Date:18/08/2002 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2002/08/18/stories/2002081806690100.htm

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Jaish part of 'terrorist underworld': Rumsfeld

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington AUG. 17. A "terrorist underworld" that would include groups such as the Pakistan-based outfit, Jaish-e-Mohammad, operates in areas where capable or responsible governments are absent, the U.S. Secretary of Defence, Donald Rumsfeld, has said in his annual report to the President, George Bush, and Congress.

``The absence of capable or responsible governments in many countries in wide areas of Asia, Africa and the Western Hemisphere creates a fertile ground for non-state actors to engage in terrorism, acquisition of NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) weapons, illegal drug trafficking and other illicit activities across state borders,'' Mr. Rumsfeld said.

"A terrorist underworld — including such groups as the Al-Qaeda, the Hamas, the Hezbollah, the Islamic Jihad and the Jaish-e-Mohammad — operates in such areas. In an era of catastrophic terrorism, the United States cannot afford to ignore the anarchy that threatens a number of regions of the world.'' Mr. Rumsfeld has not named Pakistan as one of the countries where a "capable or responsible'' government is absent — the Bush administration rarely misses a chance to call Pakistan its "staunch ally'' in its fight against terrorism.

Mr. Rumsfeld said the inability of some states to govern their societies or prevent their territories from being a sanctuary to terrorists and criminal organisations posed not only a threat to stability but also placed demands on the American forces.