US think tank suggests new strategy to tackle terrorism

A US think tank has said there was a lot of talk about Swat in media but Taliban takeover seems to be over-stated.

Talking to journalists on Tuesday, Lawrence Korb, Brian Katulis and Colin Cookman of Centre for American Progress (CAP) suggested a "new strategy" involving non-military means to tackle terrorism, which should be based on long-term commitment instead of becoming "disposable allies". They said that the Bush administration, apart from primarily focusing on the military means, also made another mistake of "personalizing" relations with Gen. Musharraf without reaching out to other segments of society.

They underlined the importance of adopting "quiet diplomacy", and said that rhetoric and public statements will not help.

Former assistant secretary for defence, Lawrence Korb, said that insecurity, poor economy, inflation, weak governance and "the Taliban factor" were some of the negative points confronting Pakistan. However, he added, there were good signs such as elections, peaceful stepping down of Gen. Musharraf, independent judiciary and strengthening of civil society and the media. He said they also observed that foreign aid was least popular in the country.

Brian Katulis said their purpose was to get a perspective about Pakistan since it was regrettably being portrayed in American media as "Somalia". He said they observed strong sentiments against Drone attacks, which appear to be legitimate concerns of Pakistanis, and such actions raised a question as to whether Pakistan was a partner or a target in the "war on terror".

He said Pakistanis feel that there was a "strong shift" in the Obama administration's policy toward India, which was evident from appointing Richard Holbrook as advisor for Pakistan and Afghanistan, excluding India.

Korb said Americans did not know about the complexity of governance in Pakistan, adding: "Insecurity may be a problem for foreigners in Pakistan but if you want to learn, you cannot sit behind".

He said: "Obama is a smart guy and he is not ideological, hence he is open to listening and learning. In contrast, George Bush believed in 'American exceptionalism' and American power, though the limits of such power needed to be recognized."

They also distributed CAP's report, titled: "Partnership for progress, advancing a new strategy for prosperity and stability in Pakistan and the region". The report cited six obstacles for defeating militancy, namely: the focus of the army on India; the "remaining links" between the military and militant groups; the unpopularity of US-led war on terror; tensions with Afghanistan; and the over-reliance on the military tactics and ineffective peace agreements. It also considered the weak civilian govt as a contributory factor.

The report suggested coordinating the strategy with the parliament, attaching development assistance to strengthening governance, the judiciary and reforming police and law enforcement agencies by emphasizing accountability, merit-based performance and de-politicization as part of comprehensive policy to tackle terrorism and extremism in Pakistan. -IA