Terrorist States

by Eyck Freymann

After the Mumbai attacks, I began to read the Times of India, a newspaper that gives a fascinating perspective completely not apparent in Western media. There have been numerous articles (also here and here) in the past week or so detailing the movement to brand Pakistan as a terrorist state.

There are a couple of things about this that shock and anger me, so I'll try to lay them out as clearly as I can.

First of all, Pakistan is a desperate country. The international financial crisis has hit them extremely hard. About six weeks ago they were forced to accept an emergency loan from the International Monetary Fund to prevent a complete fiscal collapse. As one of our few allies in the Middle East (and as the lone Muslim nuclear power) the continued support of Pakistan is absolutely essential if we wish to avoid an avalanche of terror attacks throughout the developed world. American embargo would cripple the economy and prompt waves of extremism throughout the region. Pakistan's nuclear technology would be insecure, and we would be in a deep, deep quagmire, potentially seeing those weapons falling into the hands of al Qaeda.

Pakistan, like Afghanistan, has a large urban population and thousands of square miles of sparsely populated mountainous regions in the north. This region is almost completely inpenetrable by those who are not familiar with the terrain, and contains some of the most remote cultures on earth. Amidst the world's tallest mountain ranges, many cultures along the Wakhan corridor and in Pakistan's northern territories have no interaction whatsoever with their "governments". They live in a region as lawless now as it was described to be by Marco Polo.

Today, we are witnessing a rise in Islamic extremism in these territories. Islamic fundamentalism and resentment of India and the West has gradually spread north to the point where these moderate and secluded peoples are becoming radicalized. This is quantified by the growing trends of violence towards women and madrassah [radical Islamic school] enrollment.

If the United States wants to effectively combat this movement in an area not effectively dominated since Genghis Khan, our strategy has to include more than harsh words and bombs. As we have seen in Afghanistan, no number of bombs will wipe out a threat that has no fixed location. Rather, we should follow the excellent example of Greg Mortenson, the man who almost singlehandedly built over sixty schools in northern Pakistan and Afghanistan.

[Note: Pakistan and Afghanistan collectively form the dark green.]

Our security as a nation is in jeopardy; the attacks on Mumbai call into clear and brutal focus the renewed need for a change in direction in this so-called "War on Terror." This is not to say that military effort will not be required. But the direction we need to take is clear. It's not a black and white choice. We don't sacrifice our principles. This is already a serious problem that requires a serious solution. Let's not make the problem worse.