Rising extremism reveals need to refocus terror war

[one...two...tree 2,762]

USA Today

A staple of TV reports on terrorism is video footage from the training camps in Afghanistan where al-Qaeda foot soldiers in the years before the 9/11 attacks prepared to do battle with the infidels.

The U.S. military destroyed those camps and routed the Taliban regime that was harboring Osama bin Laden. The Bush administration embarked on a broad effort to strangle his networks. The "war on terror" had started, and it was a good beginning.

Five years later, however, that war has lost its focus. In Afghanistan, U.S. and NATO troops are fighting resurgent Taliban forces that have established mini-training camps across the border in Pakistan. Bin Laden and his top deputy remain at large. Iraq has become a magnet for Islamic extremists from other countries, including suicide bombers who flock there to kill Americans. Anti-Americanism and fundamentalist ideology have been spreading, fueled by the Internet and satellite TV.

The determination that followed 9/11 now needs to be rechanneled to meet the more complex challenges that the war on terror has evolved into. Among top priorities:

•Pressure Pakistan. Bin Laden and his deputy, along with top Taliban members, are thought to be hiding in Pakistan's wild, North Waziristan region bordering Afghanistan. In September, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf signed a deal to halt military operations there. In return, tribal leaders promised not to protect the extremists. They haven't kept that promise.

Musharraf must walk a fine line between keeping a tight grip on the country and not so inflaming extremists that they try to assassinate him and take over. President Bush must respect that. But he can pressure Musharraf to crack down on links between his security forces and the Taliban, and on the schools known as madrassas that preach extremism. The greatest need is to rescind the ineffective Waziristan deal, which is making the region a refuge reminiscent of pre-9/11 Afghanistan.

•Prevent backsliding in Afghanistan. The Iraq war diverted attention, troops and funding from the incomplete and now endangered victory in Afghanistan. The administration is belatedly promising more funding and asking NATO for more troops. But only a reenergized and refocused U.S.-led effort can tackle the problems - opium production, corrupt officials, warlords and dire poverty - that make Afghanistan so ripe for extremists.

•Manage the end game in Iraq. Public and political pressure are mounting for a drawdown of U.S. forces from Iraq after a last-ditch surge to secure Baghdad. That must be done in a way that best serves the overriding U.S. battle against Islamic extremism.

An immediate benefit of a U.S. troop reduction would be to reduce the number of targets drawing extremists from as near as Jordan and as far as Morocco. But it would be important to position U.S. troops where they can best prevent al-Qaeda in Iraq from establishing a haven in western Anbar province.

•Promote American values. In 2004, the bipartisan 9/11 commission came up with a checklist of ways to prevent another attack - everything from an intelligence overhaul to better outreach to the world. On some items, such as cracking down on terrorist financial and communications networks, there has been remarkable progress. But there are also gaping holes.

Most critically, the United States is failing to convince the world, particularly the Islamic world, it stands for worthwhile freedoms. In large part, that has to do with the Iraq war. But the Cold War-style outreach recommended by the commission has also been missing, along with such obvious fixes as giving Guantanamo Bay detainees a fair hearing or closing the prison.

More than five years after 9/11, there have been no new attacks on U.S. soil. For that, all Americans can be thankful. But the war on terror has grown more complex, and our efforts require recalibration. This time, no one should have to watch stock footage of militant bases in a faraway place like Pakistan and wonder why too little was done before it was too late.

[Robor007 0]

Well, good for us that the Dems won in November 2006 or we would still be hearing 'stay the course' as the only solution.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Well, good for us that the Dems won in November 2006 or we would still be hearing 'stay the course' as the only solution.

What a friggin mess Bush has made.