NONE SAFE: AMBUSHED PEACE ZONE, BLOOD SPILLS Over WAR ZONE
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams: Chapter 176
Palash Biswas
Anand Bazar On BDR DAD Tauhid
http://www.amardeshbd.com/dailynews/detail_news_index.php?NewsID=214162&NewsType=bistarito&SectionID=home&EXT=MLVHMOXN
BDR Mutiny: Hasina warns Bangladesh at risk of 'more sabotage'
Anisur Rahman
Dhaka, Mar 4 (PTI) In a grim warning, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told her countrymen today that Bangladesh was at the risk of "more sabotage" from "conspirators" who had plotted the recent mutiny by the paramilitary force BDR in which 73 Army officers were killed.
"Conspiracies against Bangladesh are not over yet. There is still a plot to foil the country's democracy, independence and sovereignty," Hasina told a seminar here.
She cautioned that her administration will have to remain alert as "many do not like the incident to end so soon." "The game is still on and the conspirators are not taking a break," she was quoted as saying, adding that Bangladesh is "at risk of more sabotage".
Hasina's warning came as a court here remanded the suspected ringleader of the bloody BDR mutiny and four of his accomplices in police custody for a week on charges of murder, arson and looting.
The magistrate granted police seven days against their plea for 10 days to quiz the suspects, after the accused were escorted to court complex in old Dhaka under heavy security.
The accused appeared before the television camera for a brief period under the RAB custody yesterday during a press conference. The suspects were not allowed to speak to newsmen. PTI
Dear brothers & sisters,
Greeting from the heart of Bangladesh.
Friends, we are the glorious nation as we achieved a land by a sea of bloods. Now it is crystal clear that the heinous killings of army officer at BDR compound were nothing but a conspiracy against Bangladesh & its people.
But we are continuously attacking Army & BDR and couldn’t understand that by doing this, we are just supporting the conspirators.
We, request you, please keep refrain criticizing our glorious patriotic army and BDR and try to help to find out the true facts and culprits behind this heinous act.
Thanks & Regards,
Mosharraf Khokon
Poet, Organizer
Secretary General, WPM
The Zionist Nexus Linking 9-11 & the Financial Crisis
Written by Christopher Bollyn
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
http://www.bollyn.info/home/articles/911/understanding-the-zionist-corporate-network-linking-9%1111-and-the-financial-crisis/
+<Zionist Nexus: Linking 9-11 & Financial Crisis>-
Readers' Comments:
Dear Mr. Bollyn:
I really appreciate your effort and the information
you make available on your site. In particular the article
"The Israeli Who Runs the Obama White House" is most pertinent.
Rahm Emanuel is so evil. Most Americans don't seem to realize we have
been all but taken over in a foreign invasion of the most covert sort...
- from Rocklin, California
* * *
Christopher is a man that I had the honor of meeting and chatting with
at a seminar some years ago in Washington, District of Corruption.
He is a real, honest to God, fearless, and skilled "Investigative Reporter",
which is a species that is all but extinct today; extremely rare.
His style is objective and hard-hitting, no-holds barred, honesty in covering
corruption and crime in government, which means he stays very busy.
He's driven by uncompromising ethics and principles.
His reward has been constant persecution and harassment
from federal, state, and local officials to the point of serious physical attacks
(including broken bones) and false imprisonment.
- from Arkansas
* * *
Christopher you are nailing this down, down to the T.
You're amazing. Bravo fella...
- from California on the "Zionist Nexus" article
* * *
Bollyn.info seriously needs your support.
I need funds to be able to put my 9-11 research together
into book form for the publisher.
Please help bring my book Solving 9-11 to a wider audience.
I cannot afford to do it without your contribution.
Thanks.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reduced its key policy rate - the repo rate- the rate at which the central bank lends to banks against pledeging of government bonds- by 50 basis points (bps) from 5.5% to 5%. That is why, Indian equities snapped three-day losing streak on Wednesday by ending a volatile session in the positive terrain. Traders covered shorts in metals, oil&gas and healthcare space tracking gains in global markets.The rupee ended higher for the first time in eight sessions closing at 51.55 against the dollar, as modest gains posted by Indian shares raised hopes that capital outflows would slow in the coming weeks.
The world's car manufacturers are showing off their latest creations at the Geneva Motor Show. The exhibition features a mix of luxury, high-powered, hybrid and battery operated cars.
Idea Cellular today became the latest GSM telecom operator to offer services on the BlackBerry platform. The Idea solution will provide customers with standard features on select BlackBerry devices like wireless access to email, phone, calendar, ...
THE Present day WORLD is meant for ATOM BOMBS, CARS, Latest Technology, Special Effects, Shopping malls, Super express highways, SEZ, Nuclear energy, IT, Fashion, Vogue, NRI, Illuminiti, Chemical and Biological warfare, CELEB FUCKING, RAMP, Resorts, War and CIVIL WAR, Colonies and Comradors,Hegemonies and Genocide culture, Cold RUSH and GOLD RUSH, durable consumer products and FREEsenSEX and so on!
The Manusmriti Apartheid world is not meant for equality, justice, democracy, Freedom, Indigenous people or indigenous Economy or Production system, Nature and Nature associated people, Envirionment, GREEN and PEACE, nationalities, identities and mother Tongue, Citizens and civil Rights, humanity and human Rights, the People and SLUM DOGS!
NONE SAFE, cries the KOLKATA ENGLISH daily, The TELGRAPH in a SCREAMING headline!
It is TRUE. We have been writing and telling this for long a time. But the TOILET Media as well as RULIN Class felt the HEAT and DUST only after 26/11 attacks on TAZ Hotel in Mumbai. Aty that point also the RULING Hegemony or the media never saw the BLOOD SPILLED in VT /CST Turminus campus as well as all over the the Indian OCEAN Peace Zone!
|  |
|
NE IS SAFE ANY MORE
http://www.telegraphindia.com/section/frontpage/index.jsp |
The CIRCLE is complete!
Mumbai!
DHAKA! And now Lahore!
Developed NATIONS Want NOT PEACE as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown wants members of Congress who are eager to protect US businesses against foreign competition to have more faith in free markets! but we never UNDERSTAND as we never try to understand the POLITICS of ECONOMICS and fail to identify the ILUMINITI ZIONIST behind every EVENT arranged with SURGICAL Precision. SINCE 9/11 everything is designed.
Lahore attacks should be EYE OPENING if you are sleeping since 26/11 and missed the NOTORIOUS DEVELOPMENTS in Bangladesh and SRILANKA! Just watch the PRIORITY SHIFTS and the POLICY Making and the ALIGNMENTS for your Convenience!
They killed the ABORIGINAL, Indigenous, Minority communities helpless. Killed livelihood. Displaced acquiring land and liberty, home and job. Urbanisation and Industrialisation turned the STARVATION switch on. Constitution killed. Parliament Killed. Democracy killed. EQUALITY, Justice and FRATERNITY never existed.
They killed CITIZENSHIP, Civil and Human rights. Killed Freedom. Sovereignty!
NONE is safe just because the ETHNIC Cleansing and GENOCIDE Culture, MASS Destruction happen to be top agenda of the KILLER MONEY Machine fed with all the Natural resources killing Humanity worldwide.
Man eaters NEVER CHOSE! VICTIMS are targeted only and the BLOODSTREAMS suffer the TSUNAMI which submerges the RULING PRIVILEGED Classes and EVEN a HOLY thing like CRICKET!
The global financial crisis sweeping through Wall Street and European banking sector will touch the lives of the world’s most vulnerable, push millions into deeper poverty and lead to the deaths of thousands of children, a new United Nations study said.
The world’s poorest countries are unable to insulate their citizens from the crisis, with an estimated 43 out of 48 low-income countries incapable of providing a pro-poor government stimulus, the report by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said.
But EXTINCTION of Untouchable, Subaltern Humanity, the SLUM DOGS have never been the concern of the Toilet Media or Ruling Class. They just wake up when SOME GLASS House is SHATTERED as it happened with 9/11 or 26/11...
Ruling Class and Indian Media highlights the CRISIS faced by the Ruling class.
It never addresses the Real issues, nationalities, identities, displacement, job loss, genocide, starvation, corruption, defence deals, kickbacks and so on. it is much more concerned with the fact as A downturn in worldwide economy, Satyam's fraud case and the terrorist attacks in Mumbai and supply chain and shipping cost issues in China are causing US technology companies to pull back from the two traditional outsourcing locations. Citing these three global factors, an annual survey by BDO Seidman, LLP, one of America's leading accounting and consulting organizations, Tuesday suggested several technology firms would choose US as future outsourcing location over India and China. However, the survey results point to a likely decline in international outsourcing in 2009: 22 percent say the United States is the outsourcing destination they are most likely to consider in 2009, compared to 16 percent for China and 13 percent for India. Another nineteen percent report no interest in additional outsourcing.
None is safe because the WAR ZONE is shifted right into our heart since the UNILATERAL Operationalisation of INDO US Nuclear deal and STRATEGIC Realliance in US ISRAEL lead.
Unted States of America holds on the STATE POWER in the COLONIES consisting of Peripherri Economises in South Asia, Brahaminical hegemony in India has created KILLING FIELDS in every corner of the Country and BANGLADESH and Pakistan have become hostages of MILITARY Hegemonies while SRILANK is torn in Civil war. Corporate Imperialism promotes FASCISM in the bleeding divide geopolitics these days as never before. The Stakes are very very HIGH!
Former Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif on Wednesday said the country is presently being ruled by "opportunist judges and generals", a media report said.
Addressing a national conference on restoration of judiciary here, Nawaz Sharif said that justice cannot be ensured in the absence of free judiciary, Geo TV reported.
He said the Governor rule in Punjab province could have been averted.
This Statement is quite RELEVANT to not only SOUTH ASIAN COLONIES of USA but also to entire THIRD WORLD which never throw up RESISTANCE whatsoever!
I have also been writing that the TERROR NETWORK may never survive without STATE Protection.
HEGEMONIES and SECURITY AGENCIES led by CIA and MOSSAD do use the TERROR agencies at their will to create and manipulate wanted ENVIRONMENT of Deestablisation, Political uncertainty, Civil WAR and WAR in the best interest of ILLUMINITI Global as well as DESI ILLUMINITI making, Zionist Weapon industry and the TRI IBLIS SATANIC Global Order of Post Modern Manusmriti Rule and APARTHEID.
How the OPEN market seduces the POLITY! latest CONGRESS Ploy to woo the Vote Bank in CORPORATE Mode reveals the fact!
Aiming to spice up its election campaign, Congress party has bought the rights to "Jai Ho", the Oscar-winning song from ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ has jumped from number three to the number one spot at the UK box office on the back of its eight-awards success at the Oscars last month.
India will hold general election between April 16 and May 13 in which 714 million people will cast their votes.
