Series Of Arrests In Pakistan Reveals

Juan Cole 08/03/2004

Series of Arrests in Pakistan reveals Plot to bomb Finance Centers

The uncovering of a possible al-Qaeda plot against key US financial centers in New York and Washington began with the arrest in June of the nephew of Khalid Shaikh Muhammad and the cousin of Ramzi Yusuf, two top Paksitani operatives who come from Pakistan but grew up in the oil-rich Arab Gulf. Musaad Aruchi is the one who gave up Muhammad Na’im Nur Khan of Lahore, a computer expert who appears to have been doing email for the hidden al-Qaeda leadership. Police also found Ahmad Khalfan Ghailani, a key player in the East Africa embassy bombings.

It just struck me that the people who made these arrests and gave the information over to the United States are Pakistani Muslims. Pakistan gets plenty of blame when it fails, but how often do Americans give full credit to their Muslim allies in struggle against terror (i.e. against radical fundamentalism)?

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page