"Pakistan Remains the Global Center for Terrorism and al-Qaeda"

(Der Spiegel-Germany) According to Pakistani scholar Ahmed Rashid, Pakistan remains the global center for terrorism and for the remnants of al-Qaeda, which is still very strong. The militant groups have not been crushed and if the madrassas they control are not shut down, we're not going to see an end to militancy. When crackdowns do occur, they aren't effective. Hundreds or even thousands of people are picked up, held for 90 days, and then they are freed as soon as the attention and pressure from the West has stopped. But you don't need to come to Pakistan to become a fanatic. You can become a fanatic anywhere in England because there's enough extremism there too. Bin Laden is certainly in Pakistan because Pakistan has traditionally had the best infrastructure for al-Qaeda. I don't think the Pakistani military knows where he is, but they aren't looking very hard either because they fear the military support they get from the U.S. would disappear as soon as he is caught.


2005-07-29 00:00:00

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