Who is/was fighting whom? Can you make out?
Islamist fighters on the Silk Road
Date:20/07/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/07/20/stories/2009072055470800.htm
M.K. Bhadrakumar
A steadily rising curve of Islamist activities is becoming visible in Central Asia.
In his book Taliban: Militant Islam, Oil and Fundamentalism in Central Asia, noted Pakistani author Ahmed Rashid describes how the United States' Central Intelligence Agency, Britain's MI6 and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence drew up a provocative plan in 1986 to launch mujahideen attacks in the Soviet territory, presently within Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The task was given to the ISI's favourite mujahideen leader, Gulbuddi n Hekmatyar. Of course, the idea itself — the use of militant Islamists as a geopolitical tool to lacerate the "soft underbelly" of the Soviet Union — belonged to the U.S. National Security Advisor, ZbigniewBrzezinski.
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To be sure, a second post-Soviet wave of Islamism is appearing in the region. Islamist fighters are arriving on the Silk Road, poking Russia's — and China's — "soft underbelly" in a way that will do Brzezenski proud.
2 comments:
What Bhadrakumar seems to be implying is that the US is fomenting Islamic terrorism in Russia and China. I have a hard time believing that. The US might have done that in the past but would not take that chance at this time. This Bhadrakumar is a relic from India's cold-war era mentality -- where everything American was bad and everything socialist/communist was great. America is no angel but Islamic militants do not need much encouragement to create havoc.
Like Indian_Indian, I too would be cautious of what he says. Remember he was ecstatic when Maoist thugs won in Nepal and was wishing for similar revolution in India. See how slyly he blames west for these jihadis as if they are innocent children being led astray by evil west. General tenor of his writings is China, Russia and Iran are angels and can do no wrong while US, UK and Israel are evil incarnate; India does not deserve to be a naton, it should declare itself a protectorate of China and reconcile itself to be with the countries of subsaharn Africa; Pakistan, has all the rights of protecting its interests in Afghanistan but India cannot claim that even in Nepal.
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