Where the Jihad Lives Now

This is one of the most preposterous articles I have ever read. Mixing a few accuracies with large number factual errors, while ignoring some well known truths, the article betrays a pre-conceived plan to contrive an ill-judged conclusion.

It is a fact that there is an average on 2 killings in Iraq every day. It is a fact that there are more deaths in Israel and the Palestinian territories every year. While there has been a definite upsurge is violence in Pakistan, it should not be a surprise if viewed in the context of the high degree of political instability in the entire region.

The article conveniently ignores the ascendancy of religious extremism from Afghanistan to India. It also ignores the fact that the presence of foreign troops, as is the case in Iraq, is fueling violence. It also ignores the fact that US support for the military lead Government in Pakistan has meant the abandoning of the moderate majority in Pakistan. Replete with corruption, the Pakistani military has swindled away over $10 Billion is US assistance. Even if half of this money had been spent on the Madressa reforms and the betterment of Pakistani education system, the rise of extremism could have easily been checked. That this happened under the US watch is another fact misrepresented by the article. It is also a well known fact that many of the Madressas were politicized and militarized by the combination of CIA and ISI. Ignoring the fact that this process has continued under Musharraf reeks of blatant disregard to the principle of truthful reporting.

It is a fact that military intervention anywhere is the world, by anyone has only begotten violence. Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan are examples of this. From the Napoleonic Armies of France to the Nazi forces of Hitler, occupation of foreign countries has been historically proven to have met doom. Let us not be fooled that the current occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan are also bound to fail.

I am amazed that the enlightened souls of the West fail to give peace a chance. When we fail to do so, we run the risk of converting moderate people like the Iraqis into extremists. Having suffered decades of brutal rules under Saddam, US intervention did pushed the Iraqi people over the edge. Surely, there was a better course available to help the Iraqis rid themselves of tyrannical Saddam.

Let???s work to build peace in the world. Let???s promote respectful coexistence. Let???s promote education and liberty. Let???s work together to fix our common issues. Let???s put our minds together to clean our environment. Let???s get rid of poverty and disease. Let???s us write articles that give peace a chance. There is so much more we can do if we give peace a chance.

This is one of the most preposterous articles I have ever read. Mixing a few accuracies with large number factual errors, while ignoring some well known truths, the article betrays a pre-conceived plan to contrive an ill-judged conclusion.

It is a fact that there is an average on 2 killings in Iraq every day. It is a fact that there are more deaths in Israel and the Palestinian territories every year. While there has been a definite upsurge is violence in Pakistan, it should not be a surprise if viewed in the context of the high degree of political instability in the entire region.

The article conveniently ignores the ascendancy of religious extremism from Afghanistan to India. It also ignores the fact that the presence of foreign troops, as is the case in Iraq, is fueling violence. It also ignores the fact that US support for the military lead Government in Pakistan has meant the abandoning of the moderate majority in Pakistan. Replete with corruption, the Pakistani military has swindled away over $10 Billion is US assistance. Even if half of this money had been spent on the Madressa reforms and the betterment of Pakistani education system, the rise of extremism could have easily been checked. That this happened under the US watch is another fact misrepresented by the article. It is also a well known fact that many of the Madressas were politicized and militarized by the combination of CIA and ISI. Ignoring the fact that this process has continued under Musharraf reeks of blatant disregard to the principle of truthful reporting.

It is a fact that military intervention anywhere is the world, by anyone has only begotten violence. Iraq, Afghanistan and now Pakistan are examples of this. From the Napoleonic Armies of France to the Nazi forces of Hitler, occupation of foreign countries has been historically proven to have met doom. Let us not be fooled that the current occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan are also bound to fail.

I am amazed that the enlightened souls of the West fail to give peace a chance. When we fail to do so, we run the risk of converting moderate people like the Iraqis into extremists. Having suffered decades of brutal rules under Saddam, US intervention did pushed the Iraqi people over the edge. Surely, there was a better course available to help the Iraqis rid themselves of tyrannical Saddam.

Let???s work to build peace in the world. Let???s promote respectful coexistence. Let???s promote education and liberty. Let???s work together to fix our common issues. Let???s put our minds together to clean our environment. Let???s get rid of poverty and disease. Let???s us write articles than give peace a chance. There is so much we can do if we give peace a chance.

Please visit http:pakcentric.blogspot.com for a different perspective than what Newsweek tries to show. This website is meant for everyone, but foreign intervention in our internal matters is definitely not appreciated. Thank you.

the debate and comments are getting emotional. we need to talk about the causes of terrorism and should give some suggesstions to end this. No nation is terrorist, it are some groups or people in every country that try to dictate terms. We need to try to build the bridges not walls. Dialogue is the best way to end the violence going on in the world. Emotions cannot decide the problems.
Abid Shakeel

karaswart. You misunderstood my message. I am not against religion. I am against humans under the guise of religion doing unreligious things.

