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Afghanistan
Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world today
2009-01-17
The pros and cons of continuing or escalating the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan can be gleaned from two recent books, "The Search for Al Qaeda," by Bruce Riedel, a former C.I.A. analyst and adviser to three presidents, and "The Duel," by the Pakistani writer and filmmaker Tariq Ali. One thing they agree on -- and which was underscored by the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai -- is that Pakistan is going to be at the forefront of foreign policy concerns for the Obama administration.

It's hard to get more apocalyptic than Riedel. "Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world today, where every nightmare of the 21st century -- terrorism, nuclear proliferation, the danger of nuclear war, dictatorship, poverty and drugs -- come together in one place." It is, he adds, the country most critical to the development and survival of Al Qaeda.

The importance Ali attaches to Pakistan can be found in his subtitle: "Pakistan on the Flight Path of American Power." The United States thinks it needs Pakistan now, he says, in order to fight Al Qaeda and the insurgents who are carrying out attacks on the NATO troops in Afghanistan (a recent attack on a 100-­ vehicle convoy was launched from Peshawar), just as it needed Pakistan as a base for fighting the Soviet Union during its occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

The two men also agree that the threat presented by Al Qaeda has been exaggerated. "Its importance in the general scheme of things is greatly overstated by the West," Ali writes. "It unleashes sporadic terror attacks and kills innocents, but it does not pose any serious threat to U.S. power."
Except for when it attacks one of our major cities, kills several thousand of our citizens, and causes hundreds of billions of dollars of losses in our economy, thus emboldening terrorists throughout the world.
Although Riedel calls Al Qaeda "the first truly global terrorist organization in history," he also says that it does not have "a mass following in the Muslim world" and that it is "not on the verge of taking over even a single Muslim country."

Where the authors part company is over what to do now. Expand NATO ­forces in Afghanistan, Riedel says. Withdraw all NATO forces from Afghanistan, Ali ­counters.
Posted by:GolfBravoUSMC

#2  Of course it is - Obama wants to keep up operations there.

If he didn't it wouldn't be.
Posted by: lotp   2009-01-17 20:20  

#1  I would put Saudi and Iran up there too for ideological/funding reasons!!!
Posted by: Paul2   2009-01-17 10:48  

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