This past Sunday John Brennan, the Obama administration’s chief counter-terrorism advisor, told a major television network that all of Shahzad’s connections are pointing towards the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan. Similar sentiments were expressed by US attorney general Eric Holder, who is heading the criminal investigation against Shahzad. Both officials echoed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s terse warning of “severe consequences” if Pakistan did not crack down more ruthlessly on terrorist networks within its territory.
Security experts in Washington have since begun to call Shahzad’s bombing attempt a “game changer” in the war against terror and have been signalling the possibility of an incursion of US forces into Pakistani territory. Several factors point to the fact that such an option is indeed being considered by the Obama administration and Pentagon officials. First, conservative lawmakers on Capitol Hill have long been sounding alarm bells asking for a wider presence in Pakistan to accomplish the goals of the war on terror. Recent hearings held on Capitol Hill have focused on groups such as Jaish-i-Muhammad and Lashkar-i-Taiba that do not operate in the areas currently being targeted by aerial drone attacks.
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