Musharraf: US must address root of terrorism
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-21 10:06

The United States could lose its war on terrorism unless it deals with the poverty and political disputes that give rise to militant extremism, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf said in an interview on Monday.

"We are only involved at the moment in fighting terrorism frontally, the military perspective, the immediate response. But we are not addressing the root causes," Musharraf said in the interview on ABC News.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf speaks to an audience at a dinner sponsored by the United States Chamber of Commerce and the US-Pakistan Business Council in New York September 20, 2004. [Reuters]

"I always say the root cause is political disputes, poverty and illiteracy," Musharraf said, adding that he does not think those issues are being addressed.

"I hope they are, otherwise we are not going to succeed. We may be winning battles, but we lose the war," he said.

Poor and illiterate people who feel aggrieved because of political disputes are easy targets for indoctrination by militant groups, said Musharraf, who has played a pivotal role in the U.S.-led war on terror after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Musharraf named the Palestinian issue as the principal political dispute that must be addressed because he said it had "the maximum negative perspective" throughout the Muslim world.

"There is unanimous sympathy for the Palestinians against the Israelis. And the United States is seen or perceived as an Israeli supporter and totally against Muslims," Musharraf said. "So I think this is the one which needs to be resolved immediately."

On the subject of his country's role in the ongoing hunt for al Qaeda militants and remnants of Afghanistan's toppled Taliban leadership, Musharraf described the Pakistani campaign as a success.

"We have operated in south Pakistan, we have busted their sanctuaries from three valleys, so we are very successful. However, there may be more elsewhere," he said, adding that the military operation continues.

Pakistani troops are engaged in an offensive in tribal regions just across the border from the southern Afghan provinces where U.S. troops are hunting al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and his followers.

The Pakistan leader said he had no idea where bin Laden was hiding.

Musharraf spoke in New York where he will meet with U.S. President George W. Bush on the fringes of this week's U.N. General Assembly.

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