Haass: In Pakistan, Radicalism Is 'Spreading'

"Kiss of death" is way too strong. The United States has to be sensitive. There is a deep anti-Americanism in Pakistan. I have been going there off and on for thirty years, and I am always aware that there is resentment of the United States. Many Pakistanis blame the United States for the frustrating moments of Pakistani history. That said, we need to be a voice to urge political reform. We need to be a source of help for the Pakistanis so they can take on these extremist and terrorist organizations. I don't believe the Pakistanis can prevail without U.S. help. We just need to be smart in making sure that the help doesn't become so visible that it becomes a lightening rod for nationalist reaction.

There was that speech by Senator Obama (D-IL) saying that he would send U.S. troops into Pakistan if we knew where al-Qaeda was located.

The preferable situation is to help the Pakistanis locate the extremists and terrorists, be they Taliban, or al-Qaeda, or what have you, and then, if they need the help, provide it, so they can take advantage of these targets of opportunity. We just have to be smart and deal with the reality that Pakistani nationalism is strong and you don't want to create political-legitimacy problems for the very government you're trying to help.

Did the United States have a role behind the scenes in getting Musharraf to make the political arrangement with Ms. Bhutto?

It is assumed throughout Pakistan that the United States did have a role in helping forge this deal. So it is quite likely that the United States did have a role. If that is the case, the administration needs to be careful. The United States is wiser to stand for processes and principles than it is to back personalities. Whatever the role was in arranging or helping to arrange for Ms. Bhutto's return, going forward, the U.S. role should be one of policies and principles, and not trying to help this or that politician.

Her views on al-Qaeda and the terrorists are pretty strong against, right?

Her comments recently have been welcome. They are very tough-minded, trying to delegitimize those who would use violence, essentially questioning whether they are so-called true Muslims. I see those kinds of comments as welcome. On the other hand, they are also going to galvanize some of those people into taking her on, as we've just seen in Karachi.

How strong is her party, the PPP? Is it still the strongest vote getter?

The short answer is nobody knows. Politics have taken place with such limits over the last ten years or so, that it is hard to get a true measure of the strength of the PPP or anyone else. And even more recently, a lot of people in Pakistan were critical of Ms. Bhutto--either for forging this tactical alliance with President Musharraf, or for this amnesty which was just passed, which led many people to speculate that she was only returning because she could do so free of fear of paying a price for past alleged corruption. Her place in Pakistan's future is still not assured. It's also unclear whether she will be able to campaign actively or publicly after the bombing. It is quite possible this will constrain her ability to be a national figure.

On the other hand, it might get her more popularity, a sort of sympathy vote.

Sure. There is always the chance that there will be a reaction in the sense that if the extremists are going after her, she becomes the repository of hopes--which still represents the view of most Pakistanis--that their country not be taken over or disrupted by people who are largely seen as non-Pakistani, or people acting in a nontraditional, non-Pakistani way. What you are seeing in Pakistan is the latest version of "blowback." After years where the Pakistanis and the Pakistani intelligence services were the base and support for the mujahadeen in Afghanistan, now we're seeing elements of what many are calling the "Talibanization" of Pakistan. Extremists and terrorists have put down deep roots in the western areas, in the FATA, and the North West [Frontier Province]. What is worrying is that they are beginning to spread out into some of the urban centers that form the core of the country.