Congress leaders said the song will be played during rallies in rural towns, villages and cities.
It is quite an IRONY that the Marxist Hypocrites who betrayed the People Most and RUN BLIND on CAPITALIST Super Highway in OPEN MARKET along with Corporates, Criminals, Promoters, Builders, MNCS, SEZ, Chemical HUB, Displacement and Deportation, Genocide and Ethnic cleansing, Nuclear parks and Retail chain, Indiscriminate land Acquisition and REGIMENTED Gestapo, Icons and Brahmins have to lead a THIRD FRONT to defeat NDA as well as UPA!
Third Front will take final shape after LS polls, Gowda claims for the MARXISTS behind the CURTAIN. Marxists projected Mayawati as the NEXT Prime Minister Face but had to dump Mayawati very soon afraid of CASTE HINDU antipathy. But the Bargain never ends as the Marxists must have some thing to hold on to sustain the CAPTURE and HOSTAGE in West Bengal, kerala and Tripura!
Even after formally announcing the formation of the Third Front, JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday said that the final shape of the alliance would depend on the post-poll equations.
"Though the four Left parties, TDP, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), AIADMK and our own JD(S) have come forward to form the Third Front, the final shape of the alliance will depend on the post-poll equations," Mr. Gowda told reporters here.
"All secular leaders would rise to form the government at the Centre, depending on the post-poll scenario," he said. Speaking about BSP supremo Mayawati, the former PM, who had two days back announced the formation of the Front, said, "Mayawati had shared the platform with us immediately after the July 22 trust vote last year. However, she had made her intentions clear that she would not share seats with anybody in Uttar Pradesh and is not interested in entering any alliance," Gowda said.
He said that AIADMK chief Jayalalithaa, who recently became a part of the Front, had no problem with the UP Chief Minister. "Jayalalithaa has never ever had any problems with Mayawati. This was never an issue," he said.
RSS banks on HINDUTVA as wel as FASCISM! Blind nationalism is the BEST capital and WAR CRY against Pakistan is quite in tune with the SPIRIT of AMERICAN WAR against terrorism!
US President Barack Obama has expressed deep concern about an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan, saying the country's frontier regions still remain safe havens for Al Qaeda terrorists and his government was reviewing policies towards that region.
The US State Department too called Tuesday's attack in Lahore that left six players and a British coach wounded and killed at least eight Pakistanis as a "vicious attack on innocent civilians."
"The details are still coming in, and so I don't want to be too specific," Obama told reporters Tuesday after meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. "Obviously we're deeply concerned."
"Both Great Britain and the United States share a deep interest in ensuring that neither Afghanistan nor Pakistan are safe havens for terrorist activity."
"The truth is that the situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, the safe havens for Al Qaeda remain in the frontier regions of Pakistan and we are conducting currently a comprehensive review of our policies," he said.
Obama said the review looked at US policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan and coordination with NATO allies and other members of the international security force in Afghanistan.
He would make announcements ahead of the NATO summit in April about "the direction the United States would like to go," he said. "What I'm confident in is that our strongest partner in that effort once again will be the United Kingdom" and Brown.
State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid condemned the first deadly attack targeted a foreign sports team in Pakistan as a "vicious attack on innocent civilians" as well as the positive relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
"We condemn this vicious attack on innocent civilians but also on the positive relations that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are trying to enjoy," he said. "This is an attack on peaceful, normal relations, and we utterly condemn this terrorist attack."
"The Pakistani police, I am given to understand, were extremely brave in protecting their charges and should be commended," Duguid said sending condolences to the families of the victims and the wounded.
The terrorist attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore proves that Pakistan has become "Talibanised" and a failed state, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley said Wednesday.
"There is also no distinction (in Pakistan) between state actors and non-state actors," Jaitley told a news conference here, adding that Indians should stop differentiating between the two.
Terrorists numbering six to a dozen carried out an audacious daylight attack on the Sri Lankan team in the heart of Lahore Tuesday, wounding six players and an assistant coach and killing six policemen and two civilians.
The killings, blamed on Islamists, shows that Pakistan "has become Talibanised, it has become a failed state", he said.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday said the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) will be brought back if the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by the party is voted to power in the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
"We will bring back POTA in 100 days if voted to power," Naidu told reporters here after a meeting with state BJP leaders.
POTA came into force in 2002 when the NDA was in power. It was repealed by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by Congress in September 2004.
Naidu, a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, expressed confidence that in the ensuing elections the BJP will improve on its performance in the 2004 polls when it won 18 of the 28 seats in the state.
On the other hand, The aforesaid UNESCO report highlighted an increase in child mortality rate between 200,000 to 400,000, saying that child malnutrition will be one of the main drivers of higher child death rates.
"Millions of children face the prospect of long-term irreversible cognitive damage as a result of the financial crisis," Patrick Montjourides, one of the authors of the report, said.
There is also a real danger that some low-income countries like Mozambique, Ethiopia, Mali, Senegal, Rwanda and Bangladesh -- which have made progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) of universal primary education -- will suffer setbacks.
Reduced growth in 2009 will affect the 390 million people in sub-Saharan Africa living in extreme poverty and a loss of income around USD 18 billion (USD 46 per person), the report said.
"This projected loss represents 20 per cent of the per capita income of Africa’s poor – a figure that dwarfs the losses sustained in the developed world," it added.
The study, prepared by the Education for All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) team, was presented at the first session of the UNESCO Future Forum which analysis the consequences of the present financial and economic crises for international cooperation.
It documented the potential impact of the current worldwide economic meltdown on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), internationally agreed targets to eradicate poverty and reduce child mortality among other human development objectives.
The report said that increased international aid could help reduce fiscal pressure, but development assistance budgets are coming under increased pressure and countries are using these crisis as an excuse to turn their back on the world’s poor.
"Aid donors could clearly do far more to protect the world’s poorest people from a crisis manufactured by the world’s richest financiers and regulatory failure in rich countries," Kevin Watkins, one of authors, said.
According to the report the European Union’s aid commitment to provide 0.5 per cent of GDP in aid by 2010 will be USD 4.6 billion less than commited.
"We cannot allow rich countries to use this crisis as an excuse to turn their back on the world’s poor," Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, said.
"Measures to revive growth and fix the financial system must be coupled with greater efforts to tackle the structural problems of extreme poverty and inequality." he added.
The authors of the report called for a concerted international effort to limit the impact of the financial crisis on the poor. It has asked for an increase of over USD 500 billion in International Monetary Fund (IMF) for special drawing rights along with governance reforms to give developing countries an increased voice. It has also asked EU to provide a USD 4.6 billion aid adjustment.
Pakistani police hunted on Wednesday for gunmen who mounted a bold attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in Lahore and officials scrambled to figure out who was behind it. The Tuesday attack killed eight people, six of them Pakistani police. Six members of the Sri Lankan team and a British coach were wounded in the daylight attack as their bus approached the cricket stadium. A senior Pakistani official said the raid bore the hallmarks of the same militants who attacked India's financial capital Mumbai in November. India and the United States blamed the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for that assault.
In New , PRANAB TENURE as ATING PRIME MINISTER to the applause of Anglo saxon Kayastha brahmins of Bengal, ended as Wahington Planted Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday had his first official engagement since his bypass surgery five weeks ago and appeared fine as he held about 90-minute talks with Boni Yayi, President of African country Benin. Dressed in grey 'bandgala' suit, 76-year-old Singh walked up to the meeting room at his residence here for talks with Yayi and shook hands with the visiting leader.
In his first public appearance after surgery, Singh waved at the camerapersons.
Pakistani investigative agencies picked up around 24 suspects in connection with the brazen terror assault on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore but made little headway on Wednesday in zeroing in on the dozen terrorists who fled after injuring seven players and killing eight people. The suspects were detained during raids by a special investigation team on hostels and guest houses in Lahore's Gulberg area, located near Liberty Chowk traffic roundabout where the Sri Lankan team's bus was attacked on Tuesday.
However, no "prime suspects" are believed to be among those taken into custody, TV channels reported quoting sources.
The Pakistan government failed to provide adequate security for the visiting Sri Lankan cricket team and the terrorist attack on the players had proved the country is unsafe even for the ‘most esteemed guests’, leading newspapers said. The attack on the Sri Lankan team by a dozen heavily armed terrorists, which killed eight persons and injured over 20, including seven team members, would hit sports hard as no foreign team would now be willing to tour Pakistan ‘for a very long time’, the dailies lamented. The Pakistan cricket team could also have fallen prey to the terror attacks carried out on the Sri Lankan players, but captain Younis Khan's decision to change the team's travel schedule came as saviour, coach Intikhab Alam said. Alam disclosed that normally both the teams leave the hotel together for the stadium at around 8:40 am, but the hosts were saved by skipper Younis' decision to go separately.
The Impact
England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has said that Tuesday’s attack on Sri Lankan cricketers means that every cricketer in the world is a target for terrorist attack.
Strauss said, “You never feel vulnerable until something like this then you’re always feeling vulnerable. Wherever we go in the world, we have very good security but I suppose this proves that, no matter how much security, there is always a chance that something can happen,” ‘The Sun’ quoted him, as saying.
“One argument that was used is that it was very unlikely cricketers would be targeted. Clearly, that has been proven wrong. That’s not a good situation for cricketers,” he added.
Meanwhile, former skipper Kevin Pietersen is one of five England Test squad players who must decide about returning to India for the IPL.
At the moment he is more concerned about the dead and injured in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the probe into Mumbai terror attacks has led investigating agencies to ascertain the real identity of wanted Lashkar-e-Toiba militants Abu Al Qama and Zarar Shah, who turned out to be residents of Pakistan. Investigations have revealed that Mazhar Iqbal, a resident of Mandi Tehsil of Punjab province, was code-named as Abu Al Qama by the Lashker terror group, official sources said. This finding was a result of an increased cooperation between central security agencies and the FBI. The two agencies carried out detailed interrogation of Lashker terrorists arrested worldwide to know the identity of Abu Al Qama.The other Lashkar terrorist identified by the security agencies was Zarar Shah whose actual name was Abdul Wajid, a resident of Sheikhpura district of Punjab province, the sources said. About the role of the two in Mumbai terror strikes, the sources said Iqbal alias Abu Al Qama had been responsible for training the terrorists who carried out the strikes in Mumbai on November 26 lastin which lives of 183 people were lost.
In the wake of the bloody mutiny in Bangladesh, the BSF is on a high alert along the Indo-Bangladesh border to ensure that BDR soldiers on the run do not enter the country, Director General of the force M L Kumawat said on Wednesday.
"After this crisis in Bangladesh, we have given direction to all our troops and personnel deployed on Indo-Bangladesh border to remain on high alert and ensure that those armed BDR soldiers are not allowed to enter into our country," Kumawat told reporters.
