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ANALYSIS-US strike on Qaeda leader seen as limited success

ANALYSIS-US strike on Qaeda leader seen as limited successWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. success in killing a top al Qaeda operative this week showed that cooperation with Pakistan can be fruitful but security analysts said there were limits to what the present strategy can achieve. Analysts said the unmanned Predator air strike that apparently killed Abu Laith al-Libi in a remote area of Pakistan demonstrated that the United States has the military reach and intelligence sources to carry out a precision attack on a specific target with Pakistani consent.
But U.S. participation in a ground offensive against al Qaeda strongholds along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border is unlikely. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has publicly opposed it and the Pakistani military may not be able to mount effective operations deep in tribal frontier regions.

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