Bush Aides See Failure in Fight With Al Qaeda in Pakistan

Its rare for the administration to admit failure in anything. So what are they up to?:

President Bush’s top counterterrorism advisers acknowledged Tuesday that the strategy for fighting Osama bin Laden’s leadership of Al Qaeda in Pakistan had failed, as the White House released a grim new intelligence assessment that has forced the administration to consider more aggressive measures inside Pakistan.

Very few--if any--options in Pakistan:

In weighing how to deal with the Qaeda threat in Pakistan, American officials have been meeting in recent weeks to discuss what some said was emerging as an aggressive new strategy, one that would include both public and covert elements. They said there was growing concern that pinprick attacks on Qaeda targets were not enough, but also said some new American measures might have to remain secret to avoid embarrassing General Musharraf.

Just like with the disinformation used by the White House prior to invading Iraq, we are seeing similar attempts now portraying the war as essential to defeating al Qaeda:

The United States faces an increased threat of attack from al Qaeda, which will likely try to use battle-hardened associates in Iraq to strike inside the United States, an intelligence report warned on Tuesday.

Its all about getting the public to buy into the Bush propaganda so that they can get Congress to tow the line once again:

[...]the White House confronts mounting pressure in Congress to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq, the document marked the first time that the 16-agency U.S. intelligence community has warned publicly that the Iraq war poses a near-term threat to the United States.

But the Bush/neocon/Republican message is a two-edged sword:

Democrats seized on the findings to say the administration has mishandled national security and the Iraq war, while U.S. President George W. Bush said U.S. pressure on al Qaeda had kept it from getting even stronger.