Following are the major militant groups operating in Pakistan who could be behind the attack.
LASHKAR-E-TAIBA
Lashkar-e-Taiba or army of the pure is one of South Asia's largest Islamic militant groups, based in Pakistan and fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Security analysts say it is a well-funded and highly organised group that sympathises with al Qaeda.
A charity linked to the group was headquartered at Muridke town, outside Lahore, and most LeT fighters were drawn from surrounding Punjab province. Pakistan raided the group and shut down the charity after it came under pressure from India following the attacks in Mumbai in which nearly 170 people were killed.
India charged the group's founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and other senior members Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi and Zarar Shah for the attack. The group denied it was involved.
TEHRIK-E-TALIBAN
The Tehrik-e-Taliban is led by Baitullah Mehsud, an al Qaeda ally, and has been accused of being behind a wave of suicide attacks that have rocked Pakistan since mid-2007, including one that killed former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. The Tehrik-e-Taliban or Movement of Taliban, Pakistan, is a loose umbrella group of factions based in northwest Pakistan. Mehsud is based in the South Waziristan region. He is fighting to establish a puritanical Islamic society based on Sharia law.
JAISH-I-MOHAMMAD
This group, led by Maulana Masood Azhar, was banned along with Lashkar in 2002 following an attack on the Indian parliament. Like LeT, it carried out suicide attacks in Kashmir, but it has also been named for attacks in Pakistan. In March 2002, a Jaish fighter killed four people, including two Americans, in an attack on a church in Islamabad.
A Jaish connection was made to one of the assassination attempts on then President Pervez Musharraf in December 2003, and there was a Jaish presence at the Red Mosque uprising in Islamabad in 2007. Jaish members have also surfaced in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan. Pakistan said Masood was among those detained following the November attacks on Mumbai, but then denied he was being held.
BALUCH GROUPS
Several guerrilla groups are waging a low-key insurgency in gas-rich Baluchistan province on the border with Afghanistan. Some have taken responsibility for small attacks in Lahore in the past. A group calling itself the Baluchistan Liberation United Front (BLUF) claimed responsibility for the kidnapping of an American working for the United Nations a month ago. The attack on the Sri Lankan team is on a vastly different scale to anything carried out by any Baluch group.
OUTSIDE PAKISTAN - SRI LANKA'S TAMIL TIGERS
In Sri Lanka, official suspicion will fall on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a rebel group close to military defeat in northern Sri Lanka and which has a long history of carrying out deadly guerrilla attacks. There has been no clear evidence the Tigers have operations or links to Pakistan.
Pakistan has good relations with Sri Lanka and has given training and supplied arms to the Sri Lankan military fighting the Tamil Tiger rebels.
‘Mumbai terror visits Lahore’, read the headline of a story in the influential Dawn newspaper, whose editorial regretted that the attack had proved that even the ‘most esteemed guests are no longer safe in this country’.
"Assured of security, Sri Lanka chose to play in Pakistan when the cricketing world at large saw us as a pariah state. They chose to play in a country whose very mention invokes images of most gruesome violence imaginable in the minds of most foreigners," the editorial said.
‘The News’, in its editorial titled ‘Cricket, the requiem’, said the only thing that anyone could be sure of was that whoever attacked the cricket team ‘did not arrive by boat’.
Touching on the blame game after the attack, including suggestions of an Indian involvement, it said: "There is no shortage of highly competent, well-armed and trained groups within our own borders capable of such an operation".
While paying tribute to the policemen who saved the Sri Lankans, the Dawn's editorial said, "a security lapse did occur, officialdom's denials notwithstanding".
Referring to peace talks with Taliban in the Swat valley, it said that the assault highlights ‘the folly of negotiating with those bent on destroying with our way of life’.
Many in the Sri Lankan team were probably regretting the decision, the newspaper added.
Contending that no Pakistani militant or terrorist organisation bears a grudge against Sri Lanka, the editorial suggested that the attack was carried out by internal or external elements who wish to either destabilise the Pakistan government or to further isolate it internationally.
Noting that Tuesday's attack was carried out by individuals who have ‘received highly sophisticated combat training’, the ‘Dawn’ said their ‘approach was not dissimilar to that adopted by the Mumbai gunmen. Perhaps the same organisation is to blame for both tragedies’.
‘The News’ termed it ‘a carefully planned and executed attack, carried out by people who knew what they were doing, and who appear to have been well armed’.
Pointing out that within minutes a PPP politician told a private TV channel that 'this is clearly work of a foreign hand' the edit said, Pakistani militants ‘have no need of foreign assistance or money there are plenty of people here happy to finance them and offer logistical support’.
We were naive to feel safe in Pak: Sangakkara
Colombo In an article for the ‘Telegraph’, Sri Lankan batsman Kumar Sangakkara writes that in hindsight every player in the team was just too naive to think that they would not be attacked by extremists.
Recalling the incident, he said Tuesday started as just another day in Lahore: a morning report to the fitness trainer to check our hydration levels, a quick breakfast and cup of coffee and an 8.30 a.m. departure to the ground.
We were all looking forward to the third day's play of the second Test, and trying to win the series.
Our team bus left with three to four police cars in a convoy, with around 12 policemen and security officers. Along the route, road junctions were cleared and side roads closed to ensure we passed through the traffic easily.
Traffic came close but it was all routine and we did not feel threatened. Up until Tuesday there had been no hint of danger.
The guys were all having fun in the bus as we usually do, cracking jokes and sharing banter. Some were chatting about the first session and the need for early wickets, a couple of others were talking about Lahore shopping before our scheduled departure on Friday.
Then, as we approached the large roundabout before the Gaddafi Stadium, having used the same route for the third time, we suddenly heard a noise like a firecracker. The bus came to a halt and some of the guys stood to up to see what was happening. Then came the shout: "They are shooting at us!"
From the front I heard the shouts of "get down, get down" and we all hit the deck. Within seconds we were all sprawled along the floor, lying on top of each other and taking shelter below the seats. The gunfire became louder, we heard explosions (which I understand now were hand grenades) and bullets started to flash through the bus.
I was sitting next to Thilan Samaraweera and close to the young Tharanga Paranavitana, who was playing his first international series. For some reason I moved my head to get a better view and a spilt second later I felt a bullet fizz past my ear into the vacant seat.
Fortunately, as a team, we remained quite calm. No one panicked. After what must have been two minutes standing still we urged the driver to make a run for the stadium just a few hundred metres away: "Go, go, go" we shouted.
We owe our lives to Mohammad Khalil, the driver. The tyres of the bus had been shot out and he was in great danger, exposed to gunfire at the front of the bus. But he was hell bent of getting us to safety and, somehow, he got us moving again. Had he not acted with such courage and presence of mind in the face of incredible danger, most of us would have been dead.
Standing still we were sitting ducks. We only found out afterwards that a rocket launcher fired from the other side just missed us as we turned for the stadium gates, the rocket blowing up an electricity pylon.
Khalil saw a hand grenade tossed at us that failed to explode. Someone must have been looking over us because right now it seems a miracle we survived.
As we moved towards the stadium, Tharanga announced he was hit as he sat up holding his chest. He collapsed on to his seat and I feared the worst. Incredibly, the bullet hit his sternum at such an angle that it did not penetrate. He was fine. Shortly afterwards Thilan complained of a numbness in his leg, which we later found out was a bullet wound.
Thilan and Tharanga were the worst hit. Just before reaching safety I felt a dull ache in my shoulder. Shards of metal, shrapnel, were lodged in the muscle. After being quickly evacuated to the dressing room the paramedics attended to those with minor wounds. My cuts were cleaned.
Ajantha Mendis had several shards of metal removed from his head and neck after his hair was shaved off. Paul Farbrace, our assistant coach, had a large piece of shrapnel removed from his arm. Mahela Jayawardene had a minor cut to his ankle. After a while we started to calm down, and the phones started ringing.
We had always felt pretty safe in Pakistan, to be honest. It shows how naïve we were. We realise now that sports people and cricketers are not above being attacked.
All the talk that "no one would target cricketers" seems so hollow. Far from being untouchable, we are now prize targets for extremists. That is an uncomfortable reality we have to come to terms with.
In future, we need to consider carefully how to better tackle the issue of security in a new post-Lahore reality. Pushing the blame around between national boards, governments and the ICC right now will not help. We need to consider a more centralised system for assessing security and a more open sharing of security information – with the players and their representatives, as well as board and ICC officials.
From a Pakistan perspective, it is tragic this has happened. Pakistan is a great country with a strong cricket tradition and a very hospitable people. We like playing cricket there, but the presence of a small minority pursuing their own agendas at any cost will surely prevent tours for the foreseeable future.
Will we go back? Will I go back? When you have been through what we have experienced, when you have been targeted and hit by terrorists yourselves, coming back is a big question.
It cannot be answered now. I suspect, too, it can only be answered as an individual. Our families will never feel the same about us leaving to play in Pakistan. That is sad – for Pakistan and world cricket.
Wake up, stop supporting jehadis: British media to Pakistan
London (IANS): British newspapers Wednesday described Pakistan as a "failing state" and said it was time its politicians and generals stopped supporting jehadis, a day after a terror attack in Lahore killed eight people and wounded six Sri Lankan cricketers.
The Times described as "absurd" the initial claim by a Pakistani minister that the terrorists involved in Tuesday's attack were Indians.
"President (Asif Ali) Zardari's principal enemy is within and, until he and his ministers understand this, there is little chance that they will find the will and means to deal with the terrorist threat. India's assertion that Pakistan has done next to nothing to pursue the masterminds of the Mumbai attacks has proven all too true.
"No real effort has been made to disband Lashker-e-Taiba, the extremist organisation implicated in Islamist terrorism. Pakistan's initial denials of knowledge or responsibility have been grudgingly followed by a few token arrests - and, on past form, those held will be quietly released in a few months.
"The truth is that the army, the compromised Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency and the political establishment have shown no serious interest in confronting the Islamists. They have too many sympathisers in their own ranks to risk a crackdown and too many fifth columnists ready to tip off the terrorists."
"The generals must strip out misplaced support for jehadis," The Times added.
The Daily Telegraph said Tuesday's daylight attack showed Pakistan's decades old policy of "stoking the fire of Muslim radicalism" had come home to roost.
"And yet, what has been the reaction of those who run Pakistan? They blame America for dragging them into a war they do not want. They blame India for providing a launching-pad for terrorism."
"The state founded by Mohammed Ali Jinnah may be in extreme danger, but the security forces still harbour sympathy for its enemies, and the politicians continue to squabble, as if they had learned nothing from the failures of the previous period of democratic rule in the 1990s.
"It is no use blaming outsiders: the canker is within. Pakistan needs to wake up."
The left-wing Guardian described Pakistan as "a failing state", saying: "If there is a government in power, it is not obvious to its citizens."
