TA-ANALYSIS: Musharraf: Iron Curtain Falling Between West, Muslims

Pakistan�s President Pervez Musharraf yesterday voiced a strong warning that "a new iron curtain seems to be falling" between the West and the Muslim world, adding "This iron curtain somehow is dividing the Muslim world on one side and the West on the other side. This is very dangerous". President Musharraf is a strong U.S ally on the war on terror and has vowed to eradicate Al Qaeda from Pakistan.



The comparison to a new iron curtain is a vivid, worrying and probably accurate one, even more so coming from the leader of a Muslim country.

I have to say I agree totally with this statement of his:

"If we are just killing terrorists, we are not achieving anything ... I call them the leaves of a tree. As long as the tree is there, the leaves will keep growing."

"If you manage to finish off one organization like al Qaeda ... you've chopped off a branch of that tree, but the tree will still grow. You must identify the root, and the root happens to be political disputes ... the root happens also to be illiteracy and poverty."

A war on poverty is the only thing that will completely eradicate terrorism, and many other ills. The likely hood of that happening though is about far away as that Saturn probe. At least while there's still profits to be made.

[edit on 6-7-2004 by Banshee]

Does that mean that the only way to end this terrorism is to agree on a one world government and provide financial aid to those countires that harbor terrorists?

If political disparity is the root of the problem then there is virtually no way to end this. Clearly we are not going to give up our form of government and neither will they. And because we are so radically different it is inevitable that we will disagree on most issues. It would be nice if we could agree to disagree but it is this very disparity that makes these extremeists hate us and they most likely will not agree to disagree. And of course, we (the US) seem to have decided that we will be the world police - sticking our noses in everyones business. So that just makes things worse and worse - like pouring salt on an open wound.

And if poverty is the real root of the problem what are we to do? Provide aid to every nation that threatens us with terrorism in order to improve their standard of living and avoid attacks? Shall we just divy up all the economies of the world so that we are all equal - even if certain countries have not contributed to the global economy or have nothing to offer to help improve their own way of life? Does this mean rather than being the world police we should be the world charity organization?

I agree there is a huge problem and I agree we have to remove the root in order to kill the tree. But first we have to really locate the root and then we need a global plan to remove it - and that means every nation working together. What are the chances of that happening? This article makes it seem almost as if the US is directly and solely responsible for the forming of the "curtain". We must address this, we must tear it down but we did not build it alone.

By BadKitty
but first we have to really locate the root and then we need a global plan to remove it - and that means every nation working together.

I agree it is everyone�s problem, not just the U.S. I don't think he singles out the U.S though; he says the west not the U.S. That includes basically all developed nations.

Thats all we need another iron curtain to be a reality in this day and age.I had hoped such thing where a legacy of the cold war and consigned to the pages of history books.

Originally posted by kegs

By BadKitty
but first we have to really locate the root and then we need a global plan to remove it - and that means every nation working together.

I agree it is everyone�s problem, not just the U.S. I don't think he singles out the U.S though; he says the west not the U.S. That includes basically all developed nations.

Good point and I'm sure you're right. But this whole thing just seems to keep getting bigger and bigger an we are right smack in the middle of this. This has the potential to rip the entire planet in half. We need a good herbicide!

Good message, but odd messenger.

Political injustices -- Isn't this the guy who came to power in a coup?

povery, illiteracy -- Isn't this guy criticized in his country for spending too much on the military at the expense of the country's social programs? Doesn't he antagonize neighbouring India and therefore create just the situation where he and his army buddies maintain maximum power in the country (e.g. the Kargil invasion)

religious fundamentalism -- Didn't this guy advance in the military under General Zia Ul Haq because he was in favour with the religious parties? (Zia, with the Saudis, greatly exacerbated the problems of religious fundamentalism in Pakistan by sponsoring the madrassah system of religious fundamentalist schools and pushing militants into neighbouring Afghanistan and Kashmir to ease domestic political unrest.)

Didn't this guy, with the Saudis, support the Taliban before Sept 11, 2001? Wasn't he in Afghanistan, aiding the Taliban, from 93 to 95? (After the Soviet Union collapsed, and when the fundamentalist nature of the Taliban was more apparent than ever.)