But the goals that need to be (achieved in) Pakistan and Afghanistan in order to turn people away from the lure of al Qaeda extremism will take time.
"The U.S. presence is acting as a rallying cry for these people," said political analyst Aasiya Riaz. "You'll talk to many people who say things will not change in the region until the United States picks up and leaves."
Riaz, a member of the Pakistan Institute for Political Development and Transparency -- an Islamabad-based think tank -- said violent jihad has also been injected into this region's culture and is viewed as an (effective) strategy against oppression.
Ironically, it was the U.S. that paid for and supported extremist militants during the 1980s Afghan jihad against the Soviet invasion.
The U.S. now rejects those extremists, but many (suspect) Pakistan's spy agencies still maintain links to Islamist militants and plan to use those links to hold sway in Afghanistan once U.S. troops pull out.
Pakistan denies this, but skeptics say Islamabad's deeds do not match its words.
Tahira Abdullah, a (human rights) activist in Islamabad, said extremist ideology in Pakistan and Afghanistan is made possible by the crushing poverty, and governments which have failed to provide the most basic human needs, like shelter, security and a basic education.
