... Confirming almost everything I already think :)

Unfortunately, like most surveys, the top-line always buries a lot of good subtle info. This does more to reinforce status-quo views than offer a whole lot of really interesting insight. Too bad there wasn't a question of "what would either complement or replace drone strikes as a viable means of attacking terrorist safe-havens?" Tough question, but these are supposed to be 'experts', right? :)

Either way, good read.

My country Pakistan :2nd largest salt mine;5th largest gold mine;5th largest coal reserves;7th largest copper mine;7th largest rice producer;8th largest wheat producer;2nd largest dam;3 nuclear reactors;5 rivers;6th largest army;7th nuclear power;one of the strongest army in the World..........

"Bizarrely, former CIA director James Woolsey named Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the globe's most dangerous terrorist, a confirmation that, at least in some quarters, neoconservatism is not entirely dead."

This is one of the stupider things I've ever read. I guess the author has such an overwhelming left-wing bias that this sort of propaganda needs to be inserted into the article. It doesn't say much for the editor, either.

Iran, under Ahmadinejad, produces the rockets that Hizbollah fires into Israel to terrify the population. They aren't fired at military targets, they are purely a terror weapon.
Iran is also active in Iraq. One interesting revelation of Wikileaks is that they are believed to have successfully murdered over 100 former Iraqi air force pilots who flew over Iran in their war. They are also active helping AlSadr terrorize his fellow citizens (as well as helping attack US troops).
In terms of effectiveness, as measured by number of people actually killed and weapons actually used to terrorize, Ahmadinejad is possibly the worlds most dangerous terrorist. Iranians get the job done, as opposed to shoe bombers, underwear bombers, Times Square bombers, etc. who try hard but ultimately fail. Obviously, the Mumbai murderers and their handlers are
also up there too. In both cases, the professionalism of government support seems to aid effictiveness.

Are these the same 8 experts who thought IRAQ had WMDs?

Dear FP
Although, I am no fan of the armchair western intellectuals and so-called experts, this article on terrorism by Peter Bergen is the most ignorant piece of journalistic analysis, I have read in a long time.
As a media consultant and human rights activist, I am time and again amazed at the large numbers of doomsday predictions about Pakistan and other Muslim countries, which not only never come true but confirm my suspicion that West is overwhelmingly anti-Islam. This article is a good example. It has so many false assumptions and outright lies that I need to point out to you, for your own credibility.
Peter Bergen gives two recent examples of supposed terrorist plot, both in Scandinavia, where I live calling these; “A botched terrorist attack took place in Stockholm;
There was no terrorist plot in Stockholm but a stupid violent effort by an Iraqi young man who was pissed off at USA’s killing of his countrymen. One should condemn such individual actions in the strongest but please do not call it a plot, which requires the involvement of many people and a planning. Both of these elements were not there.
Then he calls the Copenhagen arrests: A plot was averted to mount a "Mumbai-style" attack in Copenhagen. I live in Copenhagen. No one, not even the Secret Service in Denmark – PET has called these arrests in such stupid terms. Why FR insists on making up stories to scare people, is best known to the editorial staff but it does not bear well with neutral journalism. Has it occurred to you that majority of these arrests are on bogus grounds and often people who are accused of plotting terrorism are quietly released?
Now I come to the worst supposition of all, namely your statement that:
“Overwhelmingly, the experts selected Pakistan as the country that posed the greatest threat to the West today, and a majority also picked it as the country most likely to have its nukes end up in the hands of terrorists”.
These so-called western experts must be basing their prejudicial assumptions on some facts. Let me ask;
What empirical scientific data, do you have that proves that Pakistan is the greatest threat to the West? How can a single developing country can threaten west - an area of the world with most atom bombs, missiles, economic muscle and political blackmailing power? Does it make any sense to make such ridiculous claim? To any thinking person, it does not.
As far as the nukes falling in the hands of terrorist’s Pakistani nukes are not a basket of bananas sitting on a super market shelf. Pakistani nukes are protected by the thousands of elite commandos of Pakistan army, which is the 7 largest outfit in the world, with a very professional setup, chain of command system, checks and controls and second to none in protecting the country.
So please do criticise Pakistan, but use logic, common sense and honesty. From your coverage of Pakistan, I am forced to deduce that the only reason, you and other Western thinkers are so anti-Pakistan is because it is the only Muslim country with nukes, and that does not fit well with your global geo-political agenda. Am I right?
Kind regards

"the terrorist whose actions precipitate a war between India and Pakistan."

