• English Site
• >World
• >Terrorism
• >

  Terror Expert and Obama Advisor Bruce Riedel: 'A Nightmare We Cannot Afford in the 21st Century'

Terror Expert and Obama Advisor Bruce Riedel 'A Nightmare We Cannot Afford in the 21st Century'

Part 2: 'Where the Road Ends, the Taliban Begin'

SPIEGEL: Isn't it necessary to first solve the Kashmir conflict and bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians before we can succeed in defeating al-Qaida?

Riedel: It is essential to the business of drying up support for the terrorists. We are not going to get al-Qaida to change its mind. These are fanatics. What we want to do, though, is to separate the fanatics from the rest of the Islamic world. We have to demonstrate that they are not real Muslims but a bunch of murderers. Al-Qaida fears the idea of a just and fair solution for the Palestinians, which would undermine their appeal in a dramatic way. That ought to be a key priority of any American government.

SPIEGEL: Why hasn't the US tracked down bin Laden yet?

Riedel: Part of the problem is that the war in Iraq diverted critical resources away from the hunt for bin Laden, with the withdrawal of key special forces and agents. At the beginning of 2002 when bin Laden was probably most vulnerable, we stopped hunting with our best capabilities. Seven years later, we are trying to get back on the trail, but the trail is not just cold, it's frozen.

SPIEGEL: Was the US ever close to capturing or killing him?

Riedel: The closest we ever came was in November and December 2001 when he did seem to be cornered in the mountains along the Afghan-Pakistan border. Right at that moment you had an American hammer on one side and a Pakistan anvil on the other, but the anvil was taken away because of the attack on the Indian parliament. And the hammer was taken away to go to Iraq. Those two events saved al-Qaida.

SPIEGEL: You recently proposed a Marshall Plan for Afghanistan and Pakistan ...

Riedel: ... that's right, because we need to dry up the misery that so many Afghans and Pakistanis live in. Afghanistan's only significant export crop is heroin. In 2003 and 2004, the United States devoted less than $1 billion dollars towards economic recovery in Afghanistan. We got the predictable results: The situation is deteriorating and going in the wrong direction.

SPIEGEL: Therefore, more development aid and less war are essential for the security of the country?

Riedel: Development aid and security are intimately related. In Afghanistan, a major priority should just be building roads. Heroin can be put on a donkey whereas wheat requires roads. Seven years after the war in Afghanistan began, we still haven't build the Ring Road that is the economic lifeline of Afghanistan. NATO commanders on the scene have often said, that where the road ends, the Taliban begin.

SPIEGEL: So you believe the US must more clearly focus on Afghanistan's reconstruction, so-called nation-building?

Riedel: Nation-building was an idea the Bush administration rejected and which we now belatedly realize is essential. We should not make the same mistake three times in a row. We ignored Afghanistan after the war against the Soviet Union and we got 9/11. Next we ignored Afghanistan after the liberation of Kabul and we have seen a revived Taliban and al-Qaida.

SPIEGEL: And what should be done about the jihadists in Pakistan?

Riedel: If we want to kill the Frankenstein monster, we have to try to support a democratic, civilian government in Pakistan. President Zardari has been very brave in saying he is going to take on these challenges. We should be supporting him, economically as well.

SPIEGEL: Since 2001, the country has received more than $11 billion from the United States.

Riedel: Pakistan's army got $11 billion in aid from the Bush administration. That's something else. Vice President-elect Joseph Biden, when he was a senator, proposed an increase in American assistance to Pakistan which would triple economic assistance to $1.5 billion a year and commit to doing so for 10 years. We cannot allow Pakistan to become a failed state. That would not be another Somalia or another Lebanon. A failed state in Pakistan will be a failed state with 60 nuclear weapons. That is a nightmare we cannot afford in the 21st century.

SPIEGEL: Mr. Riedel, we thank you for this interview.

Interview conducted by Cordula Meyer.