A war without end
Re "A war without end," by Harun ur Rashid (April 7).
Harun ur Rashid has rightly pointed out that suicide bombings by so-called black widows in Moscow shows that the war against terrorists in Chechnya is far from over. Women are being used increasingly by the extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan and the this is an extension of the same war Pakistan is fighting.
As in Pakistan, the targets of the extremists are always civilians. Extremists in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia are attacking civilian targets in their regions and Russia in a bid to establish a theocratic Islamic state similar to Afghanistan under the Taliban. But the war will not be over even if they are successful in imposing their Islamic regimes in these areas. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they engaged in the brutal suppression, including mass executions, of those who didn't agree with their version of Islam, banned women's education and provided sanctuaries for al Qaeda to plan and carry out attacks on America. Similarly, Islamic states in Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushatia will become new breeding grounds of terrorism.
Russia has joined America in this war against extremism. As such, this war will continue. As for economic development, no economic development can take place in a country facing war and destruction. All economic developments come to a standstill when war erupts, disrupting normal economic activities.
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