Musharraf Highlights The Real Issues

Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf has warned that a new "iron curtain" is descending between the West and the Muslim world. He says a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might end 75 per cent of global terrorism, provided it is seen as just by mainstream Muslims.

"If we are just killing terrorists, we are not achieving anything ... I call them the leaves of a tree. As long as the tree is there, the leaves will keep growing."

"If you manage to finish off one organisation like Al Qaeda ... you've chopped off a branch of that tree, but the tree will still grow. You must identify the root, and the root happens to be political disputes ... the root happens also to be illiteracy and poverty."

It's about time a world leader started a debate on the root causes of terrorism. As head of a military dictatorship, Musharraf has survived two assasination attempts and knows better than most of Bush's allies how serious a threat is posed by the growing popularity of militant Islamic fanaticism.

His speech certainly sounds a lot more intelligent than Bush's Independence Day drivel: "You can't talk sense to them. You can't negotiate with them..."

In fact, negotiation - including recognisance of past and present mistakes by Western governments - is exactly what is needed.