Former official: Bush OK’d U.S. raids in Pakistan

President Bush secretly approved U.S. military raids inside Pakistan against alleged terrorist targets, according to a former intelligence official with recent access to the Bush administration’s debate about fighting al-Qaida and the Taliban inside the area.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to describe the classified order.

The official told The Associated Press that Bush signed the order over the summer, giving new authority to U.S. special operations forces to target suspected terrorists in the area along the Afghanistan border.

In addition to the approval for special operations missions, conventional ground troops have new authority to pursue militants across the Afghan border. The “rules of engagement” have been loosened, allowing troops to conduct border attacks without being fired on first if they witness attacks coming from the region, which include artillery, rockets and mortar fire from the Pakistan side of the border.