Ahmed Rashid’s opinion on the meaning of the arrest of the five young Americans in Pakistan.
Ahmed Rashid, author of a book on Pakistan called ‘Descent Into Chaos’ and an expert on the Taliban, said the case of the Americans pointed to a ‘huge new development as far as terrorism is concerned’.
‘Obviously al Qaeda, these groups, have determined that it’s too dangerous for American citizens to attack America. They will be discovered too soon. So it’s much easier that they come out here and use their bodies here,’ he told Reuters.
‘This is a new recruitment strategy. A few years ago these people would have been used as sleeper cells in the United States, or to lay low or to carry out terrorist attacks in the United States. They are not being used for that anymore.’