There is no comparison between the two whatsoever. Such like articles will not help either the cause or the Musharaf Govt. Unnec alarms must not be created unless there are other motives which most of the people are aware of. Pakistani areas bordering Afghanistan has always been the wild west frontiers and abode of all sorts of criminals including the Talibans and this is known to all. Dealing with these guys is all togeteher a different ball game. With regards to democracy in Pakistan, frankly democracy is a relative term.. What about the actions of the US Govt in Iraq against the wishes of the people, Is it democratic? I would say what are we upto when knowing fully well that Benazir was a cheat who stole the national wealth, the US still supports her because she has shown them that she can deliver. Beleive me! what Musharaf has delivered for US so far no civilian or political leadership could have done so. It will be in the larger interest of all not to distort the facts or blow the issues out of proportion to prove a point which is totally incorrect. We should also not paint or make hypothetical scnarios with regards to nuclear arsenal of Pakistan...it is the most irresponsible way of handling a defacto nuclear power.
P.S. A word about my Indian friend's comments on this article, its about time that we both grow up

oooh... i was just skimming thru most of these comments.... AND THE THING THAT DOES PISS ME OFF IS to see... a PAK/ INDIAN debate going on and more over... INDIANS sticking their ugly noses into this.... okay lemme try to put it this way; they have accused the pakistanis who commented of not reacting neutrally; well instead of wasting ur time trying to somehow make our responses seem less legitimate do work on ur own country which is literally a cesspott where 9 out ten ppl piss on the roadside (and honey ive lived in india and seen that happening) . I ask u indians .... and ur the ones whos started the whole "us and them pakistanis" thing in these posts... so U INDIANS.. have any of u ever LIVED IN PAKISTAN? do u know what the situation is like? if some one has majorly stretched the point of truth in an article to somehow justify attacking our country, OFCOURSE WE ARE GOING TO REACT!!!!!!! Stop believing only what you see on TV. AND MIND UR OWN FRIKKING BUSINESS, U INDIAN JERKS... GO DRINK COW PISS. Some how all muslims are discriminated against whetehr or not they are extreme.... but what about INDIAN HINDUS who worship COWS, MONKEYS, COW PISS, and things like KAALI (the goddes of destruction) i mean? are u guys normal ppl? DEFINITELY NOT FROM THE WESTERN STANDPOINT. so before u go on and start sucking up to the big daddies of the world, look at ur own ugly face in the mirror and ask urself whose side do u want to be on, urs or theirs....

meaowsroar when the article says "arguably the most dangerous nation in the world" it probably is saying 'dangerous to the USA who are its largest audience'. The title of the article is fear mongering to increase magazine circulation since they are a business and fear sells magazines. Also, they do use the word arguably and it seems they certainly have had some argument over the title. To those who point to the USA use of the atom bomb in WWII I have a question. Would anyone else involved in the war not have used it?

Karaswart, dont ever dream to break Pakistan. You just need to look at the latest report of Tahlka about carnage of Gujrat and try to focus on your own country where there are so many problems. Human rights violations are a proven fact in India, so try to settle those issues instead of creating tension in Pakistan.
This is a country which will progress according to the dreams of Quiad-e-Azam and not any militant. There is a thin minority of militants that are bringing bad name to the country. But anyways we need no help from India to settle these issues.
Abid Shakeel

The ground reality is much different. There is really no comparison between the two. Minus situation in Waziristan, the basic cause of which is US intervention in Afghanistan the rest of the country on the whole is very much stable. Creating unnecessary pressure on a Nation of 1.6 Million will not be in the interest of anyone.I am an average Pakistani and like anyone else I am more concerned about my job. Like most of the people elsewhere in the world I too am skeptical of our politicians and the future of democracy in my country. If we take a dispassionate view of the world policy, is US Government following the norms of democracy where they are acting against the wishes of their people. As long as US continues to blindly follow the Israeli agenda they are likely to create more problems. The world looks at the US as an honest broker.

