OPINION:
An al Qaeda-linked Somali militant group, al-Shabaab, claimed responsibility Monday for bombings in Uganda that killed 74 people (“Somali Islamists claim Uganda carnage,” Page 1, Tuesday). This shows clearly why the United States has troops in Afghanistan.
When al Qaeda destroyed the Twin Towers, it triggered events involving the freedom of the world to come. The problem is not about believers in Islam but people believing in violence and destruction to get what they want. Gen. David H. Petraeus lauded Pakistan’s efforts at battling terrorists. His plan to arm villagers against the Taliban recognizes that ordinary people in Afghanistan are not on the Taliban’s side. In fact, most everywhere you look in the country, it is easy to see that some elements of Pakistan’s powerful Inter-Services Intelligence agency play a double game. Some ISI agents provide allies with intelligence by day and fund, train and hide the Taliban by night.
Gen. Petraeus comes to Afghanistan at a turning point. He is the right man at the right place to save the war. Operatives from al Qaeda see what is coming and try to escape the well-deserved but sinister fate awaiting them. So, escalating violence there is now the worst since the beginning of the war. The general should put all ISI’s operatives under serious scrutiny and take strong actions now. The recent bombings in Uganda show that losing the Afghanistan war is not an option. The United States is there fighting for the freedom of the world.
MICHEL GOURD
Quebec
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