PAKISTAN HITS QAEDA

Long overdue

The United States is fully backing a Pakistani military crackdown on hotbeds of al Qaeda and Taliban activity amid mounting concern over terrorism, President Bush's national security adviser said yesterday.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf's 10-month-old peace deal with tribal elders in northwestern Pakistan, aimed at marginalizing pro-Taliban militants, has failed, said Stephen Hadley.

"It has not worked the way we wanted it," Hadley said on ABC's "This Week."

Concern about a resurgent militant threat has grown over the last two months, Hadley added. "And we're responding to it . . . In the short run, we need to take it on operationally," he said without elaborating.

Musharraf has been moving more troops into western areas of the country near the Afghan border, said Hadley.

But, what are the limitations?