(Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies) Yoram Schweitzer - Even the neutralization of al-Qaeda and the arrest or elimination of senior leaders like Hambali or even bin Laden himself will not mean an end to international terrorism. A comprehensive and coordinated effort is required to force a drastic change in the patterns of behavior of traditional state sponsors of terrorism, especially Iran and Syria, as well as of those termed "failed states" because of their refusal to act against terrorist organizations using the territory of those states as if it were their own. States like Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Somalia, Pakistan, Indonesia, Thailand, and others have largely "failed" to exercise their sovereignty, assert their authority, and deny the use of their territory to terrorists not because of an inability to do so but rather because of unwillingness to do so for political reasons.
2003-08-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive