Pakistan's War on the Gullible at the US State Dept.

Excerpts from the Economist's story on Musharraf's 'war against terrorism'.
Clever Musharraf is taking full advantage of the Cold Warriors at the US
State Department, giving them nicely timed little goodies every now and
then. Quite Pavlovian, the State Department wags its tail and waxes eloquent
about the great help Pakistan is giving the US.

>
> WINNING THE BATTLE, NOT THE WAR
> Aug 5th 2004
>
> Pakistan's president has more to do to fight terrorism
>
> IF PERVEZ MUSHARRAF were not doing his damnedest to fight terror, why
> would terrorists keep trying to kill him? Why also, having survived two
> bomb blasts in the past year, would the general have overseen the
> arrest of 18 alleged al-Qaeda members in the past two weeks? They
> included a man who may have a $5m bounty on his head, and another whose
> arrest is reported to have stymied fresh al-Qaeda attacks in America
> and Britain. The United States, which has rewarded Mr Musharraf richly
> for his troubles, considers him a bulwark against Islamic extremism.
> But many others do not.
>
> They point out that although Mr Musharraf has nabbed several hundred
> al-Qaeda suspects since the September 11th attacks, his record against
> the domestic extremist groups who succour them is patchier. When
> Pakistan is riven by sectarian violence--as last May, when dozens were
> killed in Karachi--a few suspected militants are arrested and a few
> extremist groups are sometimes banned. But the groups' leaders are
> usually left at large. A particularly vile Sunni extremist, Azam Tariq,
> was even permitted to sit in parliament while wanted on terrorism
> charges, until he was murdered last year.
>
>
.....

>
> In defence of his policy, Mr Musharraf's supporters say that there is a
> clear distinction between the mullahs in parliament and the terrorists.
> This is generally true. Yet their friends and ideologies are often the
> same. And sometimes, as per the late Mr Tariq, there would seem to be
> no distinction at all. In short, Mr Musharraf's policies are making
> Pakistan less secular and stable, not more. The secular opposition has
> been co-opted or scattered. The country's sophisticated middle class
> has little interest or involvement in politics. Among the impoverished
> majority, the firebrand preaching they hear in Islamic schools has a
> powerful allure. This would be worrying in any country with Pakistan's
> history of sectarian violence, let alone one with nuclear bombs.
>
> To fight terrorism, Mr Musharraf must do more than round up a few
> big-name terrorists. He must disband the home-grown extremists that are
> their allies, and the MADRASSAS that provide them with recruits. Above
> all, he must change the political culture of a country where military
> dictatorship and religious extremism have for so long gone
> hand-in-hand. By the end of this year, Mr Musharraf is due to renounce
> his military office and return Pakistan to civilian rule. Shorn of his
> uniform, he may, as many fear, prove powerless. But that will be no
> excuse not to try.
>
>
> See this article with graphics and related items at
http://www.economist.com/printedition/displayStory.cfm?Story_ID=3062157
>
> Go to http://www.economist.com for more global news, views and analysis
from the Economist Group.
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