"If this shooting does not galvanise Islamabad to take action nothing will," the paper said, adding "the alternative is foretold: regime change scripted or enacted by the army."
Dear young Friends,
The seeds of what you chose to call "Political Impasse" were sown long ago, when Jinnah's hands were forced by Nehru-Patel to accept Pakistan. Nehru did it by publicly repudiating the tripartite agreement between the British, the Congress and ML for a con-federal India, with only foreign affairs, defense, currency (not finance) and communications in the center, and all other portfolios/powers vested in the proposed three regions-1 what is Pakistan now plus East Punjab, 2 what is BD now plus Assam and west Bengal, and 3 the rest of the country.
Jinnah was left with a country with no industry, capitalists or institutions.
Bureaucrats took advantage of the conditions and took over the country. When they felt apprehensive, they handed over to the army. The army, rather than accept people's verdict conducted a scorched earth policy and surrendered the Eastern wing to India.
Bhutto took over West Pakistan and true to character and class demolished industry and finance. He took on the US, and was hanged by a General-Mullah.
Fates took care of the hybrid. We had musical chairs for 11 years, when the army intervened again. We have had another several months of musical chairs again.
The basic flaw in the foundations of Pakistan has been the domination of the feudal class (creation of the British), which has used bureaucrats (creation of the British), army (creation of the British) and Mullahs (collaborators of the British).
If you are good at it write a "mercia".
Dr. Syed Ehtisham
(607) 776-3336
Blog syedehtisham.blogspot.com
Feudalism, militarism, fundamentalism and bureaucrats constitute the evil Quad in Pakistan.
'The day when cricketers returned like soldiers'
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Arjuna Ranatunga
Posted: Mar 04, 2009 at 1659 hrs IST
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/The-day-when-cricketers-returned-like-soldiers/430804/
Colombo I never thought I would see the day when cricketers would return in the arms of their families as soldiers often do after a protracted battle at the front. But, sadly, this is what I saw on Wednesday when the Sri Lankan team returned home from Lahore.
It was around half past nine on Tuesday morning when I received a call from the (Sri Lankan) Prime Minister about the terrible incident unfolding in Lahore. For the next four hours, we were on open lines with the Pakistan authorities and our embassy in Islamabad.
We feared worst which thankfully was not the case. It has now been replaced by the gnawing feeling that it's cricket which is now fighting for its survival.
I, as a former cricketer and Board official, have often been confronted by the security issue in Pakistan. Last year, as President of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC), I took the call for the Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan. It wasn't an easy decision but the assurances from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), in consultation with the government, were comforting.
I personally went over and was delighted to see top-class security arrangements. The Asia Cup passed off without a hiccup. The players were happy too. I am not sure how the security issue between the Sri Lankan board and its Pakistan counterparts was handled this time around. A lot of uncomfortable questions would now be asked.
The next big issue confronting cricket in the sub-continent is on hand. Indian Premier League (IPL) is just a few weeks away. Auctions, transfers and security issues were being put in place. Now they would be up for review.
Foreign cricketers, in particular, would be questioning if the enormous sum of money on offer could replace the anxiety of family and sanguine advice of their managers. Such issues invite a herd-like reaction from human beings. Cricketers are no different.
A few walkouts, I fear, could open floodgates. And before you realise, the wheels of cricket would come to a stop. The Indian cricket Board and their government must present a unified, determined stance to the world.
Their intent and urgency is the key. Any dithering would only add to the insecurity of the visiting cricketers.
The issue is still hot. I hope it would cool down in the next few days. Cricketers and administrators can then think and decide with a clear mind. Cricket, especially in the sub-continent, can't afford to take another hit.
But then, is this only the responsibility of the sub-continent's cricket Boards and the governments to clear the mess? The issue might be at our doorsteps but the danger is no less alive for the rest of the world. Everyone needs to join hands to tackle terrorism.
It ought to be crushed with a heavy hand. We have actually seen a helicopter on a cricket pitch. It's symbolic of the gravest threat that has endangered the game we all love.
In the last few hours, I have watched the return of Mahela Jayawardene and his boys to the homeland.
Looking at the anxiety, tears and relief on the face of their families was overpowering. Cricket and war is now being talked in the same breadth. It's a sinking feeling, but we must rise together and take on this menace which confronts our game.
(Sourced by Press Trust of India)
Pakistan must explain Sri Lanka security failures
The Associated PressPublished: March 4, 2009
After the terror attack on Sri Lanka's cricketers, two things should happen: Pakistan must explain and fix the lapses in what should have been VVIP security for the visiting team and the sports world must be wary of the natural but knee-jerk reaction of wanting to cast Pakistan into the cold.
The risk otherwise is that terror will take another step forward — and not just in Pakistan.
How the nuclear-armed nation proved incapable of adequately protecting the Sri Lankans, who in hindsight were an obvious high-profile target, is foremost among the questions that Pakistan must now answer if it is to stand any hope of convincing sports people to return in the not-too-distant future.
Repercussions from Tuesday's assault are already spreading beyond cricket: Because of security concerns, the International Tennis Federation immediately postponed a tournament that was to have brought junior players from Thailand, India, Hong Kong and Singapore to play in Pakistan this month.
To be fair, police in any nation would probably have struggled against gunmen as determined, well-armed and well-trained as the dozen or so who peppered the Sri Lankans' team bus with bullets, wounding seven players, a Pakistani umpire and a coach from Britain. Casualties could have been far worse had a rocket and a grenade also fired at the bus not gone wide.
Today in Sports
Pakistan's hopes fade in international arenaWomen break into men's zone in TurkeyClassic tests under scrutinyThat six police officers were killed shows that the Sri Lankans weren't completely unprotected. Pakistan's Interior Ministry chief, Rehman Malik, says police provided "box security" — "three vehicles in rear, two vehicles on sides, two vehicles in front."
But police acknowledge that the visitors' bus, which was seemingly unarmored, took the same route for consecutive days from their well-protected Pearl Continental hotel in Lahore to the city's Gaddafi Stadium. The ambushers who attacked from several sides at a large traffic intersection near the ground clearly knew that the bus would pass and when.
Former England cricketer Dominic Cork, who was commentating on the match and who on Tuesday traveled a few minutes ahead of the Sri Lankans, says roads along the five- to 10-minute route weren't blocked off and were thick with traffic. After the attack, the assailants slipped away into the teeming city of 6 million people — leaving not just dead and injured but questions about whether cricket across the Indian subcontinent might be affected.
The Sri Lanka matches were something of a last chance for Pakistan, an opportunity to show other teams who had stayed away — which included just about everyone this past year except for lowly Zimbabwe and Bangladesh — that their security fears were overblown. Now, teams criticized for giving Pakistan a wide berth are feeling vindicated.
Pakistan's finest ever cricketer, Imran Khan, was naive to have said before he was proved horribly wrong Tuesday that terrorists would not target cricketers because the sport's legions of fans on the subcontinent would turn against them if they did. Khan is now an opposition politician and as quick to criticize Pakistan's government as he was with the ball as a right-armed fast bowler. Nevertheless, his allegations that the security measures for the Sri Lankans were "completely shameful" certainly need a convincing response.
"Most ministers have better security than the one provided to the Sri Lankan team," Khan said.
An immediate question was why attack sports people? Notwithstanding the assault by Palestinian militants that killed 11 Israeli Olympic team members at the 1972 Munich Games, the sports world has been relatively spared by terrorism. That lulled many into thinking that those who make their living with bat and ball were above the political fray, even in a region as crisscrossed by religious and political faultlines as Pakistan's.
The secularism of cricket provided moments of respite in the bitter nuclear-armed rivalry between India and Pakistan, in much the same way that British and German soldiers stopped killing each other to play an impromptu game of football in a Christmas truce in 1914 during World War I and "Ping Pong diplomacy" helped thaw relations between Mao Zedong's China and Richard Nixon's United States.
But the cross-border glue that cricket and sports can provide is perhaps one reason why the Sri Lanka team became a target. Extremists sow terror by proving that they will stop at nothing and that nothing — not even friendly sport — is sacred.
That is why the sports world must not cower in response. Doing so could encourage not just terrorists in Pakistan but elsewhere, too. The games, as at Munich in 1972, must go on. The long-term goal must be for international cricket to return to Pakistan, even if players are understandably scared to go there now and will want ironclad security guarantees before they do so again.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/03/04/sports/CRI-John-Leicester-040309.php
Pakistan's hopes fade in international arena
By Huw Richards Published: March 4, 2009
The attack in Lahore, Pakistan, on the Sri Lankan cricket team, in which eight people died, was surely the final blow to Pakistan's hopes of being host to international cricket in the near future.
This status was already precarious. The gunmen, who also wounded seven Sri Lankans on their way to the cricket match against Pakistan at the Lahore stadium on Tuesday, homed in on the single significant opponent still prepared to visit Pakistan. Sri Lanka has its own experience with terrorism and with visiting teams' either canceling tours or departing early because of security fears.
It will not be the first time Pakistan has suffered a drought of test cricket because of such worries. Sri Lanka was the first visitor to play test matches since October 2007. In that time Australia, West Indies and India all canceled visits, and the Champions Trophy, a one-day tournament second in importance only to the World Cup, was postponed. Earlier this decade home series against West Indies and Australia were played in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
This time the hiatus is likely to be much longer. Previous fears were that visiting players might be collateral victims, in the wrong place at the wrong time when terrorist attacks were aimed at others. Michael Roberts, a Sri Lankan academic based at the University of Adelaide, said at a conference held in that Australian city in late November that terrorist attacks had never been aimed specifically at players.
That has now changed. Whoever was responsible for the attack, there is no doubt of the intended target. Of the Sri Lankan players, two were wounded seriously enough to require hospital treatment: Tharanaga Paranavitana had shrapnel wounds to the chest, and Thilan Samaraweera needs a knee operation.
Today in Sports
Pakistan's hopes fade in international arenaWomen break into men's zone in TurkeyClassic tests under scrutinySri Lanka's wicketkeeper and vice captain, Kumar Sangakkara, who was hit in the shoulder by shrapnel, told ABC Radio, Australia, that the players might have been killed but for their bus driver, who "just kept driving the bus straight through all of that to the ground, and that's probably what saved us."
Cricket creates distinctive security issues. Matches go on for a very long time - players may be on the field for well over 30 hours in a five-day test match. Individual fielders in the deep can spend long periods isolated from other players but close to large crowds.
Once it can no longer be assumed that players will not be targets, these become worries.
The immediate response was the cancellation of the remaining two days of the second Pakistan-Sri Lanka test and the return home of the shocked and bloodied visiting squad.
A rookie batsman, Khurram Manzoor, who was 59 not out overnight, had hoped that Tuesday would see his first three-figure score for Pakistan. Instead, the 22-year-old might wonder if he will play another test innings on his native soil while he is much this side of 30.
