MileStone
MPA (400+ posts)
Pervez Musharraf: Aid 'have-not' nations to fight terrorism, extremist
By DAVID ROGERS
Daily News Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Source: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/ ... arraf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Pervez Musharraf enters the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavilion Tuesday with his wife, Sehba, to speak at the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Beach County's Eminent Speakers Luncheon. He called for increased economic assistance to Pakistan.
The battle against terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan the two "centers of gravity" for those forces can only be won by addressing worldwide socioeconomic inequities between "the haves and have nots," resolving long-standing disputes in the Arab world, and by pulling others into the fight, according to Pervez Musharraf, the former president of Pakistan.
The retired general spoke on "Terrorism and Extremism" as part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County's annual Eminent Speakers luncheon, held Tuesday at the Kravis Center.
Making sure people in developing countries have their basic needs met for food, water and energy, would decrease the conditions that foster extremism, Musharraf said.
"If the world does not wake up to these inequities, then the islands of prosperity will drown in the oceans of poverty around the world," Musharraf said.
The former president said the United States' economic assistance to Pakistan has been helpful, but said more should be given, considering the presence of extremists there. At the same time, Musharraf said Muslim countries have a responsibility to tamp down on extremists and use any international support properly.
Musharraf said President Obama's efforts to reach out to the Muslim world have been well-received, but called the administration's decision to set a timetable for leaving Afghanistan a "big blunder." Knowing the United States is leaving emboldens al-Qaida and Taliban forces, he said.
The Afghan people, he said, were previously abandoned by the United States after the decade-long fight that followed the Soviet invasion. The United States encouraged mujahideen from the Muslim world to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, but did nothing later to reconstruct the devastated country, Musharraf said.
Those foreign fighters became al-Qaida, he said.
Nurturing the country's education, economic and political systems are vital, Musharraf said.
To win in Afghanistan, the United States must be willing to engage those forces for as long as necessary, he said. Pulling Pashtuns, the ethic group in charge of Afghanistan for centuries, into the fight by allowing them to form Taliban-fighting militias, would be a wise move, he said.
"All Taliban are Pashtuns, but not all Pashtuns are Taliban," Musharraf said.
Musharraf, 66, a retired general, came to power in late 1999 after a bloodless coup. The country's Supreme Court later validated the coup and gave Musharraf three years to govern. Instead, he remained in power until the fall of 2008, when he resigned under pressure from a coalition government that was preparing to impeach him. Earlier that year, he suspended the court's chief justice, a move that led to protests throughout the country. The step was later reversed by Pakistan's Supreme Court.
Previously, he had purged the Supreme Court of justices who were not inclined to support his eligibility to remain president, particularly while he remained head of the army.
Upon his retirement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Musharraf a "friend to the United States and one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism."
In addition to working to route Taliban and al-Qaida forces from Pakistan, he also worked to develop Pakistan's economy and local government infrastructure.
Musharraf visited the Florence DeGeorge Boys Club in West Palm Beach before the luncheon, which was co-chaired by Wallace Turner and Tom Quick, both of Palm Beach.
"We, over the years, have brought a number of internationally renowned figures to meet our kids and talk to our kids so that our kids in Palm Beach County start thinking beyond their neighborhood and their city and start thinking globally," said Mary O'Connor, president of the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Beach County.
Source: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/ ... arraf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
By DAVID ROGERS
Daily News Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Source: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/ ... arraf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Pervez Musharraf enters the Kravis Center's Cohen Pavilion Tuesday with his wife, Sehba, to speak at the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Beach County's Eminent Speakers Luncheon. He called for increased economic assistance to Pakistan.
The battle against terrorism and extremism in Afghanistan and Pakistan the two "centers of gravity" for those forces can only be won by addressing worldwide socioeconomic inequities between "the haves and have nots," resolving long-standing disputes in the Arab world, and by pulling others into the fight, according to Pervez Musharraf, the former president of Pakistan.
The retired general spoke on "Terrorism and Extremism" as part of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Palm Beach County's annual Eminent Speakers luncheon, held Tuesday at the Kravis Center.
Making sure people in developing countries have their basic needs met for food, water and energy, would decrease the conditions that foster extremism, Musharraf said.
"If the world does not wake up to these inequities, then the islands of prosperity will drown in the oceans of poverty around the world," Musharraf said.
The former president said the United States' economic assistance to Pakistan has been helpful, but said more should be given, considering the presence of extremists there. At the same time, Musharraf said Muslim countries have a responsibility to tamp down on extremists and use any international support properly.
Musharraf said President Obama's efforts to reach out to the Muslim world have been well-received, but called the administration's decision to set a timetable for leaving Afghanistan a "big blunder." Knowing the United States is leaving emboldens al-Qaida and Taliban forces, he said.
The Afghan people, he said, were previously abandoned by the United States after the decade-long fight that followed the Soviet invasion. The United States encouraged mujahideen from the Muslim world to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan, but did nothing later to reconstruct the devastated country, Musharraf said.
Those foreign fighters became al-Qaida, he said.
Nurturing the country's education, economic and political systems are vital, Musharraf said.
To win in Afghanistan, the United States must be willing to engage those forces for as long as necessary, he said. Pulling Pashtuns, the ethic group in charge of Afghanistan for centuries, into the fight by allowing them to form Taliban-fighting militias, would be a wise move, he said.
"All Taliban are Pashtuns, but not all Pashtuns are Taliban," Musharraf said.
Musharraf, 66, a retired general, came to power in late 1999 after a bloodless coup. The country's Supreme Court later validated the coup and gave Musharraf three years to govern. Instead, he remained in power until the fall of 2008, when he resigned under pressure from a coalition government that was preparing to impeach him. Earlier that year, he suspended the court's chief justice, a move that led to protests throughout the country. The step was later reversed by Pakistan's Supreme Court.
Previously, he had purged the Supreme Court of justices who were not inclined to support his eligibility to remain president, particularly while he remained head of the army.
Upon his retirement, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Musharraf a "friend to the United States and one of the world's most committed partners in the war against terrorism and extremism."
In addition to working to route Taliban and al-Qaida forces from Pakistan, he also worked to develop Pakistan's economy and local government infrastructure.
Musharraf visited the Florence DeGeorge Boys Club in West Palm Beach before the luncheon, which was co-chaired by Wallace Turner and Tom Quick, both of Palm Beach.
"We, over the years, have brought a number of internationally renowned figures to meet our kids and talk to our kids so that our kids in Palm Beach County start thinking beyond their neighborhood and their city and start thinking globally," said Mary O'Connor, president of the Boys & Girls Club of Palm Beach County.
Source: http://www.palmbeachdailynews.com/news/ ... arraf.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
