"Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world" is one of those cliches that you often hear when people discuss world affairs. The basic equation is: unstable country + nuclear weapons + mad mullahs + base for al Qaeda = Big Trouble.

For the past few years, the west’s backing for President Musharraf has been based largely on the idea that,  for all his flaws, he remains a reliable ally in the "war on terror" and the best insurance against the radicialisation of Pakistan. It is a policy reminiscent of Hilaire Belloc’s advice to "Always keep a hold of nurse/For fear of finding something worse".

The storming of the Red Mosque will bolster Musharraf’s reputation as a bulwark against Islamist extremism. When I visited Pakistan a couple of months ago, western diplomats in Islamabad were clearly nervous about the development of a Taliban-style mosque just down the road. Many middle-class Pakistanis didn’t seem too delighted either.

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It will be interesting to see if the revelation that the terrorist plot in London and Glasgow was allegedly organised by doctors will finally knock on the head one of the most ingrained myths about al-Qaeda - that this is an organisation manned by the oppressed of the earth.

I remember, shortly after 9/11, hearing a left-wing British MP on the radio. He confidently predicted that it would turn out that the terrorists had been victims of western policy in the Middle East - Palestinian refugees perhaps. As it turned out they were middle-class, educated and with plenty of opportunities in life. Mohammed Atta was an architect.

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The front page of the evening paper in London this evening proclaims "Muslim leaders condemn bombers". It is rather sad that this should be considered front page news. None of the people arrested in connection with the London and Glasgow bomb plots have, so far, been British Muslims. But it is still clear that we are embarking on another round of the agonised debate about the relationship between Muslims, Islam, Islamism and terrorism.

The Brown government has been praised in many quarters for avoiding the "I" word in condemning the would-be terrorists. They have been characterised as criminals, rather than Islamic terrorists. But some people think the government is being a bit too tactful.

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