INTERVIEW: Pervez Musharraf President of Pakistan

Goal to Eliminate Al Qaeda is 'Correct' But Military Action is Not an End in

Itself, Musharraf Says. 'It is Extremism That is Important...

It Needs a Totally Different Strategy.' Says Osama and Zawahiri Have
Become Symbols But Killing Them Achieves Nothing;

'There is no Milk And Honey Flowing After

You Get These Two People'

NEW YORK, Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf
tells Newsweek that while the U.S. goal to eliminate Al Qaeda is
correct, it's "limited" because military action is not an end in
itself. "Military action buys you time to utilize all other
instruments to get to the core issues which are spawning terrorism,"
he tells Special Diplomatic Correspondent Lally Weymouth in an
interview in the current issue. "Having bought this time-what is the
overall strategy? It is extremism that is important. Extremism is in
the minds of people. It needs a totally different strategy."

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060129/NYSU002 )

And he explains that strategy: "Internationally you have to address
core issues. The military is not the ultimate answer-you can kill
people [but] you are not going to achieve anything. People think 'Get
Osama bin Laden and Zawahiri.' You get Osama and Zawahiri, OK, you
kill them tomorrow, I can assure you [that] you will have achieved
nothing. Let it be very clear," Musharraf says in the interview which
appears in the February 6 issue of Newsweek (on newsstands Monday,
January 30).

He says the reason is because "you haven't addressed the core issues.
For heaven's sake, let's not be very shortsighted. These two people
mean nothing. Do you think the man sitting in these inaccessible
mountains is commanding what to do in Spain and London? You are sadly
mistaken. So therefore, while Osama and Zawahiri have become symbols,
that doesn't mean that [if you kill] just these two, everything is
hunky-dory in the world. There is no milk and honey flowing after you
get these two people. Please understand that."

Musharraf also discusses Pakistan's relationship with Israel. "We are
for the creation of a Palestinian homeland, although we accept
Israel's reality as a state. I feel we can contribute more strongly
toward this cause if we are talking to Israel... And I think this
pullout from Gaza was a major decision by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
We thought this needed to be encouraged."

(Read interview at www.Newsweek.com. Click "Pressroom" for news releases.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11077658/site/newsweek/ SOURCE Newsweek