13 September 2004	Monday	27 Rajab 1425

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WASHINGTON, Sept 12: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have played a greater role in taking the sting out of Al Qaeda than the US military actions, US counter-terrorism experts say.

In interviews to various US newspapers and television stations on the third anniversary of the Sept 11 attacks, the experts pointed out that US military actions have played a relatively small part in the successes of the post-Sept 11 campaign against terrorists.

They say that when the US troops and their Afghan allies ousted the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001, much of Al Qaeda's leadership escaped to Pakistan. The US administration, the experts say, soon realized that it would need a greater co-operation from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia to catch hundreds of Al Qaeda operatives hiding across the world.

Statistics released by the White House on the third anniversary of the Sept 11 say that almost 70 per cent of Al Qaeda's leadership has been killed or captured during the last three years.

The statistics also show that world wide crackdowns have led to the capture of 2,000 to 4,000 Al Qaeda-linked individuals, most of them with help from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.

And an independent commission investigating the causes of the Sept 11 attacks and its consequences said both Pakistan and Saudi Arabia engaged more aggressively in the war against terror after a series of deadly suicide bombings in the Arab kingdom and two assassination attempts against President Pervez Musharraf.

The worried Saudi monarchy has moved to choke off funding for Al Qaeda, shutting down terrorist-linked foundations and enacting new regulations on charitable donations.

President George W. Bush also referred to this in his acceptance speech last week when he said: "Today, the government of a free Afghanistan is fighting terror, Pakistan is capturing terrorist leaders, Saudi Arabia is making raids and arrests."

But the Bush administration also admits that Al Qaeda still remains a major threat to US interests in North America and abroad. A top US military commander, Maj-Gen Eric Olson, said that although US forces and their allies have broken the communication link between top Al Qaeda leaders and their followers, new, fringe groups are appearing on the scene.

The US general said that the Aug 26 car bomb, which killed about 10 people, including three Americans, at the office of a firm providing bodyguards for President Hamid Karzai, was carried out by one such group. "It's a new group, apparently carved from Al Qaeda," he said. "They have members in Pakistan, and they have been active in Afghanistan."

A recent UN report also warned that new, violent groups have adopted the ideology and methods of Osama bin Laden. They are even harder to track than Al Qaeda and are capable of greater damage.

US officials in Washington warned this week that the widespread resentment in the Muslim world of US policies, including the invasion of Iraq and unblinking support for Israel, is allowing these new fringe groups to recruit volunteers for their causes.

The UN report noted that recent terror attacks "from the March 11 train bombing in Madrid to the downing of two Russian airplanes in late August" were carried out by groups whose members have no known organizational link to Al Qaeda.

The 9/11 commission warned that in countries like Pakistan, "Endemic poverty, widespread corruption and often ineffective government create opportunities for Islamist recruitment."

"Poor education is a particular concern. Millions of families, especially those with little money, send their children to religious schools, or madrassahs," where the children learn to hate the West, the commission said.

According to the commission, about 200,000 young people are enrolled in nearly 900 madrassahs in Karachi alone. "It's hard to overstate Pakistan in the struggle against terrorism.

Within Pakistan's borders are 150 million Muslims, scores of Al Qaeda terrorists, many Taliban fighters and, perhaps, Osama bin Laden," said the commission while explaining why it is important for the United States to stay engaged with Pakistan.

It reminded Americans that "the Musharraf government represents the best hope for stability in Pakistan and Afghanistan" and urged Washington to "make the difficult, long-term commitment to the future of Pakistan".