Detrimental to US, safe haven in Pak helped al Qaedas resurgence: Expert

Al Qaedas resurgence, after the gains it made in Pakistan, could prove detriment to the US interest, according to a strategic analyst.

Washington, Aug 16 : Al Qaeda's resurgence, after the gains it made in Pakistan, could prove detriment to the US interest, according to a strategic analyst.

In an article posted in the National Review Online, strategic expert Daveed Gartenstein-Ross stated that al Qaeda got a safe haven in Pakistan's western frontier bordering Afghanistan that provided its cadres much needed place to train and assemble after the US invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.

"Al Qaeda is also on the move in Pakistan - a country that has proven critical to its regeneration," he wrote, adding that al Qaeda is more likely to be able to carry out another catastrophic act of terror like 9/11 since it has a sanctuary in Pakistan that provides the group "time, space, and ability to perform competent planning and staff work."

The 9/11 Commission report also has noted that these are essential for group like al Qaeda to launch a violent attack on a huge proportion.

Ross, who has also authored the book- My Year Inside Radical Islam-, stated Pakistan's military sustained so many casualties in its anti-terror operations that led to President Pervez Musharraf "formally cede significant territory to extremists', which gave Taliban and the al Qaeda "sovereignty over the relevant regions" and a perfect place for expanding their terror network.

The result of which was the recent standoff at the Lal Masjid in heart of the Pakistan's national capital Islamabad that was followed by a spate of violent attacks against the country's armed forces.

"Musharraf's grip on power is tenuous, with multiple crises hitting him simultaneously. This governmental instability is particularly troubling in a nuclear-armed state where figures who are ideologically sympathetic to the Taliban and al Qaeda - men like retired General Hamid Gul and General Mirza Aslam Beg - are prepared to vie for power, Ross wrote, adding: "The geopolitical implications of such a succession would be dramatic and instantaneous."

Apart from this the war in Iraq proved to be the best active ground for al Qaeda operatives to act against US led forces and took the advantage of the situation there to build a coalition of insurgent groups.

"Regardless of setbacks on the ground, al Qaeda could beat the U.S. in Iraq if American political will collapses. Al Qaeda is keenly aware of the domestic political debate, and will do all they can to force a withdrawal by escalating violence in Iraq," Ross stated.

"With an overstretched US military and flagging public support for pursuit of the global war on terror, the West is likely to continue to lose ground in the short term," Ross concludes.

ANI