The American war on terror, being funded, for the past decade by the Americans in the form of 'protection money also being fought by the Americans is what ails South Asia. According to a news report of Dec 13, the 'protection money which is confessed by US officials to be approximately US$ 144 million is being paid by the US to the Taliban for the safe passage of Nato supplies making it one of the largest source of funding for the Taliban led insurgency with money raised by drugs only exceeding this amount. Apparently, everything seems to be same in the region since the US troop deployment with some slight adjustments. The terror network still remains intact and receiving funds from the US with Osama as unreachable as he was ten years ago. While the Americans are still present in the area with a troop surge and some additional private security agencies. Apart from this, the miseries of the Afghan and Pakistani people too, have increased. What has changed, however, is the economic and political state of Pakistan as the economy takes a sharp downward dive. The fractured law and order situation has completely tarnished our image the world over. In this backdrop it has to be asked what is the purpose of fighting a war when the US is itself funding militants? It is imperative that we change our policies and watch our interests instead of aiding the international political schemes? LUBNA UMAR, Islamabad, December 15.