OTHER VIEWS

The Islamic Bomb

Washington
Israel has been watching the Pakistani
ne of Pakistan's conditions
nuclear program for many years, and is
for enlisting in President
well aware of Arab and Muslim leaders
Bush's war on terrorism was
— not just the religious extremists —
that no Israeli (or Indian)
who want to get a nuclear bomb so they
troops would be fighting alongside it.
can eradicate "the Zionist entity."
Of course, there never was any chance
Now, says Scowcroft and other
that would happen, but the Pakistanis
experts, the chances of nukes falling in
had to say that for home con-
the wrong hands have never
sumption to protect their bit-
been greater. The destruction
terly anti-Israel reputation.
bin Laden wrought on New
So why is Israel praying for
York and Washington would
the survival of this Pakistani
be minuscule next to the
government? One word:
nuclear hell he could create.
nukes.
Three years ago, Pakistan
Pakistani Motives
exploded five nuclear devices
after its neighbor and bitter
It is believed one purpose of
enemy India did the same
the Pakistani tests was to
DOUG LAS M.
thing a few weeks earlier.
perfect a warhead for its
BLOOM FIELD
The likelihood of Pakistan's
Ghauri and M-11 ballistic
Spe cial
nuclear arsenal falling into the
missiles. Experts say China
Comm entary
hands of pro-Taliban extrem-
probably supplied the mis-
ists in the event of a coup
siles, which have a range of
cannot be ignored, warns Brent
about 1,240 miles; under develop-
Scowcroft, national security adviser in
ment are new missiles able to reach
the first Bush administration and close
some 2,000 miles to Israel.
to the present one. The region is
Pakistan, reportedly with help from
increasingly unstable and about to get
China, has an advanced technology base
worse as war is about to break out in
able to manufacture fissile materials of
neighboring Afghanistan.
highly enriched uranium and plutoni-
The government of Gen. Pervez
um, triggers, fuses and other critical
Musharraf is shaky and not on good
components and machinery for produc-
terms with Pakistani Islamists sympathet-
ing nuclear weapons.
ic to Osama bin Laden, Scowcroft told a
Washington has turned to Beijing for
private briefing last week for clients of
help in making sure that material does-
International Strategy and Investment, a
n't fall into the wrong hands. Well-
New York corporate strategy firm.
placed sources report both countries
have had extensive and productive secret
Douglas M. Bloomfield is a former
talks about safeguarding the Pakistani
executive director of the American Israel
nukes if Musharraf's government
Public Affairs Committee and a colum-
appears likely to topple. Both reportedly
nist in Washington, D.C. He may be
agree it is in their common interest to
reached at dmb@his.com
cooperate on such a delicate and dan-

Pakistan became the only country with
diplomatic ties with the Afghan regime
after United Arab Emirates and Saudi
Arabia cut theirs last week.
Musharraf withdrew all his diplomats,
but didn't break completely so at least
one country will have access to the
Taliban. Pakistan has the best intelli-
gence resources inside the country.
There is believed to be significant
support for the Islamic extremists in the
Pakistani army, particularly among jun-
ior officers and the enlisted ranks. But
the army leadership remains loyal to
Musharraf and is more secular. It is well

Palestinians were moving aggressively
and optimistically towards peace.
Other subsidiary motives of the
atrocity were to undermine Western
civilization. In their view, the Western
world is a symbol of all that they
despise — materialism, permissive-
ness, promiscuity and other destruc-
tive social values. Fundamentalists are
losing the religious battle to moderate
Muslims, who are drawn ro our way
of life; the only way to attract such
moderates is to de-legitimize our way
of life.
An even more austere motive, if all
else failed, was to precipitate a vio-
lent and excessive reaction by the
free world that would unite the 1.2-

billion Muslims in a true holy war.
Our president has made it very
clear, however. "The enemy of
America is not our many Muslim
friends . . . our enemy is a radical
network of terrorists."
All America supports this view.
Accordingly, we as Americans and
Jews must be ever alert and in the
forefront of protecting Arab
Americans and Muslim Americans
from scapegoating and stereotyping.
As Jews know only too well from our
5,000-year history, no religious or
ethnic community should be treated
as suspect and collectively blamed.
Our American democracy is based
on the rule of law, our Constitution

0

TAUBER from page 29

tragedy. Osama bin Laden himself
issued a religious decree in 1998:
"To kill Americans and their allies,
both civil and military, is an individ-
ual duty of every Muslim." That is
why terrorist attacks against America
have been increasing over the last
number of years, even when it
appeared that Israel and the

Joel Tauber of West Bloomfield is a past
president of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit and current chair-
man of the executive committee of
United Jewish Communities.

10/5

2001

30

gerous matter.
India could be expected to move in
rapidly as well if it appeared that
Musharraf was about to be replaced by
a pro-Taliban regime.
The Center for Defense Information
says Pakistan may have stockpiled
enough highly enriched uranium to
produce nearly 30 warheads.
They could be at risk in event of a
coup by religious extremists. It's been
tried before.
In 1989, Bin Laden "poured more
than $10 million" into efforts to bring
down the government of former Prime
Minister Benazir Bhutto and backed
two unsuccessful attempts to assassinate
her in 1993, she wrote in the
Washington Post last week.
Experts fear it might happen again.
With the Afghan regime under siege
and Pakistan siding with Bush, bin
Laden and the Taliban might attempt to
overthrow Musharraf, who himself
came to power by military coup in
1999.

Better U.S. Ties?

disciplined, observers say, and not about
to turn its nukes over to the Taliban.
Congressional and other Asia experts
say Musharraf wants to lead his country
back to better relations with the United
States, but, they caution, Washington
must understand the risks he is taking.
President Bush has moved quickly to
reward and reinforce Musharraf with
offers of new military and economic
aid, debt relief, favorable lending terms,
humanitarian assistance to cope with
the burden of up to a million Afghan
refugees, and a warming of diplomatic
and political relations.
Washington and Islamabad were close
allies during the Cold War, but relations
deteriorated over a decade that saw
Pakistan go nuclear, overthrow demo-
cratically elected governments, stage
military coups and back the Taliban and
terrorist groups operating in
Afghanistan and Kashmir.
Until Sept. 11, Pakistan had spurned
U.S. pressure to end its military, logisti-
cal, financial and diplomatic support for
bin Laden, and close the madrasses, or
"religious" schools, inside Pakistan that
the State Department called "conduits
for terrorism."
Many of those trained in the Afghan
camps have shown up in the West Bank
and Gaza to kill Israelis. Bin Laden has
been vowing to target Jews globally if
attacked by the Bush coalition that
pointedly excludes Israel, in part by
Pakistani demand.
Israel hopes the Musharraf govern-
ment doesn't fall to the religious extrem-
ists, but like the United States, it wants
to see it replaced by a democratically
elected government. That's the best
protection from Pakistan's Islamic
bombs. El

and Bill of Rights. To violate these
undermines all that we cherish and
hold dear.

Terror Objectives

The true motives of terrorists should
not be clouded or justified by those
who equate terrorism with legitimate
right of a country to defend itself.
Terrorism is an intentional act to kill
innocent men, women and children,
especially children, because such bar-
baric action receives more notoriety
and inflicts more pain.
Self-defense on the other hand is
aimed at terrorists and military tar-
gets with unfortunate and unintend-

