Violence... The story so far

May 2003; Updated Mar 2007

Much has happened since this page was originally drafted. But one thing remained constant--the threat of nuclear terror by a group or coalition of terror groups. Abdul Qadeer Khan - the father of Pakistan's nuclear program - has confessed to selling equipment related to centrifuges, which are used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons, to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

This is red-flag stuff. It is virtually inconceivable that the head man of the Pakistani army was not aware of Kahn's activities, after all, the army supervised all things nuclear. But let's say he really did not know, as he claims. That is even more scary! Either way, there was nothing to stop Kahn, or Musharref for that matter, from aiding and abetting terror groups. They have historically. Did they pass any information to a well-heeled terror group about nuclear weaponry or help them reach independent capability? Unless our ability to penetrate terror cells much improves over what we have published to date, we may never know until too late, Patriot Act or no Patriot Act.

Another problem is that legislation will not stop the madrassahs that are churning out jihadis by the thousands. Their role in the future must not be ignored. Jessica Stern reports that the madrassah called Darul Uloom Haqqania, located in Akora Khattak, Pakistan, ..."is most famous for having played a critical role in the creation of the Taliban." These religious schools not only turn the poor and uneducated into mujaheeden, they found fundamentalist sects and organizations as well. A mujaheed fights for God, not for country or a soldier's salary, and they do not normally leave the jihad except via martyrdom.

The key weaknesses the madrassahs themselves recognize is secular education and affluence. Until Muslim poor are enfranchised, madrassahs will thrive in Pakistan and elsewhere. This is not just an American problem, it is a world problem. Pakistan alone has thousands of madrassahs. They are nominally under control of the government to teach secular courses, but only a few actually are. The Pakistani government, moreover, does not even control all the land or tribes within its borders.

Jihadi groups recruit through the madrassahs while leaning on the wealthy for the money to support their efforts. Al Qa'ida is the most famous jihadi group. And that is how they operate. With no recruits factored in, al Qa'ida still numbers 18,000 strong, based on the known number of trainees.

While the Fundamental Imams hide al Qa'ida and the Pakistani government cannot (or will not) suppress the Taliban, we go after Iraq, which was no threat whatsoever. Would a trillion dollars (which Iraq will eventually cost) focused on bin Laden and Al Qa'ida have run them down? It's a virtual certainty. Democratizing Iraq could easily cost a trillion dollars to accomplish, if indeed it can be. Then what would we have? If there is anything worse than an Infidel to a Muslim, it is an apostate--which is what the whole of a democratic Iraq and its people would be considered by other Islamic states.

For its own good, Islam does badly need to get out of the civil governance business, but this is a reformation only Islam itself can accomplish. Under present US policies the future of Iraq could at best parallel that of Israel, behind another Iron Wall. At worst, it could escalate into a theater religious war with one side fighting to their death. More likely civil war will continue for a good long time. Whatever the eventuality, it looks like at least a trillion dollars will be needed from America's poorer and middle classes, courtesy of the Bush tax cuts.

For these reasons we shift the focus of this page toward Pakistan and Kashmir where the possible mischief potentially dwarfs all other possibilities.

Pakistan/Kashmir Links

American foreign policy Failure
Leaks from Pakistan's nuke program
Pasban-e-Ahle Hadith (Formerly Laskhar-e Taiba, LET)
Pakistan tries again to shutter terror groups
Who is hiding Al Qa'ida?

Alliances

Islamic Terror Groups Form Unholy Alliance With Neo Nazis

Indonesia

Reviving the Caliphate

Terror-Group Listing; As of May 2003, the U.S. State Department has identified the following foreign terrorist organizations:

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)
Abu Sayyaf Group
Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade
Armed Islamic Group (GIA)
Asbat al-Ansar
Aum Shinrikyo
Basque Fatherland and Liberty (ETA)
Communist Party of the Philippines
New People's Army (CPP/NPA)
Gamaa al-Islamiyya (Islamic Group)
Hizballah (Party of God)
Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) (Army of Mohammed)
Jemaah Islamiya organization (JI)
al-Jihad (Egyptian Islamic Jihad)
Kurdistan Freedom and Democracy Congress (KADEK)
Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LT) (Army of the Righteous)
Lashkar i Jhangvi
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK)
National Liberation Army (ELN)
Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)
al-Qaida
Revolutionary Organization 17 November
Revolutionary Peoples Liberation Army/Front (DHKP/C)
Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPC)
Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso, SL)
United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)