Posted on 09/13/2006 4:19:28 AM PDT by Srirangan
West responsible for extremism: Musharraf
* President says Pakistan not inherently prone to terrorism or extremism
* Blames 1979 US mission in Afghanistan for militancy in region
BRUSSELS: President General Pervez Musharraf has blamed the West for breeding terrorism in his country by bringing in thousands of mujahideen to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and then leaving Pakistan alone a decade later to face the armed warriors.
Musharraf told the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Tuesday that Pakistan was not the intolerant, extremist country often portrayed by the West, and terrorism and extremism were not inherent in Pakistani society. “Whatever extremism or terrorism is in Pakistan is a direct fallout of the 26 years of warfare and militancy around us. It gets back to 1979 when the West, the United States and Pakistan waged a war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan,” Musharraf told EU lawmakers.
“We launched a jihad, brought in mujahideen from all over the Muslim world, the US and the West…We armed the Taliban and sent them in; we did it together. In 1989 everyone left Pakistan with 30,000 armed mujahideen who were there, and the Taliban who were there,” he said, adding that Pakistan had “paid a big price for being part of the coalition that fought the Soviet Union.”
Musharraf said that the scourge of terrorism had been eliminated from Pakistan and that efforts were underway to root out extremism, but this would take time.
Musharraf also urged Pakistani expatriates to invest in Pakistan and to send maximum foreign exchange to boost the country’s economy. The president stressed that they play a role in enhancing the dignity and prestige of the country. He said that Pakistan and Belgium had strong economic ties, which needed further expansion.
He added that Pakistanis living in Belgium should further the country’s development. Musharraf also stressed on the need for the Pakistani community to impart modern education to their children. He informed the Pakistani community about the steps taken by government to boost the country’s economy, to provide basic facilities and to counter regional instability.
Gen Musharraf met with Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt later on Tuesday to discuss trade ties between their countries, and the situation in Afghanistan and Lebanon.
Mr Verhofstadt told reporters that Gen Musharraf had urged the EU to play a bigger role in finding a solution to the Middle East crisis.
European Commission President Jose Barroso announced after talks with Musharraf that Europe would increase development assistance to Pakistan from 2007. agencies
I know this guy has his own agenda and anything he says is suspect, but consider this thought experiment:
You go back to Jan 31, 1981, in a time machine, kidnap Reagan from his bedroom in the middle of the night, bring him back to now, bring him up to date on recent history and the current situation (leaving out the details of his own life, death and actions), and then take him back to his same bedroom, the same night.
What would he do? I'm not writing a science fiction story here, just a thought experiment.
What would Reagan do if he knew then what we know now?
I don't know the answer to the question but I'm sure one possibility would be: let the fight in Afghanistan drag on, without any US participation.
Another possibility: help the Russians.
I didn't know Mushariff did stand up comedy!
What other talents does he hide?
Pakistan was born from its own intolerance and has been a terror state for all of its life.
Who does he think he's kidding?
Maybe his countries support of the taliban and his security forces training and supporting terrori9sts have a loyt to do with it.
Bump
Cough,cough,bullsh!t,cough,cough
In the best John Candy voice I can muster:
Thank you!
The entire world of islam is solely responsible for terrorist, and only the entire world of islam can stop it. No one else can stop it but islam.
History buffs, please help. Is he laying this at Carter's feet?
Who does he think he's kidding?
The same sheeple that the win-at-any-cost anti-american democrat liberals manage to keep in their fold. They'll believe anything that supports their belief that the U.S. is responsible for the world's problems.
I always thought Pakistan was created to separate the terrorists from India.
Will there be a time when we take out Pak's nukes and let India have at them?
Who is the "west" he refers to here (since it is not the US)?
No clue. I don't have the secret decoder ring.
“We launched a jihad, brought in mujahideen from all over the Muslim world, the US and the West…We armed the Taliban and sent them in; we did it together. In 1989 everyone left Pakistan with 30,000 armed mujahideen who were there, and the Taliban who were there,” he said, adding that Pakistan had “paid a big price for being part of the coalition that fought the Soviet Union.”
And how does that explain Pakistani schools that end up turning British Muslims into terrorists?
Pretty much. The question then becomes was Carter duped by Zbigniew Brzezinski, NSA, who had a personal agenda to see the Soviets suffer at any cost. Why? His family suffered as of result of the soviet occupation of Poland. Zbig was the guy who bent Carter's ear and got the Islamic movement funded and armed. At the time apparently we were terrified of Russia owning Afghanistan. It's so valuable and all. ??
So how come it's the West that is to blame when it was the Soviet Union that destabilzed everything?
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