Terrorist attack in Pakistan highlights challenge for U.S.

The shaky government in Pakistan is shakier today in the wake of a brazen daylight terrorist ambush of Sri Lanka’s cricket team in the eastern city of Lahore. Six policemen and a driver were killed, while seven players, an umpire and a coach were wounded. The head of the Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, declared Pakistan was “in a state of war.” About a year ago, suicide bombs ripped through a police headquarters and a house in Lahore, killing at least 24 people.

While the United States, which views Pakistan as its chief ally in the war on global terrorism, has rightly condemned as “vicious” the attack by at least a dozen men, the world will be watching to see how President Barack Obama reacts. Obviously, the U.S. can provide valuable assistance in the investigation of the attack.

The attackers were armed with rifles, grenades and rocket launchers and appeared to have had training. They struck the convoy carrying the Sri Lankan cricket squad and match officials as it reached a traffic circle 300 yards from the main sports stadium in Lahore. There was a 15-minute gun battle with police guarding the vehicles in the convoy, but all the gunmen escaped.

The attackers carried backpacks stuffed with dried fruit, mineral water and walkie-talkies — a frightening reminder of the terrorist attack last November by Pakistan-based militants in the Indian city of Mumbai. The 10 gunmen killed 164 people in the three-day assault on luxury hotels, a Jewish center and other cities in India’s main commercial center. One of the militants was captured and provided information about the group’s links of an Islamic militant group in Pakistan.

The brazenness of Tuesday’s ambush of a sports team of a foreign country suggests that the militants have been emboldened by what took place in Mumbai and by the fact that the government of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani is having limited success in putting a lid on raging Islamic militancy. Five months ago, a suicide truck bombing devastated Islamabad’s Marriott Hotel, killing 54 people, including three Americans and the Czech ambassador.

Suicide bombers

A month earlier, suicide bombers killed 67 people outside Pakistan’s main weapons complex in the town of Wah.

Pakistan is under siege — not only from homegrown Islamic extremists, but from the Taliban and al-Qaida that have set up camps in the mountain region of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Tribal chieftains are providing these fighters, including Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on America’s mainland, with a safe haven. From the camps, heavily armed members of the Taliban and al-Qaida have been conducting a war in Afghanistan against NATO-led coalition forces, and inside Pakistan against the military.

Their goal is clear: To replace the democratically elected governments in Kabul and Islamabad with Islam theocracies similar to the one in Iran.

The prospect of Pakistan falling into the hands of Islamic extremists is one that should keep President Obama awake at night. Why? Because Pakistan has nuclear weapons and the ability to deliver them.

The country’s arch rival, India, also has nuclear weapons, which it would not hesitate to use if the Indian government believed the country was in danger. India has the second largest Muslim population in the world.

The United States cannot play a passive role. It is reassuring that the administration and Congress are considering a proposal to give a one-time assistance of $5 billion to help stabilize the Pakistani economy. That information was contained in a report in Dawn, a Pakistani news outlet.

In addition, the U.S. is providing $1.5 billion in annual assistance for Pakistan over the next five years.

Winning the hearts and minds of the populace is one way of neutralizing Islamic extremism.