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Date Posted: 14:36:55 12/03/01 Mon
FBI May Aid in Propaganda Fight
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By GEORGE GEDDA
Associated Press Writer
November 7, 2001, 11:06 AM EST
WASHINGTON AP) -- The Bush administration may ask the FBI to help Pakistani authorities enforce limits on dissemination of propaganda by Islamic militants.
The U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, Wendy Chamberlin, was planning to meet Wednesday with FBI Director Robert Mueller to discuss the idea.
In an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press, Chamberlin said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has banned the use of loudspeakers at mosques for political propaganda.
"What bedevils him is that he needs a far more effective police force to enforce that ban, and this is where we can help," she said, adding that Pakistan is eager for a U.S. role.
Since Pakistan decided to back the U.S. anti-terror campaign following the Sept. 11 attacks, U.S. links with Pakistan have undergone a dramatic increase, with American pledges of more than $1 billion in direct or indirect aid.
Before the attacks, the aid relationship was minimal because of U.S. sanctions, many of which have since been lifted.
Among other initiatives, U.S. government agencies are working on a border control project "to help the Pakistani government's capabilities in monitoring smuggling activity across the border," Chamberlin said.
An administration official said Congress has provided $73 million for this purpose. The official, asking not to be identified, said the funds will be used for rotary and fixed wing aircraft, sensors, communications and night vision equipment and training.
In addition to curbing the flow of militants and armaments into Afghanistan, the administration also hopes to control heroin flows from Afghanistan to Pakistan. The heroin eventually winds up in markets in Europe and elsewhere. The Taliban-led regime in Afghanistan derives income through taxes, the official said.
"There has been a sea change in our cooperation," said Chamberlin, who took over as ambassador a month before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
Musharraf, she said, "wants to reduce the influence of extremism. He views Pakistan as a victim of violence, as a victim of terrorism itself. This is what he would like to tackle, to get control and eliminate it within Pakistan."
For the former general, who seized power in a coup in 1999 and has since appointed himself president, joining the U.S.-led coalition is "a way of cauterizing the violence spreading from Afghanistan into Pakistan," Chamberlin said.
Protests by small groups of militants over the U.S. military's use of several bases in Pakistan has raised concern that Musharraf's hold on power could be threatened if extremism spreads.
But Chamberlin says Musharraf enjoys broad backing.
"He has the support of his people, he has the support of his intellectuals, of the four major political parties, he has the complete support of a very professional and loyal army, he has the support of the silent majority, who are fed up with the culture of violence that has spread to Pakistan from Afghanistan," she said.
President Bush plans to meet this weekend with Musharraf on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Bush rarely dines with foreign leaders but has made an exception for Musharraf, reflecting the importance he attaches to the Pakistani leader's support.
Copyright (c) 2001, The Associated Press
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This article originally appeared at:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-attacks-chamberlin-intvu.1107nov07.story
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