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Pakistani Tribes See America as an Enemy
Monday, March 25, 2002
By Raymond Bonner
New York Times News Service

"There was a time, when Russia was in power, we liked Americans. Indeed, when the Soviet Union occupied Afghanistan, men from the tribal areas joined the guerrilla army which was backed by the United States. Now we hate Americans. Under our tribal rules, we designate an enemy. America is now the enemy. We don't hate individual Americans, like yourself," Shakirullah Jan Kokikhel went on. The problem is the policy of the U.S. government. "It is against Muslims,"

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- NYT
Tribal leaders from the treacherous mountainous areas along the border with Afghanistan have an unambiguous message for American commanders who have suggested they might enter the region in pursuit of al-Qaeda fighters: Don't.

One tribal leader, wagging his finger for emphasis, said that tribal elders saw the United States as the enemy and that his people would sacrifice their lives to keep American soldiers off their land.

A more moderate leader, a well-educated man, said more calmly that no foreigner could go into the tribal areas without permission. That warning must be taken seriously; ages ago, Alexander the Great was turned back, and for the last 53 years, until December, no soldiers, not even Pakistanis, were allowed in.

In separate interviews, the tribal leaders, Pashtun Muslims, expressed other views that the Bush administration would find discouraging: that the core of U.S. policy is a hatred of Muslims and that Osama bin Laden was not responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks.

Such sentiments portend great turbulence for Washington and for Pakistan's leader, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, who has cast his lot with the United States and the war on terrorism.

The war in Afghanistan will drag on for a long time if the tribal areas, which share a porous 450-mile border with Afghanistan, become a safe haven for Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters to rest and regroup.

This is exactly what U.S. officials believe the fighters are doing, with some reason, because men from these regions poured into Afghanistan to fight early in the war.

* Tacit message of assent
* Border 'sealed off'
* Crossings still possible
* 'America is now the enemy'
(More: Caller-Times News Source)
2002 © The New York Times.

Dan