12-11-2008, 11:35 PM
<b>'US erred in not shutting down Lashkar, Jaish after 9/11'</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Curtis, now a senior research fellow at the <b>Heritage Foundation </b>-- a leading Washington, DC, conservative think-tank, told rediff.com in an interview that "the United States made a mistake in not forcing Pakistan to shut down these groups (Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammad, also believed to be responsible for the attack on India's Parliament in December 2001) immediately following 9/11."
<b>"The United States was short-sighted. It focused on just getting Pakistan to focus on the Al Qaeda [Images] leadership, and praised Pakistan -- rewarded Pakistan for that, and sort of turned a blind eye even to Pakistani support for the Taliban [Images] and to these militants,"</b> she said.
"We are almost at the same point where we were seven years ago -- right after 9/11, having the 2001-2002 crisis, precipitated by the Lashkar attack on the Indian Parliament -- and one would have hoped that this group wouldn't have even existed seven years later," Curtis added.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<b>"The United States was short-sighted. It focused on just getting Pakistan to focus on the Al Qaeda [Images] leadership, and praised Pakistan -- rewarded Pakistan for that, and sort of turned a blind eye even to Pakistani support for the Taliban [Images] and to these militants,"</b> she said.
"We are almost at the same point where we were seven years ago -- right after 9/11, having the 2001-2002 crisis, precipitated by the Lashkar attack on the Indian Parliament -- and one would have hoped that this group wouldn't have even existed seven years later," Curtis added.
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->