Free Republic

West responsible for extremism: Musharraf * President says Pakistan not inherently prone to terrorism or extremism * Blames 1979 US mission in Afghanistan for militancy in region BRUSSELS: President General Pervez Musharraf has blamed the West for breeding terrorism in his country by bringing in thousands of mujahideen to fight the Soviet Union in Afghanistan and then leaving Pakistan alone a decade later to face the armed warriors. Musharraf told the European Parliament’s foreign affairs committee on Tuesday that Pakistan was not the intolerant, extremist country often portrayed by the West, and terrorism and extremism were not inherent in Pakistani...

Israel's Netanyahu Vows if Elected to Expel Arafat JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Foreign Minister Benjamin Netanyahu , trying to outflank Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on the right, vowed Tuesday that if he were elected prime minister he would expel Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat . The hawkish ex-premier, vying for leadership of the rightist Likud for a Jan. 28 election, told party members Arafat was "head of the murderers" behind a raid on a kibbutz that killed a woman, her two sons and two other Israelis. A militant group linked to Arafat's Fatah movement claimed responsibility for the shooting attack in...