A troubling yet hopeful report by Alexis Debat of The Blotter concerning four ISI agents being ambushed in Waziristan en route to talking to local tribal heads to find the location of Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Pakistani military officials tell ABC News they believe “elements close to al Qaeda” carried out the hit on the four officers, all members of the country’s Inter-Service Intelligence (ISI), in an apparent attempt to foil cooperation between Pakistani intelligence and tribal leaders thought to have knowledge helpful to learning the al Qaeda leaders’ whereabouts.

Two of the ISI officials killed belonged to an anti-terrorism unit fighting al Qaeda in Pakistan.

Pakistani officials conceded the attackers knew closely-held details of the men’s journey, including the timing of the men’s trip, their route and their purpose. That is sure to raise fresh questions about al Qaeda’s penetration of the Pakistani intelligence service.

The key is in the last excerpted paragraph.  It’s long been known, though for whatever reason it has also been debated, that Al Qaida has influence within the Pakistani intelligence network ISI.  That rather silly debate can now end.  There is at least one mole within ISI, and he’s presumably high ranking since this is the type of operation that would be surrounded with a great deal of secrecy.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has repeatedly said both Ayman al-Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden are not in Pakistan, instead continuing to insist both men are in Afghanistan.  Why then would ISI, who presumably knows more than Musharraf as to the location of either, decide to talk to Waziristan tribal leaders to track down Zawahiri?

There has been a push in Waziristan to eject foreigners from Pakistani soil by the tribal leaders, which has been accompanied by gunfights between the two sides, however it is perfectly reasonable to assume that based on the history of the region there are tribal leaders who side with Al Qaida over the Pakistani government.  It represents a tough battle for Musharraf to fight, yet one that this operation shows he’s at least trying to wage.