There’s no question there is a terrorism problem in this region. The real question is: Is the U.S. efforts really going to be enough to address the problem?
The men, who had not been charged as of Thursday night but were being questioned by the FBI, have been connected by Pakistani police to at least two armed Pakistani groups, Jaish-i-Muhammad and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Both groups have traditionally had local aims but in recent years have increasingly been linked to al-Qaeda, an organization with global reach and aspirations.
Indeed, police officials suggested that the five Americans arrested Tuesday may have been headed to North Waziristan, the rugged tribal land that has become al-Qaeda’s home base. The region is used as a training ground for fighters and as a staging area for attacks against U.S. troops in neighboring Afghanistan.
