Word: pakistan
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...Speaking in Pakistan on Jan. 22, Defense Secretary Robert Gates described the Taliban as part of Afghanistan's "political fabric," dispelling any notion that the movement - no matter how noxious - can be eliminated by force of arms. And General Stanley McChrystal, the U.S. commander on the ground, told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday that "a political solution ... is the inevitable outcome" and "the right outcome" of the surge of 30,000 new U.S. troops into Afghanistan this year. "As a soldier," McChrystal said, "my personal feeling is that there's been enough fighting. What I think...
...successful attack laid at the doorstep of al-Qaeda occurred nearly five years ago - the 2005 bombings on London's mass-transit system. But even in that instance, no one is certain that al-Qaeda was behind it. All we know is that the plot was somehow hatched in Pakistan, but the identity of the mastermind remains a matter of conjecture. Al-Qaeda certainly never provided proof that it had either foreknowledge or control of the attack...
...wasn't involved. The Northwest attempt was homegrown, the would-be suicide bomber recruited in either Nigeria or Britain, the explosive device made in Yemen. His handlers call themselves al-Qaeda in Yemen, but there's no evidence that this group takes orders from the al-Qaeda leadership in Pakistan's tribal belt. (See pictures of Osama bin Laden's family...
...Christmas Day bombing attempt tells us that anybody, anywhere can wage war on the U.S., with or without promoting or invoking bin Laden's name. But with each failure of al-Qaeda's, and with the mess al-Qaeda has left in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it should be clearer to the world that it's time to get over bin Laden and start dealing with more serious problems...
...that plague the central government in Kabul. Yet it would be a mistake to focus on the military to the detriment of developing the civil and governance sectors, even if a robust army suits the U.S.'s immediate goals in Afghanistan. One need only look across the border to Pakistan, where 60 years of weak civilian governance interspersed with frequent military coups have created a nation perpetually in crisis and a haven for global terrorism. One of the best ways to encourage a strong and stable civil society is through education - not just basic literacy, but a thorough grounding...