Q&A Friday #60: Which Is The Bigger Threat To The World, Iran, Iraq, Or Pakistan?

Question: “Does Pakistan represent a bigger threat to the world, in terms of militance, AQ operatives and stability , than Iraq & Iran?” — D-Vega

Answer: Short answer, “no.”

Long answer, Iran’s support of terrorism, bellicosity towards Israel, interference in Iraq and Lebanon, & pursuit of nuclear weapons make them the biggest threat out of the 3 countries mentioned.

Iraq will only become a major world problem if, and this may happen, we’re foolish enough to decide that we’re tired of being there and cut and run. At that point, you could have a civil war that draws in other nations in the region or you could see the country turn into a terrorist safe haven. In either case, it would be a real mess.

Pakistan is an odd bird, but, for the moment, they’re the smallest threat of the three.

Musharraf has been generally supportive of our efforts in the war on terrorism, but he has a number of limitations on what he can do. His country and his own intelligence services are teeming with Islamo-fascists who are sympathetic to terrorism and the tribal area Al-Qaeda where Al-Qaeda has been camping out isn’t really under the government’s control. Essentially, it’s a no man’s land filled with backwards tribes full of Islamic extremists.

Of course, we cannot allow Al-Qaeda and the Taliban to reconstitute in the wilds of Pakistan and we have to press Musharraf to do more to make sure that doesn’t happen. However, what we have to keep in mind is that,

#1) In many respects, it would be easier for Musharraf to remain neutral than cooperate with us. So, push him, yes. But, we have to be careful not to put him in a no-win situation.

#2) It’s likely that if Musharraf were overthrown/assassinated, he would be replaced with a full-on Islamo-Fascist wack job who would gain control of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, would be hostile to us, escalate tensions with India, and buddy up with the terrorists.

So the situation in Pakistan is complex and will likely remain so with Musharraf in charge, although this is an encouraging sign that they may be getting a bit more aggressive.

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