Central Front on War on Terror IS in Afghanistan and Pakistan Posted by Max Bergmann

Senator McCain has paid almost no attention to the conflict in Afghanistan. He has said that we would "muddle through" there and said we had achieved victory in Afghanistan.  All the while Al Qaeda and the Taliban have established a safe haven along the Afghanistan and Pakistan border. And the GAO says we have "no comprehensive strategy" and that the threat from Al Qaeda to the homeland of the United States has never been greater. That is the central front in the "war on terror."

Read past the jump for more:

FATA Serves As Staging Area for Al-Qaeda Attacks in Afghanistan, Training for Future Attacks in Pakistan, Middle East, Africa, Europe and the United States. "According to the assessment, the safe haven in the FATA serves as a staging area for al Qaeda's attacks in support of the Taliban in Afghanistan. Further, it serves as a location for training new terrorist operatives for attacks in Pakistan, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the United States. U.S. government officials in Washington and Pakistan also acknowledge that al Qaeda has established a safe haven near Pakistan's border with Afghanistan." [GAO Report, 4/17/08]

GAO Report: U.S. Has Not Met National Security Goals in Pakistan's FATA, Despite $10.5 Billion in Aid to Pakistan Since 2002. "The United States has not met its national security goals to destroy the terrorist threat and close the safe haven in the FATA, despite more than $10.5 billion in U.S. support to Pakistan since 2002." [GAO Report, 4/17/08]

Pentagon officials warn of threat from Muslim extremists shifting operations from Iraq to Afghanistan and Pakistan. General David Petraeus recently expressed his concern that jihadists were being diverted from Iraq to the volatile Afghanistan-Pakistan region. Petraeus may have been echoing past comments from Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Michael Mullen, who stated that there “are clearly more foreign fighters in the FATA (Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas) than have been there in the past.” [AP, 7/20/08. AP, 7/11/08]

Extremists are ‘flocking’ to Afghanistan. “In recent weeks, Pakistani, Arab and Western journalists have reported that non-Afghan Muslims - including Muslims from Europe and North America - were ‘flocking’ to Afghanistan, in part because some were relocating from Iraq, but mostly because there is a widespread perception among Islamists that the West is on the ropes in Afghanistan.” The Afghan Defense Ministry echoed this sentiment, stating that more foreign fighters are joining the ranks of the Taliban, fueling the insurgency. [Jamestown Foundation, 8/01/08. Washington Post, 7/30/08]

There are now 8,000 foreign insurgents operating in Pakistan’s restive Federally Administered Tribal Areas. According to the Jamestown Foundation, “the Pakistani media have reported that Islamabad believes there are now 8,000 foreign fighters in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of northwest Pakistan.” [Jamestown Foundation, 8/01/08]

Comments

[Ben Baum]

How do Western journalists know foreign jihadis are flocking to Afghanistan-Pakistan? They sit in fancy hotels in Kabul and Islamabad.

AQ is a wasted organization. It has failed to successful attack a Western organization in years. It relies on loose affiliates and freelancers. They can only hit developing countries.

You can't be a serious voice on national security if you're just going to copy and paste from other sources without any critical input.

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