The Red-Green Alliance

Submitted by Dr. Richard L. Benkin (United States), Jul 1, 2008 at 08:59

Nowhere is the unholy alliance of Islamists and Communists manifest more chillingly than in South Asia. In 2004, under the auspices of Pakistan's intelligence agency, Nepalese Maoists provided safe haven for Al Qaeda forces on the run from coalition troops. Islamists set up camp in the largely Hindu country; and in exchange the Maoists got their foot in the door of a new coalition government and recently seized power in Nepal. Islamist forces remain poised in the area for actions in Bangladesh (the world's third largest Muslim nation) and India.

I have been writing about the Red-Green alliance in South Asia since 2006, and now with allies in India--especially Amitabh Tripathi--we are gaining more and more support for recognizing this serious threat. (Amitabh and I owe a tremedous debt to Daniel Pipes who put us together.)

I was in India earlier this year, and there were terrorist attacks on that country every single day I was there from both Islamists and Communists. In West Bengal, the brutal communist government has been in collusion with Bangladeshi and Indian Islamists for years, resulting in ethnic cleansing, population shifts, and real danger for Indian democracy.

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".