Recent arrests, in Pakistan and in the US, of American nationals linked to jihadi terror, including the Mumbai attack, show that a critical mass of jihadists has penetrated the US, says Walid Phares, an adviser to the US House of Representatives caucus on counter-terrorism and a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defence of Democracies.
In an interview to DNA, Phares, author of, most recently, The Confrontation: Winning The War Against Future Jihad, strategises on Pakistan's centrality in the war against jihadi terror, and India's response options against Pakistan. Excerpts:
Five US nationals were arrested in Pakistan on the suspicion that they were about to join a jihad. Earlier this week, David Headley, another American of Pakistani origin, was charged in a Chicago court with conspiracy in the Mumbai terror attack. Last month, Maj Nidal Malik Hasan killed 13 people in the Fort Hood shooting. Has jihad taken root in America?
The principal issue menacing US national security is the expansion of what experts call 'home-grown' terror but what I call 'urban jihadism'. What is home-grown are the individuals who were either born in America or hold the US passport. The ideology is not home-grown; it is part of the international jihadi ideology of Salafi doctrine which influences vast networks across the globe, from India and Pakistan to Russia, black Africa, Europe, and the Arab and Muslim world.
The US felt insulated from the reach of jihadists until 9/11. Then many experts argued that while 9/11 was perpetrated by 'aliens', America was still shielded from home-grown terror of the sort that had developed in Europe, India, and Russia. These experts were wrong; we have seen over the years an increasing number of US citizens, most of them born here, engaging in what they believe is jihad. But as I argued in my last three books, especially in Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies Against America, jihadists have penetrated the US and are now producing a greater number of militants. There isn't one reason for that sudden growth. But their numbers are exploding; it has reached a critical mass.
Is there sufficient recognition in US strategic circles — based on many of these incidents (and several others recently) — that Pakistan has emerged as the epicentre of jihadi terror?
Based on facts and evidence, al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other jihadi forces have built solid bases inside Pakistan. We see it in the fights taking place there, not just in Waziristan but also in the terrorists' capacity to reach deep inside Pakistani cities. We have also seen that most jihadist recruits in America and Britain have some connections to circles inside Pakistan. Increasingly, analysts in US strategic centres are realising this fact. The US administration and Congress agree that the epicentre of these Salafi jihadi activities is located inside Pakistan.
Is the Pakistan government doing enough to weed out jihadism by its roots? The Pakistani government's military efforts target only those jihadi forces that are attacking Pakistan, not those attacking US troops in Afghanistan or attacking India.
This Pakistani government is on the offensive against the Taliban and al-Qaeda militias in the northwest part of the country and tries to go after Taliban, al-Qaeda, and other jihadist warring factions. There is a real war going on in Pakistan and jihadi terrorists are wreaking havoc inside Pakistan's cities, killing civilians and military alike.
We have to acknowledge that unlike in previous years, the war has assumed dramatic proportions. But is the Pakistani government waging pre-emptive attacks against Islamist and jihadi forces who have not attacked Pakistani interests yet? No. Islamabad has limited its military action against those jihadists who have already waged offensives and terror inside Pakistan, and has not widened its action against jihadists who are aiming at India.
As for terrorists who are based in Pakistan and plotting against the US, the Pakistani government has stated that it is going after them, citing the arrest of US citizens who are radicalised and trying to connect with al-Qaeda. Pakistan's campaign against jihadists is for now defensive because I believe the secularists are afraid a wider campaign against all jihadists would push the country into the hands of extremists.
How serious is the risk of jihadists taking control of Pakistan's nuclear weapons?
This is obviously a great risk and of concern to the US, the West, and the international community. Other world powers, including Russia and China, are also concerned. Keep in mind that a takeover by Taliban-like jihadists of Pakistan's military would constitute a threat also to Russia because of the links with radicals in the Caucusus — and to China because of similar links with radicals in northwestern China. A jihadi control of all or some of Pakistan's nukes is a game-changer for world security.
Should the US have a contingency plan for taking control of nuclear facilities in Pakistan? Does it have one?
One would project that the US and other powers should have contingency plans in case of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists anywhere in the world, including in America, Russia, or Pakistan. We don't know specific details of such contingency plans, but one would assume that there are US emergency plans among great powers to address such a crisis if it occurs.
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