Gates Says Al Qaeda Seeks to Trigger India-Pakistan War

[Coventina]

Source: Wall Street Journal

NEW DELHI—U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said al Qaeda is working with an array of local militant groups to destabilize South Asia and trigger a war between India and Pakistan, an indication of growing U.S. fears about new terror attacks throughout the volatile region.

Mr. Gates said al Qaeda had formed alliances with the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban as well as with Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistani-based group that carried out the attacks in Mumbai in 2008 that left more than 160 dead.

The American defense chief, who is in the middle of a three-day visit to India, said the al Qaeda-led "syndicate" is trying "to destabilize not just Afghanistan, not just Pakistan, but potentially the whole region."

Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Gates said the Islamist groups were focusing particular attention on India and Pakistan, regional rivals who have fought three major wars since 1947. He said that Pakistani-based militants were trying to carry out strikes within India in hopes of provoking an Indian counterattack that could escalate into a new conflict between the two nations.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704320104575014752587809016.html

[jwirr]

1. Bin Laden and his fellow leaders are not stupid. We asked their help

in crushing the USSR and they were good students. Military spending or overstretch is what brings down empires. The more wars they can entice us into the sooner we fall. Not much longer to go. Wonder what they have planned for us after we are down?

[bemildred]

2. So, basically, he admits that the situation in the area continues to go rapidly downhill. nt

[Alamuti Lotus]

3. That information is about, oh, 10 years old at least

Way to stay on top of current events, dumbass(*). Benny's fun bunch have been all over Kashmir for years (in fact, the first military operation they carried out after defeating the Russians was an assault on Shiite rebels in Baltistan, acting as mercenaries for the Pakistan military which had then just been booted out of the valley), and more recently the Indian Taliban Movement but still then for quite some time.

(*) the dumbass in question is Gates and the WSJ, not the OP.

[applegrove]

4. I think al Qaeda is hurting.