There appears to be confirmation that terrorists operating in India recently
trained in terrorist camps in the Kashmir region of Pakistan. This points to the complexity of the problem in the earthquake-stricken region - simply giving aid is not going to solve the
long-term issues.
One of the most dangerous international terrorist groups based there,
Lashkar Taiba, has plenty of
links to the Al Qaeda (a little bit
more real than the Saddam-Al Qaeda links).
Lashkar Taiba also has been known to operate sleeper cells around the world, and a sister Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group, Jaish-e-Mohammed, may have been linked to the London bombings.
The problem with the entire situation now is that Pakistan is seeking donations even as it may be in the middle of buying F-16s and other expensive military equipment. There was a report a couple of days ago that the US administration had authorized an additional $300 million in military aid to the Musharraf regime.
For four years, the Musharraf regime has not kept many of its promises, has done little to root out the various terrorist groups and has not done enough to stop the Taliban and the Al Qaeda from re-forming and attacking US, NATO soldiers, Afghan officials, and others in Afghanistan. The regime has not much to show regarding madrassa reform either.
The entire policy towards the Musharraf regime needs to be reconsidered as we think through how to best help reconstruct the earthquake-devastated region. There is every reason to believe that the terrorist groups that romp through the area are going to come out even stronger, with international and catastrophic repercussions. We need to think of the powder keg the region has become, and how to wean Pakistan away from its military regimes that depend on extremism and militarization to survive at the cost of modernization and economic progress.