New Zealand, due to be Pakistan's next visitor in December, had declared within hours that it will not come. Australia, due in 2010, is talking about seeking a neutral venue.
David Morgan, president of the International Cricket Council, which is customarily reluctant to alter schedules, said it "would have to consider carefully" Pakistan's role as co-host of the 2011 World Cup.
Pakistan has alternatives for its home tests. It can return to the Gulf - to Sharjah or the test standard ground close to the ICC's headquarters in Dubai. Australia has suggested that the series next year could be played in England, which has a large, cricket-conscious population of Pakistani descent.
As the ICC chairman, Haroon Lorgat, said, it is better to play on neutral grounds than not at all. Cricket has too narrow a base, with only 10 test nations - and Zimbabwe already sidelined - to write off a country. It will, though, make Pakistan a team of nomads and deprive its domestic audience of the chance to see the world's best players in live action, with potentially serious long-term consequences for the game's popularity.
A small thing, it might be argued, alongside the nation's other worries. Pakistan, though, cherishes cricket as much as Americans do baseball, football and basketball and most Europeans do soccer. It is an integral part of national life and identity. The victory in the 1992 World Cup was among the supreme moments in Pakistan's 62-year history as an independent nation.
Take any cherished activity away from a nation and its life is diminished. As it mourns the death of the Lahore victims, Pakistan will also fear losing something of itself.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/04/sports/CRICKET.php
Freedom Rider: Endless War
Submitted by Margaret Kimberley on Wed, 03/04/2009
Why are more Republicans happy with Obama's policies on government secrecy, wiretapping, non-withdrawal from Iraq, unqualified support for Israel and a host of other policies than most of the Democratic party's own base? What do they know that many of us don't, or perhaps do not wish to know?
“There will still be American troops in Iraq, up to 50,000 of them.”
If John McCain and other Republicans are happy about an Obama administration initiative and Democrats are not, it is safe to say that something very bad is taking place. That something is Obama’s announcement that he will continue the occupation of Iraq indefinitely.
Of course, the president didn’t actually use any of those words. In a speech delivered at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, President Obama announced, “…by August 31, 2010 our combat mission in Iraq will end.”
As always, the president chose his words very carefully. The parsing was so clever that it fooled many people into celebrating when there is no reason for joy. There will still be American troops in Iraq, up to 50,000 of them. “As I have long said, we will retain a transitional force to carry out three distinct functions: training, equipping, and advising Iraqi Security Forces as long as they remain non-sectarian; conducting targeted counter-terrorism missions; and protecting our ongoing civilian and military efforts within Iraq. Initially, this force will likely be made up of 35-50,000 U.S. troops.”
It isn’t clear how “conducting targeted counter-terrorism missions” will not be considered combat. Congressman Dennis Kucinich pointed out the obvious problem with the president’s words. “You cannot leave combat troops in a foreign country to conduct combat operations and call it the end of the war. You can’t be in and out at the same time.”
“Obama never expressed any intention of fully withdrawing from Iraq.”
Obama’s one time political rival, Republican senator John McCain, was extremely pleased with the president’s timetable and with the level of troop commitment. “I believe that the administration should aim to keep the full complement – 50,000, as briefed by Secretary Gates and Admiral Mullen – and not succumb to pressures, political or otherwise, to make deeper or faster cuts in our force levels.” While McCain and other Republicans waxed enthusiastically, Congressional Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi and Charles Schumer, who are not known for progressive politics, expressed concern about the number of troops scheduled to remain in Iraq.
While Democrats openly questioned the president’s policy, Republicans were enthusiastic supporters. During the presidential campaign John McCain was excoriated by Democrats when he said the United States should continue its presence in Iraq for 100 years. It was easy to sneer at the hapless McCain, but the Obama plan could lead to an American presence that may not last 100 years, but for a very long time nonetheless. The snickering directed at McCain should also have been directed at Obama, who never expressed any intention of fully withdrawing from Iraq.
His statement at Camp Lejeune was a repetition of his words on the stump as a presidential candidate. He reminded his foolishly smitten yet now disappointed supporters that he was an anti-war candidate only in their dreams. “Well, what I would say that is that they maybe weren't paying attention to what I said during the campaign.”
The damage done by the complete capitulation of many progressives to Obama is now bearing fruit. He is able to dismiss them and his own party without suffering any political damage. He said as much in a PBS interview with Jim Lehrer.
JIM LEHRER: You're not the least bit uneasy over the fact as John McCain and John Boehner, the Republican leader of the House, have praised your plan while the Democrats are criticizing it?
BARACK OBAMA: You know, I don't - I don't make these decisions based on polls or popularity. I make the decisions based on what I think is best.
In other words, the Democrats can go to hell. He doesn’t care what they think. He doesn’t have to care what they think because they gave him carte blanche to say and do anything he wanted during the campaign. McCain and Boehner are now his cheerleaders and Democrats have to be happy with whatever their leader deems to be acceptable.
“Many more will die in the name of fighting terror.”
Dennis Kucinich, among those who can be ignored, made another important point about the Obama plan. “We must bring a conclusion to this sorry chapter in American history where war was waged under false pretense against an innocent people. Taking troops out of Iraq should not mean more troops available for deployment in other operations.”
The other operation is of course in Afghanistan, where an additional 17,000 troops are headed. Afghanistan is also under occupation, its civilian population is the target of U.S. military action that has killed thousands of human beings. Many more will die in the name of fighting terror, and to benefit the same corporations that will turn their country into another cash cow for war profiteers.
Barack Obama proves that there is only one political party in this country when foreign policy decisions are being made. George W. Bush may no longer be in the White House, but because of capitulation to the Obama administration, his grand plan for endless war will be a reality for a very long time to come.
Margaret Kimberley's Freedom Rider column appears weekly in BAR. Ms. Kimberley lives in New York City, and can be reached via e-Mail at Margaret.Kimberley(at)BlackAgandaReport.Com.
http://www.blackagendareport.com/?q=content/freedom-rider-endless-war
THE WRITER IS A WELL KNOWN SCHOLAR. THIS ARTICLE IS WELL WRITTEN. IT EXPLAINS HOW IN MUSLIM HISTORY WORD "QITAL" MEANING " WAR" WAS REINTERPRETED AND CHANGED TO WORD "JIHAD" (WHICH IN THE QURAN MEANS INNER STRUGGLE), AND HOW ACQUISITION OF POWER BY MUSLIMS CHNAGED THEIR OWN VIEW OF ISLAM.
IMRAN
CENTRALITY OF JIHAD IN THE POST-QUR’ANIC PERIOD
Asghar Ali Engineer
(Islam and Modern Age, March 09)
Jihad in Islam has acquired centrality in history of Islam. In Qur’an it is not jihad but values like justice, compassion and forgiveness are more prominent. While these values are permanent and transcendent, war (for which Qur’an uses the word qital, not jihad) is contextual and defensive only when such situation arises. Rahmah (compassion) is quite central to Islam as it is one of the most prominent names of Allah. Compassion, in fact, is as central to Islamic value-system as in Buddhism. But then question arises why jihad, that too, in the sense of war, became so central to Islam? It is an important question and we must seek answer to this question in the history of Islam.
I think, the whole problem begins with the doctrine though not Qur’anic and which developed over a period of time, that in Islam religion and politics cannot be separated. This doctrine assumed great importance in Muslim countries and all sorts of rulers, monarchs, sultans and sheikhs exploited it to hilt to establish authoritarian regimes which violated all Qur’anic values.
This doctrine that religion and politics cannot be separated was result of religion becoming instrument of seeking power rather than seeking the truth (Haq). The most fundamental purpose of religion is seeking truth, not power. Though ideally power must be based on truth but it is not. Power often results in serious compromises with truth and hence truth is compromised in search of power.
Now the question is how religion in Islamic history came to be associated with power? When the Prophet (PBUH) died there was no state structure. All services were performed by the people purely voluntarily including war services and services for maintaining order in the society. It was purely people’s state, if at all we can call it a state. But after the death of the Holy Prophet the character of the state began to be transformed and by the time of 2nd caliph it acquired all the feature of a formal state structure.
Before we proceed any further we must note that when the Prophet of Islam began to preach in Mecca, Mecca was a stateless tribal society governed by tribal customs and traditions and through consensus of tribal chiefs in policy matters. There was no ruler or ruling class. It was tribal chiefs and traders who had formed their own inter-tribal trade corporations who wielded tremendous clout.
Thus it would be seen that Islam appeared in a society which had no state structure, no army, no policing services and no bureaucracy. Prophet’s mission was to cleanse the society of all moral corruption, obsession with material wealth, neglect of weaker sections of society and promoting belief in one God (tawhid) as belief in multiple gods in Arab society in general and in Mecca in particular, had resulted in mutual tribal conflicts and superstitious practices, some of which has been mentioned in the Qur’an.
Thus it was difficult to build unity among all the people who worshipped different gods and associated different practices and superstitions with different gods. It was also resulting in moral corruption. Accumulation of wealth also came under strong denunciation as it had divided society into rich and powerful and poor, weak and orphans and widows and slaves. These weaker sections of society had no human worth and dignity. They simply provided cheap source of labor.
Islam’s main concern was to promote belief in one God, build unity among all people irrespective of tribal and other affiliations and restore human dignity to all. Piety and moral rectitude, guaranteed nearness to Allah, not riches or tribal affiliations. The Prophet’s whole struggle was to set up such a society of good human beings and hence emphasized equality of all human beings, including of men and women, Arab and non-Arab, rich and poor. This was the main mission of Allah’s Messenger.
And it is for this precise reason that Qur’an made it obligatory for all men and women to enforce evil and contain evil. It is not state’s duty but an individual moral obligation in the Qur’an. This also shows there is no concept of state but concept of society. Also, it would be individual who would be responsible for his/her good or bad deeds before Allah. State’s function is to maintain law and order.
But after death of the Prophet (PBUH) there was no great moral authority to influence people and since there was no formal state structure, it became necessary to evolve a formal state structure. Since there was no available model among Arabs, much had to be copied from Persian and Roman state structures. As there was no fixed model of deciding as to who will head the new fledging state Muslim opinion got divided, some accepting Prophet’s son-in-law as head of the state appointed by the Prophet and some said the Prophet Abu Bakr to succeed him. Shi’ahs accepted Ali as successor and Sunnis Abu Bakr as successor to the Prophet to tackle the affairs of the new community.
Pursuit of power or building up a state was not and cannot be the purpose of any religion. In case of Islam it was mere historical circumstances that brought newly emerging religion and fledgling state together. Thus it cannot be treated as doctrine but historical coincidence. And it was struggle for power which sharply divided Muslims into two major sects and also it was power struggle which resulted in civil war after assassination of third caliph and more than 70 thousand Muslims died in the civil war.
