Pakistan’s role has weakened Qaeda’s effectiveness: US

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Pakistan’s role has weakened Qaeda’s effectiveness: US

* State Department official says threat that Bin Laden or al Qaeda pose is not exclusively against US

WASHINGTON: Pakistan’s determined anti-terror effort has helped reduce effectiveness of core al Qaeda group operating along Afghanistan-Pakistan border, the US State Department acknowledged even as it voiced concern over the emerging threat from the terrorist organisation from the Arabian Peninsula.

“We believe that over 10 years, we have had significant successes. Thanks to our international efforts in Afghanistan and also thanks to a very determined effort by the government and military in Pakistan, we have reduced the effectiveness of this core group of Bin Laden, Zawahiri, and others who are presumably holed up in the Tribal Areas between Pakistan and Afghanistan,” Assistant Secretary of State Philip J Crowley said.

The United States, he said, is “very concerned about emerging threats, particularly the threat posed by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula”.

“We have seen recent efforts by the bomber on Christmas day just over a year ago, the attempt “to plant bombs on cargo aircraft that I mentioned a little bit earlier, have clear links to Yemen. We are mindful of the attack that occurred in Uganda during the World Cup. So this is a global threat, and we are working hard to try to counteract it wherever it manifests itself,” he added.

Over the course of ten years, he stated, there has been a tremendous expansion in global cooperation by the United States with many other countries because the threat that Bin Laden or al Qaeda, in its various dimensions, represents is not exclusively a threat against the United States.

“We remember what happened here in the United States ten years ago, but across the world, there have been many, many attacks by al Qaeda, the core al Qaeda represented by Bin Laden, by other groups that either have allied themselves with al Qaeda, such as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or those who are franchises and somehow fit under the broader umbrella. This is a global threat. We have expanded our cooperation,” he responded to a question.

Crowley spoke as State Department held the first meeting of a global counter-terrorism forum, attended by 24 countries. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had a brief meeting with them, he added.

“But it is a manifestation of how the United States, Canada, European countries, and other countries in the region, including Africa, have bonded together. And we are working very diligently to mitigate and defeat these groups that are responsible for the violent attacks against civilians, wherever they occur.”

In answer to another question, Crowley indicated that the absence of any reference to South Asia in joint US-China statement during President Hu Jintao’s current visit to Washington does not reflect any change in the Obama administration’s policy.

“No. There is no change in the US policy. I think it is a manifestation of the nature of our discussions here and our work that we have with China. But, no, I wouldn’t read anything else into it,” he remarked when an Indian journalist wanted to know if the absence of references to Beijing’s role in South Asia marked a change in the American thinking. app

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