hour attack allegedly carried out by Pakistan-based militants on targets in the Afghan capital, including the US embassy, could spark fresh tension between Washington and Islamabad just as they seemed to be patching up their vital but troubled relationship. The attack showed a “failure” by Afghan intelligence and especially by NATO, Afghan President Hamid Karzai declared. “The fact terrorists were able to enter Kabul and other provinces was an intelligence failure for us and especially for NATO,” Karzai's office said in a statement, which also strongly condemned the attack. The attack, which ended early Monday, will likely re-ignite anger in Washington over Pakistan's unwillingness to crack down on militants using its territory as a base. But the US administration must weigh the impact any public criticism of Pakistan may have on the country's cooperation with it in other areas, including getting supplies to troops in Afghanistan and negotiating peace with insurgents there. The potential flashpoint comes days after Pakistan's parliament finally approved new guidelines for the country in its relationship with the US, a decision that Washington hopes will pave the way for the reopening of supply lines to NATO troops in Afghanistan. Pakistan closed its border crossings to NATO supplies in November in retaliation for American airstrikes that accidentally killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Afghan officials said a gunman arrested in the attacks told authorities the simultaneous strikes in Kabul and three other cities were carried out by the Haqqani network, a militant group allegedly linked to Pakistan's spy agency. The attacks were the most widespread in Kabul since an assault on the US embassy and NATO headquarters last September also blamed on the Haqqani network. US officials accused Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency, or ISI, of helping with that attack, sparking outrage in Islamabad. An ISI official said claims the Haqqani network was behind the latest attacks were “nothing but accusations.” “We have no idea who carried out these attacks,” the official said. “Whenever something happens, blame is always laid on our doorstep.” Pakistan's army has its own incentive to patch up ties: getting American military aid flowing to the country again. The US has given Pakistan billions of dollars in military aid over the past decade, but flows have largely been frozen since the middle of last year after Osama Bin Laden was found hiding in a Pakistani garrison town.