Dear Unity: You are right. God must so hate religion, an unnecessary middleman created to divide humans. That is why I say that so called countries based on religion will not survive long..

h

if the American govt. kills people it's considered a cautionary measure and the huge number of innocent civilians whose lives are ruint/ ended by the American govt. is not terrorism, just a necessary evil..... because as that bastard BUsh says, "our best defence is offence" (or something, i think he needs a good lay but can see why he cant get that easily). Pakistan is a nation which is not even powerful enough to be dangerous... and in this article it's been called "arguably the most dangerous nation" in the world? HELLO??? ARE YA NUTS?
WHAT ABOUT THE U, S OF FRIKKIN A? THe american Govt is SO CORRUPT that the Average american has no idea what's going on and are brainwashed by their own media.... and news... and magazine articles such as THIS one. If any nation has the power to be dangerous, the resources, to harm other nations if not destroy them..... it's USA! .... and this isn't an airy fairy theory we can just look at USA's history.... and ITS PRESENT dealings. Such a flimsy cover up to try to shift the blame...... to prepare the ground for another attack, some how trying to justify it by fabricated and exaggerated evidence which is MOSTLY JUST OPINIONS...... trying to convince ppl all over the world who don't live in Pakistan and dont know the truth that some how Pakistan also deserves the sorry fate of Iraq and Afghanistan.... the writer of this article and all other ppl like him are the REAL EXTREMISTS........ BUSH IS THE REAL FASCIST, the real anti christ if you will (oh pee in your panties ... its the president himself).... to believe in the killing of any human beings without even having any proof that they are who you think they are..... ATTACKING THEM ON RELIGIOUS GROUNDS...... its a real low, and thank god for this day and age, whatever US of frikkin A may try to do or does, (Which it is doing... very openly) atleast IT CANT COVER ANYTHING UP. And if the people in POWER become such bastards, no wonder they have created their own opposition, ofcourse ppl rebel against them , or at the very least the ppl in power are afraid that if not now later some one will try to rebel.... btw Osama and USA have deep ties... so stop trying to throw blame on Pakistan, because if anyone gave birth to Osama and made him dangerous it was USA!

I started out with the intention of commenting on the article, but now find my comments being for the others who left comments. I grew up in the city of Edmonton in Canada which is home to a large number of Canadians of Pakistani and Indian descent. They are very nice people who actually join together in cultural events and accept each other as humans. Don't we all just want a nice life for our family without threat to ourselves or others? Think for yourselves! Don't listen to the dividers of the world! I have more in common with that majority of like minded people who just want to live and let live than with ,any gender, national group, race or religious affiliation. Don't let yourselves be part of the problem! Don't listen or pass on messages of hate! India, Pakistan, USA, Israel, these are all just names of places and are NOT the people in the places. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hindi these at heart are how we approach god and should not be collective labels synonymous with some assholes behaviour. Are all Christians crusaders? Of course not! Are all Muslims terrorists? Of course not! The crusaders and terrorists are simply people who never thought for themselves and followed some assholes idea of what should be done. Do all Israelis dislike the idea of peace? Of course not! Are all Palestinians terrorists? Of course not! Don't be fooled into believing that the majority of the people on this planet are not good.

Dear beautiful, fragrant Rabia: One more point. India is not trying to split Pakistan. Just trying to recover its split pieces. Pieces split because some of her own sons and daughters spat on her ancient history and culture and divided a holy land. Time to restitch the organs back. And split the splittists ( to borrow and oft used term of the Chinese communists- who are doing much the same thing- i.e. restitch a great cicilisation back).

may be it is, but it is interesting to see that every second muslim country is increasingly becoming dangerous. we shall have to think whether the western support for the pro-dictatorship in pak is an obstacle for their democratization or not!!

Monisa: Artificial creations, especially those created as ' homelands' for religious groups ( the worst of all reasons) will naturally implode. Pakistan, ironically, is like a radioactive isoptope with a half life of 40 years. 1971- split into halves. It is about time the next split occurs.. As I say to my Pakistani friends- let bygones be bygones- follow the example of Jinnah's daughter and come back to India. You have been misled too long by Arabs.

may be it is, but it is interesting to see that every second muslim country is becoming increasingly dangerous. we need to see that the western support for pro-dictatorship in pakistan only ceases their chances to democratise!!!

Dear Rabia- Pakistan is an artificial creation- what the Chinese would refer to as a ' renegade state'. Indians and Pakistani's are from the same gene pool. It is unfortunate that some of our own people, under Arabic influences pissed on their own culture and inheritance and looked to Arabic influences. sad really.

Guess what the ' founder' of Pakistan- Jinnah's daughter did. She left Pakistan, reconverted back and settled in Bombay. Her son, Jinnah's grandson runs an industrial empire in India. We Indians are not interested in NWFP ( belongs to Afghanistan) and Baloochistan ( belongs to Oman). Just to get Sindh and Punjan back. Follow the Quaid's daughter and come back to mama. India will welcome you back.