Father Zakarias Boutros is #1 in my book, he will spread the Muslims and Christians in the Middle East and get them to bleed each other, all in the name of religion:

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/14763

Father Zakaria, as he is known to millions, has won his enormous following not by borrowing from the toolbox of the televangelist. For someone whose ecclesiastical tradition began in a.d. 100, his tools are decidedly 21st century: satellite uplinks, Wi-Fi connectivity, a late-edition Vaio laptop that is with him at all times, and a trusted reference tool he refers to as “St. Google.” He can spend 14-hour days on research for each show, and for this episode emailed the final script to producers at 4:30 a.m.

The result is less a preaching ministry and more like battlefield strategy. It’s the late-in-life culmination of a conscious decision, Botros says, to move away from apologetics and toward what he calls polemics: “My program is to attack Islam, not to attack Muslims but to save them because they are deceived. As I love Muslims, I hate Islam.”

Such conviction earns Botros a heady following—and serious enemies. Jihadist groups have reportedly posted a death threat worth $60 million against him. This year his name and photo appeared on an al-Qaeda website, seeking retribution for his teachings, which often depict Muhammad as less of a prophet and more of a womanizer. For his fearless determination in the face of his enemies, for his willingness to label Islam a false religion in a year when many Christian leaders have overreached in their quest for common ground with its worshippers, Zakaria Botros is WORLD’s 2008 Daniel of the Year.

Father Zakarias Boutros will do this all by, with, through American evangelical support. It's not the Middle East you need to worry about, not even the Near East, it's the Mid-West Bible Belt inserting money into the pants of the likes of Father Zakarias Boutros to foment this soon to be bloodier divide. God help you all.

Andrew Exum is not only smart, he has a cute wife.

The survey from these experts shows their deep prejudices, which have no relevance to facts.

It is so easy to distort the facts. No Pakistani was responsible for 9/11. Pakistan offered all out support to US and had US forces done a good job of cleaning out Tora Bora, we in Pakistan would not have been in the trouble that we are in. We are victims of terrorism perpetrated by those who cross AfPak border with impunity, but is it only Pakistan's responsibility to stop them? What are the US and NATO forces doing on the other side? From where these terrorists are getting weapons, when everyone knows they don't have any supply route through Pakistan?

US and NATO troops in Afghanistan have no control on any activity outside their garrisons. Had they established some control over Afghan soil, few Taliban crossing from Pakistan could not have done much harm. Now, the prolonged US occupation is radicalizing Pashtuns on both sides of borders and drone attacks on Pakistani soil are fueling anti-US sentiment all over Pakistan. The week central government is loosing its legitimacy in the eyes of common man because of its tacit support for such attacks.

Continued US drone attacks and anti-Pakistan western media will further weaken the hands of those who support US operations. The end result could be such destabilization of Pakistan that threats mentioned in this survey become self-fulfilling prophesies.

The survey should have asked these expert about what changes need to be brought in counter-terrorism strategy to achieve the original objective of making US more safe from terrorist threats.

"Interestingly, only two experts named Iran as the West's greatest threat or as a nuke proliferator to terror groups."

Let me guess, they also think Israel is the bastion of freedom and democracy and that Arabs deserve all that is coming to them!

