The threat of terrorism has become a major preoccupation in the United States and to a somewhat lesser degree in the rest of the world. Shortly after the World Trade Centre bombings, the US launched an invasion of Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban regime. This was accomplished and a new government in that country has been installed although instability remains in that region. The campaign did not fully destroy the Al-Qaeda organisation and Osama Bin Laden himself remains at large.
It is likely that the organisation has an underground presence in the border area between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Operations continue in the region with the assistance of Pakistan and there have been periodic arrests of key Al-Qaeda operatives. But any doubt that the organisation continues to operate effective cells in developed countries was erased by a coordinated series of railroad bombings in Madrid, Spain in March 2004 which killed 191 people and injured more than 1800. The bombings in Spain came just prior to scheduled elections and appear to have affected the outcome. With new leadership, Spain promptly withdrew its support of the US campaign in Iraq.
There have been no major publicised subsequent acts of terrorism in the United States although the government frequently issues warnings that attacks are imminent. Because of the secrecy associated with the intelligence which has provoked such warnings, it is virtually impossible to evaluate the gravity of such threats. It is also possible that terrorist incidents have not been publicised in order to prevent panic or to deny terrorists the ability to claim success.
SANA SULTAN
Faisalabad