This is the most tragic phase of early history of Islam. Though state had become historical necessity for Muslims in Madina which emerged as centre of power after the death of the Prophet (PBUH) its association with Islam was neither inevitable nor desirable. Pursuit for power, became the main preoccupation of many Muslims Rather than pursuit for truth and moral obligations.
Thus despite the doctrine of fusing religion with politics, urge for power remained strong rather than urge for moral rectitude and truth. Religion and religiosity did not dominate but urge for power did. Ultimately the institution of khilafah which was more democratic and was based on religious values to a great extent was soon replaced by feudal monarchy on the Roman and Sassanid pattern and monarchy was based only on power and religious element totally disappeared. It became dynastic rule first of Umayyads and then of Abbasids.
The first casualty of transformation of khilafah into monarchy was battle of Karbala which is great tragedy of early history of Islam. It was greed for power on the part of Yazid, son of first Umayyad ruler Mu’awiyah that led to martyrdom of Imam Husain, the grandson of the Prophet (PBUH). Husain stood for Islam and Islamic values and Yazid for power. It was Umayyad greed for power which resulted in killing of members of Prophet’s family.
It is unfortunate that these wars for power were often called ‘jihad’ and not only meaning of jihad which originally means struggle for truth was corrupted to mean war in the way of Allah. These wars were anything but war in the way of Allah. Qur’anic doctrine no where requires war with sword to spread Islam. So all conquests that took place had nothing to do with religion and were anything butjihad.
In fact the series of conquests begin with the 2nd Caliph Umar and Sassanid and parts of Roman Empire were conquered. Unfortunately we do not find much on reasons for these conquests in early sources. It was certainly not for spread of Islam or spread of truth. The text of treaties mentioned by Baladhuri, the author of Futuh al-Buldan clearly indicate that conquered people were not asked to convert to Islam but negotiated with them the terms of jizya, supply of military provisions, slaves etc. Nowhere they are invited to convert to Islam. If some people convert it was purely a voluntary act.
Yet for all these wars Tabari (the eminent historian) and others have used the term ‘jihad’ which no where comes near the sense in which Qur’an uses the term. The act of conquest was thus a political, not a religious act. The Prophet’s whole struggle (jihad) was for creating a new human being who would be morally upright imbibing values of Qur’an like justice, equality, compassion, wisdom, knowledge truth etc.
It is important to note that for this new human being Qur’an uses the word mu’min often translated as ‘believer’. But the Qur’anic termmu’min is far more comprehensive and refers to qualitative transformation of person’s inner being than simple belief. The Qur’anic termm’umin refers to a new human being fully transformed qualitatively who would be engaged with his society to fight all that is evil which leads to conflict, oppression and exploitation.
However this project of creating new human beings with inner qualities of heart and mind was seriously compromised with the pursuit of power. The word jihad which was originally meant for this inner struggle for moral transformation and creation of new human being, came to be used for wars of conquests and desire for more and more power. The Qur’an was basically addressing these issues of moral and ethical values and permitting war only in defense. This permission was also granted as rich and powerful of the Quraysh were against qualitative transformation of society as it seriously affected their powerful vested interests.
Their whole preoccupation was accumulation of wealth and this was not possible without exploitation and oppression and insensitivity to sufferings of weaker sections of society. The new human being, a mu’min would have been a great danger to their interests and hence they intensified their opposition to emergence of such a movement based on justice, equality and compassion which were central values of this newly emerging movement in Mecca.
When the Prophet (PBUH) migrated to Madina this movement still posed danger to kuffar (unbelievers, rejecters or opponents) of Mecca. They knew Muhammad (PBUH) would be safe and at ease in Madina and will consolidate this position. Hence they entered into an understanding with Jews of Madina who were also unhappy with the new community of believers which was becoming dominant posing threat to their interests (though much closer to them religion-wise but it is conflict of interests which mattered, not similarities of religion).
The kuffars of Mecca began attacking Madina to harass the Prophet and his followers and thus make success of the new movement most difficult, if not impossible. Thus Qur’an permitted Muslims to fight in the way of Allah those who fought against them (Muslims) but cautioned them not to be aggressors as Allah does not love aggressors. Thus no war could not be waged by Muslims unless attacked.
But most of the wars fought by Muslims after the death of the Prophet (PBUH) were not defensive wars as permitted by the Qur’an but aggressive or acquisitive. Moreover, Qur’an never used the word ‘jihad’ for war but it uses the word ‘qital’ for such wars. The word jihad had religious appeal and was used in the Qur’an and hadith for striving for good, for justice, for ushering in non-discriminatory, non-hierarchical society.
Since jihad had great religious appeal the word jihad began to be used for all such wars and that is how jihad began to be used very loosely by Muslim rulers and even wars of aggression and territorial aggrendisement began to be described as jihad by Umayyads and Abbasids and subsequently other rulers which multiplied with weakening of centralized Abbasid state from later part of 10th century onwards. Even when ambitious ruling dynasties of Muslims fought against each other it was called jihad.
Since these rulers were highly influential even among theological circles and subsequent generations were highly ignorant of original meanings of the Qur’anic words and terminologies, jihad ultimately came to be accepted as religious war and any war became religious war in subsequent history of Islam.
Islam had originally emerged among the community of traders and it had adopted a middle path and Qur’an had described Muslims asummatan wasatat (community of middle path). We also find in hadith literature that middle path is the best path morally and ethically and Muslims were urged to avoid either extremes. Middle path always leads to stability and extremism leads to turmoil and upheavals. Middle path, moreover is the most desirable path for a trading society which prefers stability and seeks to avoid extremes.
But with wars of conquests and expansions of empire, trading society was transformed into a community of warriors. Arabs did indulge into inter-tribal ghazwa (raids) but had no trained armies and the Quraysh of Mecca, who initially became principal opponents of Islam, were mostly traders and were not much interested in warfare. But when their interests were threatened, as pointed out above, they assembled some loosely fighting force and attacked Madina. But they had neither a trained army nor they intended one as they thought Muslims could be finished off with ease.
When parts of Roman Empire and Iran were conquered during Hazrat Umar’s time then also Muslims had no trained and disciplined army. Bedouins and Urban Arabs constituted loose fighting force and it was mere zeal and determination and also support of common oppressed people of these countries that they could win against powerful and well-trained armies. It was nothing short of miracle.
However, such miracles do not recur nor such enthusiasm and determination lasts for ever, and once Arabs tested political power they were tempted to acquire more and more power and gradually that became their preoccupation. Thus the nation of traders was transformed into nation of conquerors. Soon people of conquered countries began to embrace Islam for variety of reasons and they joined Muslims with their martial traditions.
Now Muslim ruling classes acquired all the traits of martial races with hierarchical feudal values and Islamic values began to be sidelined. Islam had laid great emphasis on equality and new martial cum feudal society replaced original Islamic society with its ownweltanschauung. The new society was hierarchical with emphasis on superiority of ruling class rather than of pious.
Compassion, mercy, benevolence wisdom were less important that war like virtues and ruthlessness of rulers. Exploitation and oppression are characteristics of those with lust for power and wealth. Centrality of compassion and mercy which are divine virtues was lost and centrality of war in the garb of jihad occupied its place. Islam became now religion of rulers rather than of the oppressed as in the Qur’an.
It was not something unique with Islam. Other religions like Christianity had met the same fate earlier. Christianity too was religion of love, compassion and peace during the time of the Christ and it again it was the poor and the oppressed who had adopted Christianity. Like in the Qur’an Bible also talked about the meek inheriting the earth. The Christians remained most oppressed for about two to three centuries.
However, when Roman emperor embraced Christianity its character was transformed and from religion of the oppressed it became religion of oppressors and subsequent history of Christianity is history of bloodshed and warfare. Its central values were also sidelined. Those who were sincerely religious among Christians began to live life of renunciation and retreats and isolation.
Likewise among Muslims there emerged a group of Sufis who equally resented warfare and bloodshed for political power among Muslims, especially among Umayyads and Abbasids initially and among other non-Arab Muslims subsequently and they too adopted simpler and what they considered as Islamic way of life. For Sufis therefore, real jihad was fighting against ones own desire and lust for power and they termed this jihad as jihad-e-akbar (the greatest jihad). They battled their own desire so that they could imbibe Islamic values and create a society based on compassion, justice and equality.
Their religion, unlike religion of rulers, was not religion of mere rituals but of values. For a ruling class religion is mere bundle of rituals but for those who resist lust for power and battle their own desire, religion is religion of values. For them all human beings are worthy of respect irrespective of their station in life and irrespective of their ethnic origin or religious persuasion. It is for this reason that people of different faiths and social status visit their hospices or graves.
Today in our own times jihad is being grossly misused by power seekers and modern highly destructive weapons like bombs are used to kill innocent people for their political struggle. This is what Qur’an calls fasad (when something goes beyond moderation and causes disorder and mischief), not jihad. Thousands of innocent people are being killed and many youth are made to lay down their lives in the hope of getting paradise in the life hereafter.
In fact these brainwashed youth, falsely enticed by powerful vested interests, waste their life and kill innocent people and cause so much mischief and destruction of life and properties (fasad). It is all because of the misuse of the Qur’anic term jihad which Qur’an uses for creating a just, peaceful and compassionate society sensitive to others suffering. In fact compassion in this sense is as central to Islam as in Buddhism or Christianity.
Now it is for those youth who are properly educated in Islamic values to dedicate themselves to promote compassion and respect for human life and stop monstrosities being committed in the name of Islam. It would be real jihad and it is this jihad which will earn the whole humanity paradise. A truly Islamic society will be one where all are free, free from fear, free from oppression and exploitation.
To pursue such a goal one has to use religion for pursuit of truth, not pursuit for power. When religion is used for pursuit for power, it results in bloodshed and war and when religion is used for pursuit of truth it results in peaceful and compassionate society. Unfortunately ruling classes use religion for pursuit of power by projecting themselves as champions and protectors of religion.
Those who use religion in pursuit of truth carry on their struggle and dedicate themselves for removing sufferings from society and make society humane and worthy of peaceful coexistence for all. Let us bring values of justice, equality, compassion and peace at the centre as it was intended by Islam.
---------------------------------------------------
Institute of Islamic Studies,
Mumbai.
E-mail: csss@mtnl.net.in
Israeli Spokeswoman Brags
About Controlling America
Daily.pk
2-5-9
"Another Israeli spokeswoman, Tzipora Menache, stated that she was not worried about negative ramifications the Israeli onslaught on Gaza might have on the way the Obama administration would view Israel. She said 'You know very well, and the stupid Americans know equally well, that we control their government, irrespective of who sits in the White House. You see, I know it and you know it that no American president can be in a position to challenge us even if we do the unthinkable. What can they (Americans) do to us? We control congress, we control the media, we control show biz, and we control everything in America. In America you can criticize God, but you can't criticize Israel."