I just read two comments by ARYABHAT, one a response to my comment and one against a person, who was trying to tell the readers of FP, how important Pakistan is in resources and geo-political placing.
Anyhow, let me reply to Mr. ARYABHAT or Miss ARYABHAT. It is always difficult to address people who hide their true identity and dish out poison against other countries, ideas and religions.
The name ARYABHAT belongs to a remarkable mathematician who was born in Patna –the present India in 476 AD. He was a genius who continues to baffle many mathematicians of today. His works was ten later adopted by the Greeks and then the Arabs.
But unfortunately, now-a-days when people with Indian Hindu roots including this ARYABHAT comment blogs concerning Pakistan, Pakistanis, Islam and Muslim communities, they use a language full of hate, arrogance and out right hostility. It is a pity but so are the realities, one has to live by. The partition of British India has left deep scars of hurt and anger on the psyche of present day Indians or Bharatis.
ARYABHAT Says: “As the Arabs would surely take away food produced in Pakistani fields to Arabia while Millions of poor Pakistanis starve”.
I do not know, from where ARYABHAT has his information but one thing, the whole world knows that Pakistanis do not starve or live their lives on foot paths like millions upon millions do in major cities of India. Nearly 400 million Indians live under 2 dollars a day. I have seen with my own eyes, the misery, most Indian live in villages and towns.
ARYABHAT Says “That is why Pakistan need to be stripped of some of your "assets" like Nukes - which is a liability to civilized world”.
Even an elementary school child will tell ARYABHAT that the whole Pakistani nuclear program was in response to Indian efforts to build nukes to destroy Pakistan. It was India which test exploded nukes and Pakistan had to follow. Otherwise Pakistan has no need to. It has to protect itself against Extreme Hindu nationalism and anti-Pak forces in India, which still claim Pakistan. Pakistani nukes are a guarantee against India and not liability to anyone. Pakistan has asked India time and again to have a no war pact but it was rejected. I am sure that if India keeps to UN resolutions to hold elections in Kashmir, peace will come. Then, there will be no need to have large armies, nukes or other WMD. By the way, who is this civilized world, you are referring. I do not hope that you mean - USA, UK and India, the three countries, which has the blood of millions of innocent people on their hands. Look what USA did in Latin America, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen and many other places. UK’s history is full of shameful exterminations all across the globe. India has on a smaller scale killed 60000 innocent Kashmir’s, Nexalites, Muslims, Sikhs and Christians in various plundering. May I continue? So spare me of this civilization lecture.
“The place breeds Islamic intolerance, to put it mildly. Ahhh, and yes, it is full of Pakistanis!”
In UK, Luton included, there lives roughly 1 million Pakistanis. They live all over the place. Calling the presence of few thousand Pakistanis in Luton as breeding Islamic intolerance shows the accuser’s state of mind and Islamophobic nature of an ill-informed person than the reality on the ground. There are other nationalities in Luton too. To make it a religious issue is just not fair or even wise.
“Two unsuccessful attempts to kill Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the murder of ex-PM Ms Bhutto and now Salman Taseer
No one is saying that there is no militancy in Pakistan and since army soldiers are recruited from the wider public, it does have some low ranking people, who may have been influenced by extremists. Attempts on former President Musharaf were tackled by the authorities swiftly and correctly. From there to malign Pak army as weak and full of extremists is totally non-sense. Pak army is very well disciplined and professional and strong. That is why India dares not attack Pakistan again. Bhutto’s murder was carried out by the children of those evil forces, which were created by CIA to fight the Soviet Union and who are now being armed and financed by India and Russia to hit back. For Russia, it is the pay back time and for India, any action, which weakens Pakistan has divine benefit for them.
“With the violent history of Islam spreading it on sword, loot and rapes, and recent revival of radical Islam, civilized world has reason to be concerned with Pakistan (that calls itself citadel of Islam and nurtures ambition of making whole world Islamic”.
This above comment from A RYABHAT is self explanatory but full of hatred of Islam born from Hindu nationalism, which has not forgiven the Muslims who ruled Bharat or Hindustan for 1000 years, mostly graciously and with justice, but with few short bursts of oppression by individual emperors. But that is part of history. We can not remake it and the faster Indians come over their inferiority complex against Muslim conquests, the better for all of us.

Kind regards

Bashy Quraishy

Reading the comments interest me more than the post which a monotonous piece of news. Whereas the comments are more colourful. I have no doubt about it here too. The great country called Pak-Istan is being denigrated by these anti-islamists is really abhorent. They do not know the realities of Pakistan and good for them that do not know the realities. Because there is much to be known to safeguard yourself. Pakistan is fighting US war, people should know, how stupid of them? They have not known even this basic fact and they come here to comment. How silly of them?
God these anti-Pakistanis. I certainly pity for them. Islam is a pious religion. It is the rest of the world that has demonised it by killings, rapings in Kashmir, Israel, US and West and Russia too. China perhaps do not do it openly because it does not open it.

Let God bless and shower peace upon them
Dr. O. P. Sudrania