy, or just a breeze warm air?  Time will tell, but don't hold your breath.

Musharraf Pledges to Pursue Qaeda and Taliban Insurgents
By CARLOTTA GALL (NYT) KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 7 — President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, in a conciliatory speech to Afghan officials and members of Parliament, conceded Thursday that Al Qaeda and Taliban insurgents had been crossing the border into Afghanistan to mount attacks but denied that he or his government were backing them. In a major policy shift that may cost him support at home, General Musharraf pledged to seek out and destroy the command structure of insurgents apparently linked to Afghanistan’s ousted Taliban rulers, who are fighting NATO and Afghan forces in southern Afghanistan.

It is the first time he has agreed to go after the Taliban leadership, something the Afghan government and Western countries with troops in Afghanistan have been demanding.

Musharraf's statement?

“The Taliban are organizing themselves — they are much better organized...We have to see where their command structure is, who is their commander and we must destroy the command structure.”

The Times's friday story didn't put his account to much scruting, but Thursday's was more critical. Gall interviewed Seth G. Jones, or RAND, an authority on the nature of the Taliban insurgency, to whom I will give the last word:

The United States is taking a harder look at Pakistan’s role in the Taliban insurgency, Afghan and American officials here said. Seth G. Jones, a political scientist at the RAND Corporation, said that after talks with military, security and diplomatic officials in Afghanistan, there was increasing evidence that Pakistani intelligence agents had been financing, training, providing intelligence and assistance to Taliban insurgents.

The Taliban have staged a resurgence in Afghanistan, Mr. Jones said, because they benefit from a haven across the border in Pakistan and enjoy state support. Whether the orders come from General Musharraf himself is not clear, Mr. Jones said, but he said it was clear that he knew about the support, and that he so far had failed to stop the militancy.

Photo credit: Ahmad Masood