Commenting on the latest Israeli one-directional onslaught against the Palestinians of Gaza Strip, the Israeli 10th TV channel has disclosed that the Israeli genocidal forces had used half of its air force and had launched at least 2500 air raids against Gaza Strip.
The television military correspondent stated that the Israeli warplanes had dropped more than a thousand tons of explosives, including white phosphorous and DIME (Dense Inert Metal Explosive) bombs, during three weeks on the virtually unarmed densely populated 360 square Kilometers Strip.
He added that the shells fired by tanks, artillery, gunboats, and infantry were not included in those fired by the air force.
After a whole week of continuous air bombardments Israel sent in its elite foot soldiers; 30,000 of them, and called in 10,000 of its reservists. Armed with the latest weapons of mass murder, covered with an umbrella of free reigning air force, and accompanied with raining shells of heavy artilleries, they drove their tanks into the civilian towns murdering civilians and destroying every structure in their path.
Living outside of Gaza one cannot fully understand the barbarity of this genocide especially when the Western media had barely covered any of its atrocity. To gain a slight idea of its enormity one should remember that, during the 6-days war of 1967, this same Israeli army was distributed on four fronts; Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, and Lebanese, and it was fighting regular armies. Now the whole brunt of this army is concentrated on a small strip against unarmed and untrained civilian population.
Latest official count was 1350 murdered, 40% of them were children, and 5300 were injured; mutilated and amputated. It was reported that 80% of the injured were the victims of burning phosphorous bombs. More dead are being discovered under the rebels, and many seriously injured are expected later on to die.
Israeli tanks had left several city blocks completely destroyed without any homes or structure standing. The tanks shelled homes and apartment towers. Due to the small size of Gaza Strip Palestinians had to build vertically. Many apartment towers went up 15-20 stories high with each story containing 6-8 apartments.
A total of 20,000 buildings were completely or partially burnt and damaged. The UN has reported that more than 50,000 Palestinians are left homeless and are now crowded into 50 emergency shelters.
An estimated of 50,000 more are living with relatives and in tents they erected on the ruins of their homes.
The Israeli bombardment targeted everything in Gaza including government buildings, police headquarters, banks and business offices, the main university, 67 schools sheltering civilians, shopping centers and market places, factories, water, sewer, and electricity infrastructures, private homes and apartment towers and charity organizations.
Farms, including their animals, were also targeted and hundreds of acres of crops and fruit groves were incinerated. Religious buildings, where civilians usually seek shelter, were specifically targeted. Israeli fighter planes had completely destroyed 41 mosques, and partially damaged 51 others. One church was also targeted. Even cemeteries were not spared; 5 of them were bombed.
Although the Israeli army was given the exact GPS co-ordinates of every UN structure, as asserted by Christopher Gunness, the UNRWA spokesman, Israeli F-16 planes had repeatedly dropped phosphorous bombed on UN schools knowing very well that hundreds of civilians had taken shelter there. At least 45 children and women were burnt and murdered there.
The UN headquarters in Gaza City was also hit with three, not just one, phosphorous bombs burning tons of humanitarian aid and food stuff. The fire kept on burning for three days. UN-flagged humanitarian convoy was also shelled killing one driver.
Medical centers and paramedics were not spared. The Red Crescent Al-Quds hospital in Tal el-Hawa neighborhood was hit by Israeli shells and caught on fire. Other two hospitals; Al-Wafa and Al-Fata hospitals, were also shelled, leading the World Health Organization to express its deep concern about the serious implications of such bombardments. 16 other smaller health clinics and 16 ambulances were also damaged. Medics were targeted and prevented from helping the injured. Ten of them, including two doctors, were murdered.
Media centers were particularly targeted. Local and international news reporters were prevented from entering Gaza. Those, who were able to enter, were directly targeted. The Al-Shuruq office tower housing several international and Arab media outlets was directly hit. Two cameramen working for Abu Dhabi TV were injured, while the offices of Reuters News Agency, Fox TV, Sky, and Al-Arabiya TV offices were damaged. Another raid had damaged the headquarter offices of Al-Resala newspaper.
Similar to all their previous wars the Israeli soldiers had committed massacres against Palestinian unarmed civilians. They have used internationally banned weapons such as phosphorous bombs, DIME, and depleted uranium, as reported by international physicians, eyewitnesses, and military experts. Israeli soldiers had mutilated the bodies of their victims to instill terror in the hearts of people hoping they will leave Gaza. Israeli soldiers herded many families in one building using them as human shield, and then later on bombed the building on top of them. They shot civilians, mainly children, directly and at point blank. The bodies of some children were found shot several times; as many as 18 bullets in the body of a 12 years old girl, and 12 bullets in the body of her 2 years old sister.
Israeli soldiers had wiped off whole Palestinian families. Al-Samuni family lost 11 members, Abu Aisha family lost 6, Batran family lost 6, al-Rayyan family lost 15 and al-Balousha family lost 5 sisters. Other families, too many to mention here, were either murdered or incinerated by the phosphorous bombs. The Israeli army has been carrying out a deliberate indiscriminate mass murder. During the first Intifada, 1987 - 1993, they murdered 1162 Palestinians. During the second Intifada, 2001- 2006, they murdered 5500 Palestinians. Now, in a short period of three weeks, they murdered 1350 Palestinians.
This onslaught is a holocaust since the many tons of phosphorous bombs, dropped on Gaza cities, had burnt civilians to the bones, burnt their homes and buildings, and burnt their fields and crops. This is the holocaust that the Israeli Deputy Defense Minister, Matan Vilnai, had threatened Palestinians with when he stated: "the more Qassam fire intensifies and the rockets reach a longer range, they will bring upon themselves a bigger shoah (holocaust) because we will use all our might to defend ourselves."
One cannot help but wonder how could a group of people, who claim to be the victims of a holocaust, commit another holocaust against another nation. What is it that feeds, perpetuates and intensifies this Judaic genocidal spirit although all Arabs, including Palestinians, had offered these Zionist Jews many agreements of coexistence, peace and security? The answer comes through their media outlets, through the words of their scholarly educators, and through the teachings of their Rabbis.
"All of the Palestinians must be killed; men, women, infants, and even their beasts" cries the religious opinion of Rabbi Yisrael Rosen, the director of the long-established Tsomet Religious Institute. He wrote that Palestinians are like the nation of Amalekites, who attacked the Israelite tribes led by Moses on their way to Jerusalem. He stated that the Lord sent down in the Torah a ruling that allowed the Jews to kill the Amalekites, and that this ruling is known in Jewish jurisprudence.
The Torah states: "Annihilate the Amalekites from the beginning to the end. Kill them and wrest them from their possessions. Show them no mercy. Kill continuously, one after the other. Leave no child, plant, or tree. Kill their beasts, from camels to donkeys." Rosen stated that Amalekites are not a particular race, but rather all those who hate and oppose the Jews; Christians and Muslims.
Many leading Israeli Rabbis support Rosen's views. Israel's former Sephardic Chief Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu advocated carpet bombing of Gaza stating that "there is absolutely no moral prohibition against the indiscriminate killing of civilians during massive military offensive on Gaza" (The Jerusalem Post, 30 May, 2007). His son Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu amplified his father's genocidal call stating: "if they don't stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand, then we must kill 10,000 and even a million"
Many Rabbis had argued that Palestinians in Gaza are not innocent civilians and that during war time it is not individuals but nations the Israelis are fighting. (It seems that Hitler had adopted this Telmudic teaching when he persecuted all European Jews)
Israeli educators, scholars, and politicians, openly, advocate the annihilation of all Palestinians. Dr. Nachum Rakover, a legal scholar, opined "They voted for killers and sent them to kill us. To call them (civilians) innocent is a tragic comedyS civilians are partners of the killers" Eli Yeshai, Israeli official in the Orthodox Shas party argued that "extermination of the enemy is sanctioned by the Torah" Many other politicians called for the need for "wiping off Gaza from the face of earth", and "annihilating of every moving thing there." The right-wing Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman proposed nuking Gaza following the US example when it dropped the atomic bomb on Japan during WWII.
This "ideology of annihilation" is by no means a minority opinion in Israel, but represents a mainstream in the Jews of Israel as well as Jews in the West (US). The popular attitude is "if it was right by God to order us to commit genocide during Biblical time, why can't it be right to commit genocide now. Has God changed his mind?" Indeed, the Judaic god is a racist genocidal god.
Watch and listen here to an example of how Israeli Jews are brainwashed and indoctrinated into the ideology of annihilation by their rabbis and scholars through Israeli media. Watch Max Blumenthal's videotape of a group of messianic Orthodox Jewish Chabad-Lubavitch exhibit this ideology in NYC in January 11, 2009.
The Israeli spokesman, Nachman Abramovic demonized Palestinian children stating "They may look young to you, but these people are terrorists at heart. Don't look at their deceptively innocent faces, try to think of the demons inside each of them S I am absolutely certain these people would grow to be evil terrorists if we allowed them to growS would you allow them to grow to kill your children or finish them off right now? S honest and moral people ought to differentiate between true humans and human animals. We do kill human animals and we do so unapologetically. Besides who in the West is in a position to lecture us on killing human animals. After all, whose hands are clean?"
Human animal mentioned by Abramovic refers to the Judaic religious belief that Jews are Gods chosen people; the elite and the pure-blooded, while all others (non-Jews, Goyim, gentiles) are animal souls incarnated into human bodies to serve the Jews. Killing a human animal is just a sport like hunting deer or birds.
http://www.daily.pk/world/americas/9334-israeli-spokesman
-says-we-control-stupid-americans.html
The Long, Dark Night of Pakistan
By FAWZI AFZAL-KHAN
Written on the eve of Women's History Month.
"I had a terrible dream yesterday with military helicopters and the Taleban. I have had such dreams since the launch of the military operation in Swat. My mother made me breakfast and I went off to school. I was afraid of going to school because the Taleban had issued an edict banning all girls from attending schools.
Only 11 students attended the class out of 27. The number decreased because of Taleban's edict. My three friends have shifted to Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi with their families after this edict.
On my way from school to home I heard a man saying 'I will kill you'. I hastened my pace and after a while I looked back if the man was still coming behind me. But to my utter relief he was talking on his mobile and must have been threatening someone else over the phone."
These are the words expressing the thoughts going through the mind of a 7th grade schoolgirl in Swat, as reported by the BBC online news on January 3rd, 2009.
