U.S. rules allowed pursuit into Pakistan

Newly uncovered "rules of engagement" show the U.S. military gave elite units broad authority more than three years ago to pursue suspected terrorists into Pakistan, with no mention of telling the Pakistanis in advance.

The documents obtained by the Associated Press offer a detailed glimpse at what Army Rangers and other terrorist-hunting units were authorized to do earlier in the war on terrorism. Interviews with military officials suggest some of those same guidelines have remained in place, such as the right to "hot pursuit" across the border.

Pakistan, a U.S. partner in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, has long viewed such incursions as a threat to its sovereignty.

Islamabad protested loudly this month when Sen. Barack Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate, pledged to grant U.S. forces the authority to unilaterally penetrate into Pakistan in the hunt for terrorist leaders.

Washington repeated assurances it would consult before any such incursions.

Summaries of the rules of engagement on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in April 2004 say chasing al-Qaeda leaders across the frontier was fair game. One summary states that "Entry into PAK authorized for" the following reasons:

"Hot pursuit" of al-Qaeda, Taliban, and terrorist command-and-control targets "from AFG into Pakistan (must be continuous and uninterrupted)."

If the head of U.S. Central Command approved direct action "against The Big 3" listed as Osama bin Laden; his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri; and Taliban supreme leader Mullah Omar.

If the defense secretary approved such an incursion.

Other grounds for incursions were "personnel recovery," including rescuing troops after the downing of aircraft; and troops "in contact with" the enemy, meaning under fire.

As for "geographic limits," the memo states: "General rule: penetrate no deeper than 10 km.," or 6.2 miles.

Told of the guidelines, a Pakistani military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Waheed Arshad, said: "This is all nonsense. Pakistan never allowed the coalition forces to enter into our territory while chasing militants."

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt. Col. Todd Vician, said he could not comment.

The 2004 documents were included among 1,100 pages of investigative documents generated by the Army's probe into the death of NFL player-turned-Ranger Pat Tillman, whose platoon was operating in the region at the time.

The documents make no mention of a requirement to inform Pakistan in advance of strikes into that country. But one summary mentions a chain of required notifications, which resulted in Pakistan's being apprised, apparently after the fact.

One rule says "joint task force commander must inform CENTCOM immediately" and ensure that the "Mil Liaison team" in Islamabad was notified. Operations officers had a hotline to that liaison office, which would in turn inform Pakistani officials. On some occasions, Pakistanis would detect ground or air incursions and request explanations from the Americans, who would then open inquiries.

Interviews with officers in the field, and the public statements of top U.S. commanders, indicate similar guidelines remain in place today.

In recent days, top Bush administration officials have staked out varying positions on the matter. On Aug. 5, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates was cautious in describing how U.S. officials would handle an incursion: "I think we would not act without telling [Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf] what we were planning to do."

That was far more tentative than what homeland security adviser Frances Townsend said last month when asked on Fox News why the United States was not sending special-operations forces into Pakistan. "Well, just because we don't speak about things publicly doesn't mean we're not doing many of the things you're talking about," she said.

Earlier this month, when Afghan President Hamid Karzai was visiting President Bush, Bush would not say whether he would consult Pakistan before an incursion. "With real actionable intelligence, we will get the job done," Bush said, without elaborating.