While terrorist attacks are continually launched in Iraq a new surge of terrorist attacks has in turn swept the Middle East, Mid Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia and formed an arc-shaped "high terrorist risk" belt. This is an unsettling trend of development.  

The west end of this arc-shaped belt starts in the Middle East. In Iraq military actions against US-led occupation mingle with terrorist attacks and they are growing increasingly furious. The suicide bombing in a UN institution that resulted in the death of the UN representative in Iraq Sergio Vieira de Mello, a series of events that killed diplomats, engineers and journalists stationed in Iraq, taking hostages of foreign citizens and killing them, these were terrorist actions of serious consequences. What is worth noting is that some previously unknown terrorist organizations have stepped onto the stage of terrorist activities. A new generation terrorists such as Zarqawi have become the forefront commanders. In other parts of the Middle East suicide bombing attacks by terrorists not only continue to occur in Israel but will also take targets mild Muslim countries in cooperation with the US such as Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt.

Take a look at the Caucasian region, which connects the Middle East and Mid Asia. The Chechen terrorists keep carrying out bombings. Former Chechen President Kadyrov was killed in the Grozny blast on May 9 while the Beslan hostage tragedy that led to the death of more than 300 people shocked the whole world.

Further east and south in the middle of this arc-shaped belt is the Mid Asia and South Asia. Terrorist organizations are also active here. In Afghan Taliban and al-Qaeda launched several thousands-people attacks and carried out a series of bombings in large cities such as Kabul and Kandahar. In Uzbekistan two serial bombings happened from March 29 to April 1 and on July 30 resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries. In Pakistan terrorist organizations target government leaders. President Musharraf and Prime Minister Aziz have both been attacked by bombings organized by al-Qaeda. What is particularly disturbing is that even the well-received Chinese engineers and technicians become targets of continued terrorist attacks. In May 2004 Chinese engineers were attacked by car bombs at the Pakistani Gwadar Port, with 3 killed and 9 injured. In June a group of Afghan terrorists attacked a China-aided construction site in Kunduz of north Afghanistan resulting in 11 deaths and injuries. The latest case occurred last month when two Chinese engineers were taken hostages in Pakistan. One of them was murdered. The Pakistani government said the terrorist action was carried out by al-Qaeda.

The Southeast Asian region has also recently become a high-risk region where terrorism happens frequently. Some terrorist organizations with close contacts with al-Qaeda planned a group of terrorist actions in Southeast Asia. Experts point out that the main regions of Southeast Asia where terrorist organizations are active start from south Thailand and through Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippine they extend all the way to Australia.

Some terrorist organizations and activities in Mid Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia originated in the Middle East or are closely related to the situation development in the Middle East -- a fact particularly reflected in ideological links, organization network and mode of activities etc. This is the main reason why people believe an arc-shaped "high terrorist risk" belt has formed in the Middle East, Mid Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Some of these organizations have come from the Middle East, have close contacts with al-Qaeda and extremist organizations in the Middle East and are rapidly expanding their influence in some poor regions. Since the US troops invaded Iraq anti-US violence in the Mid Asia has increased considerably. On March 29, 2004 a suicide bombing occurred in the center of Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan. It was the first suicide terrorist act, which originated in the Middle East, in the Mid Asian region. On July 30 bombs blasted simultaneously at the US Embassy, Israeli Embassy, office of the Uzbekistan Attorney General in Tashkent of Uzbekistan. Attacks on the US and Israeli Embassies were directly linked to the escalation of war in Iraq and conflict between Israel and Palestine.

These terrorist organizations keep expanding their scope of activity extending terrorist activities from the Middle East, Mid Asia to Indonesia and Philippine in Southeast Asia, even to Australia and infiltrate into the United States and Europe. Some Indonesian police believe the recent attack on Australian Embassy to Indonesia was also a suicide attack. If this is true then it would be the first emergence of suicide terrorist activity in Southeast Asia.

People also notice that the new surge of terrorist attacks shifted to "soft targets" which are everywhere and hard to guard, for example, banks, schools, churches, hospitals and theaters. This leads to more damages and casualties.

The formation of the Middle East-Mid Asia-South Asia-Southeast Asia "high terrorist risk" belt has deep-rooted reasons, which lie in the US-led war in Iraq. This war resulted in further complication of some of the root factors that brought about terrorism.

In the first place the US' "transforming Iraq" policy and "great Middle East" plan intensified its conflict with the Islam world in the ideological and cultural areas. It in effect furnishes terrorist organizations' extremist propaganda with ideological basis.

Second, the war in Iraq added fuel to the various conflicts in the Middle East and lent an opportunity to the further development of terrorism in the Middle East and the world.

Third, the US' resort to military force escalated global ethnical and religious conflicts and created favorable environment and conditions for international terrorism to stage a comeback.

Finally, this war widened the gaps in development level and wealth and produced new vulnerable groups, which replenish human resources for the continued havoc of terrorist organizations.

Faced with the severe reality in the arc-shaped "high terrorist risk" belt the international community, particularly relevant countries in this region, have no choice but to further strengthen trans-border cooperation, stamp out the source of the evil and carry out the anti-terrorist war to the end. Meanwhile people have come to a common understanding that military means alone cannot exterminate terrorism because the roots of terrorism lie in the failure to fairly solve long-standing conflict hotspots and continuous expansion of gaps in development level and wealth. This is demonstrated particularly true in the arc-shaped "high terrorist risk" belt. Therefore only by treating both the root cause and symptoms and implementing comprehensive treatment in various aspects including politics, economics, culture and society can the arc-shaped "high terrorist risk" belt be cleared up and the cancer of terrorism be finally rooted out.

(People's Daily November 8, 2004)