Musharraf: Bin Laden death positive; sees retaliation

DUBAI, (Reuters) – Pakistan’s former military ruler  Pervez Musharraf called Osama bin Laden’s death today a  “positive step” but criticised the United States for launching  the raid on the al Qaeda leader within his country’s borders.
Musharraf, who lost power in 2008, told Reuters that  Pakistani intelligence ought to have known bin Laden was living  near Islamabad. He also said al Qaeda supporters may take  revenge against the United States and Pakistan.
Describing the killing as a victory for the people of  Pakistan, Musharraf said: “It’s a very positive step and it will  have positive long-term implications.”
“Today we won a battle, but the war against terror will  continue,” Musharraf said in Dubai, where he has a home.
Bin Laden died in the garrison town of Abbottabad, 35 miles  (60 km) north of Islamabad, where U.S. forces tracked down the  al Qaeda leader who had eluded capture for years.
Musharraf said, however, that the operation had infringed on  his nation’s sovereignty: “It’s a violation to have crossed  Pakistan’s borders,” he said in an interview.
Musharraf also criticised Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus  for failing to find bin Laden, whose group staged the Sept. 11,  2001 attacks on the United States.
“It’s an intelligence failure,” said Musharraf, who quit  office to avoid impeachment charges. “The intelligence ought to  have known.”
Pakistani authorities were told the details of the raid on  bin Laden only after it had taken place, highlighting a lack of  trust between Washington and Islamabad.
Musharraf called bin Laden’s decision to hide near the  capital, rather than in the remote regions of the country where  he was thought to be hiding, “an intelligent act”.
At the same time, Musharraf admitted that the attack came at  a time when al Qaeda’s influence in Pakistan — a front line in  the United States’ fight against Islamist militancy — had been  replaced by growing Taliban influence.
“Osama is a person who declared war on Pakistan and many of  the terrorist acts have been linked with al Qaeda, therefore  it’s a victory for Pakistan,” said Musharraf.
Musharraf, who took office in 1999 through a bloodless coup,  two years before the attacks on U.S. soil in 2001, repeated his  pledge to return to Pakistan before the next elections, due by  2013. He said he did not expect to face arrest if he returns,  but has admitted that he fears assassination attempts.