Bill Roggio, reporting in The Long War Journal on February 18, 2009, tell us that since winning the election last spring, the Zardari-Gilani government has entered a series of peace agreements with the Taliban throughout the tribal areas and the settled districts of the Northwest Frontier Province, which includes Swat. “Between March and July of 2008, the government negotiated seven agreements with the Taliban in North Waziristan, Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Malakand, Mohmand, Khyber, Orakzai, and Hangu. Negotiations were also underway in South Waziristan, Kohat, and Mardan before fighting in Swat and Bajaur broke out, effectively ending the talks.” Thus, this latest round, which cedes control of Swat, a part of Pakistan proper (NOT the remoter badlands of the Tribal Frontier) is not without precedent. Except, that it bodes far worse than previous “agreements”—because Swat was never a tribal hinterland, it was quite well-developed, a tourist haven, with schools for girls and over 3,500 women teachers employed to teach them—all now without jobs, as the girls are without schools—a projected 110,000 girls will in the coming years be deprived of a basic education. Indeed, as Roggio goes on to describe:
The current Malakand Accord has granted the Taliban control over a region that encompasses more than 1/3 of the Northwest Front Province, effectively cementing the Taliban's control over most of the province and the tribal areas.
This means that
The Taliban's recruiting base has almost doubled, as has its taxation base. The Malakand Division, which is made up of the districts of Malakand, Swat, Shangla, Buner, Dir, and Chitral, has a population of more that 4.3 million, according to the 1998 census. The Taliban effectively control the tribal areas (population estimated at 6.5 million in 1998) and many of the bordering districts with millions more. The Taliban also have a strong presence or influence in nearly all of the other districts in the province.
The day I saw the NYT front page picture of the Malakand Accord being agreed to I cried. Senior cabinet members of the Pakistan government—all men—were seated side by side with bearded mullahs wearing the ubiquitous turbans-signifiers of extremists who burn girls schools, behead their opponents, and leave mutilated bodies of women they consider “un-Islamic” lying in town squares—like that of Shabana, a traditional dancing girl, reported killed on 12th January 2009, after defying the Taliban’s ban on dancing. Shabana’s bullet-ridden body was found slumped on the ground in the centre of Mingora’s Green Square, strewn with money, CD recordings of her performances and photographs from her albums, and local Taliban claimed responsibility stating over their illegal radio station (which broadcasts Maulana Fazlullah’s, the ruling cleric’s edicts regularly) that the same or worse fate would befall any other such woman daring to perform “un-Islamic” activities.
How, I asked myself, could the government of Pakistan, cede control of Pakistan’s “Switzerland”—that peaceful valley of fruit orchards and beautiful streams and lakes surrounded by majestic mountains, a favorite spot for local and western tourists alike—to men bent on turning heaven on earth into living hell? If these Pakistani Taliban—here led by the father-in-law of Maulana Fazlullah, Sufi Mohammad, responsible for proudly leading hundreds of young men to their deaths in adjoining Afghanistan on jehadi missions–could claim a swath of territory as large as Delaware and as near to Islamabad as a mere 100 miles—what did that mean for the rest of Pakistan’s future? What especially would it mean for Pakistani women---most of whom—like women anywhere else in the world-- like to dance, sing, talk, work in offices, in the fields, wear colorful clothes, smile, laugh, show off dozens of colorful glass bangles on their slender arms, nose-rings on their wheat-complexioned faces, sometimes hide behind the burqa, at others flaunt their beauty in public places or private, study, go to school, to college if they are lucky, have dreams of becoming somebody the world can respect, help deliver babies, tend to the sick and dying, fly in the sky, no shame for the sun.....become lovers, wives, mothers, teachers, artists, doctors, lawyers, activists, performers, politicians...the list goes on. What will become of them if....I shudder. The thought is too terrible to name.
But my reaction is perhaps precisely the ostrich-with-its-head-in-the-sand mentality that has gotten Pakistan and Pakistanis into the ditch they’re in now, without much hope of being able to clamber out of it...indeed, if Swat is any indication, the ditch is about to get bigger. Instead of facing the Taliban threat head-on, acknowledging it for what it is, too many of my Pakistani brethren, of the secular, progressive, liberal middle-class intelligentsia kind—have ducked the Talibanization of Pakistan question for decades. Theirs—and especially the even more-westernized upper classes’ response—has been that of the proverbial blind man: see no evil. “Pakistan is a moderate country, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda are foreign imports---they command no base of real support amongst our sensible citizens. You, dear Fawzia, are a victim of American propaganda---what is this Taliban-are-coming-scare you keep ranting about?” Then, changing tracks, the same group of self-appointed intellectuals would proclaim: “If there is any problem here, its because of the d-d Americans—their drone bombs and their continuous interference in the affairs of our country is what has led to this situation...people are angry at them, that is why they—some of them—are turning to the Taliban. If the Americans would stop escalating their war in neighboring Afghanistan and dropping bombs on our people in the Northern areas—well, this craziness would stop.”
My friends on the left here in the US paradoxically enough, spout the same rhetoric as these bourgeois Black-label drinking liberals of Lahore, Islamabad and Karachi. Everything is America’s fault. I myself seem to shuttle between views...at times extraordinarily angry at US interference and its continuing Imperialist Great Game for oil, gas and access to the Arabian Sea in that region, and at others, enraged and horrified and immensely sad all at once at the blindness, the folly, the refusal to think straight and clear and take responsibility for one’s own shortcomings and growing intolerance coupled with complete bankruptcy of any morals or principles worth fighting for within the Pakistani polity. What to do? Keep raising my voice with other peace activists here to Stop All Wars, Stop Troop Escalations, Stop Drone Bombings---or urge for more weapons to be provided to Pakistani troops and to Pakistani citizens to fight against what is inevitably coming if the Pakistani government keeps capitulating---a confrontation with the local Taliban? Does anyone seriously think dialogue and reconciliation talks with these diehard fundos is going to help restore peace and equilibrium to such a severely damaged, unequal society as Pakistan’s?
Shuja Nawaz , in a report written for the CSIS (Center for Strategic and International Studies, Washington DC) in January 2009, stipulates
Although the major responsibility for action rests with Pakistan, it is imperative that the new US administration understands the gravity of the situation and the importance of helping Pakistan and Afghanistan to win back and empower the people of FATA and the bordering Afghan provinces. This can be possible only with a concerted and concentrated effort to improve their lives and help them resist successfully the inroads of militancy, religious extremism and global terrorism that have made a home in that area and are spreading into the settled areas of the North\West Frontier Provinces.
How does one set about “improve[ing] the lives” of these people so they don’t fall into Taliban hands? While Shuja Nawaz definitely claims the importance of a political solution—one rooted in creating a better educational infrastructure, a better and more responsive judicial system, and above all, employment opportunities for disenfranchised youth both within FATA and in NWFP and adjoining areas—he does not rule out the need for continuing military action against the extremists.
This is where the rub is—for me, as well as many like me who do not see military solutions as solutions at all. And yet—if secular-minded people do not fight against those who have arms and show no compunction in using them to challenge the writ of the law and state, and to enforce Shariah law over all of Pakistan—and beyond—as Sufi Mohammad, the Swati leader of the Tehrik-i-Nafiz-i-Shariateh-Mohammedi (TNSM) has stated in countless interviews---then what other short-term alternative is there to the Taliban challenge? How else, except through an armed counter-counter-insurgency can one support the majority of the citizens of NWFP who voted overwhelmingly in the 2008 elections for the secular ANP and PPP parties against the Islamist MMA? In other words—if the insurgents are the Taliban and al Qaeda in these northern regions of Pakistan, and the counter-insurgents are the inept Pakistani army troops (helped along by US commandos and drone strikes)—then the counter-counter-insurgents are the real people, the local residents of these areas, the majority of whom want what we all want—a life of peace and a modicum of prosperity for themselves and their progeny.
It is to these poor people that our help and our solutions should be directed, to help us win a battle of minds, not mines. Many of them, disheartened by the lawlessness and poverty of their daily lives, are turning in desperation and often in fear to the Taliban militia who both threaten them and also provide them with food and social services and some form of rough and ready justice. It seems more and more impossible to envision getting to a place of peace and justice for all, without a fight to the bitter end. I can see the heads rolling in my nightmares, in the beloved country of my youth, so far away....and yet, so near.
Fawzia Afzal-Khan is a Professor in the Department of English at Montclair State University in New Jersey. She can be reached at: khanf@mail.montclair.edu
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia.html
"The Ultimate Aim is the Transfer of Arab-Israelis"
Ethnic Cleansing and Israel
By CONN HALLINAN
One of the more disturbing developments in the Middle East is a growing consensus among Israelis that it would acceptable to expel—in the words of advocates “transfer”—its Arab citizens to either a yet as unformed Palestinian state or the neighboring countries of Jordan and Egypt.
Such sentiment is hardly new among Israeli extremists, and it has long been advocated by racist Jewish organizations like Kach, the party of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, as well as groups like the National Union, which doubled its Knesset representation in the last election.
But “transfer” is no longer the exclusive policy of extremists, as it has increasingly become a part of mainstream political dialogue. “My solution for maintaining a Jewish and democratic state of Israel is to have two nation-states with certain concessions and with clear red lines,” Kadima leader and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told a group of Tel Aviv high school students last December, “and among other things, I will be able to approach the Palestinian residents of Israel, those whom we call Israeli Arabs, and tell them, ‘ your national solution lies elsewhere.’”
Such talk has consequences.
According to the Israeli Association for Civil Rights, anti-Arab incidents have risen sharply. “Israeli society is reaching new heights of racism that damages freedom of expression and privacy,” says Sami Michael, the organization’s president. Among the Association’s findings:
Some 55 percent of Jewish Israelis say that the state should encourage Arab emigration;
78 percent of Jewish Israelis oppose including Arab parties in the government;
56 percent agree with the statement that “Arabs cannot attain the Jewish level of cultural development”;
75 percent agree that Arabs are inclined to be violent. Among Arab-Israelis, 54 percent feel the same way about Jews.
75 percent of Israeli Jews say they would not live in the same building as Arabs.
The tension between Israeli democracy and the country’s Jewish character was the centerpiece of Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu Party’s campaign in the recent election. His party increased its Knesset membership from 11 to 15, and is now the third largest party in the parliament.
Lieberman, who lives in a West Bank settlement near Bethlehem, calls for a “loyalty oath” from Arab-Israelis, and for either expelling those who refuse or denying them citizenship rights. During a Knesset debate last March, Lieberman told Arab deputies, “You are only temporarily here. One day we will take care of you.”
Such views are increasing, particularly among young Jewish Israelis, among whom a politicized historical education and growing hopelessness about the future has fueled a strong rightward shift.
In a recent article in Haaretz, Yotam Feldman writes about a journey through Israel’s high schools, where students freely admit to their hatred of Arabs and lack of concern about the erosion of democracy.
“Sergei Liebliyanich, a senior, draws a connection between the preparation for military service in school and student support for the Right” Feldman writes, “‘ It gives us motivation against the Arabs. You want to enlist in the army so you can stick it to them…I like Lieberman’s thinking about the Arabs. Bibi [Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the rightwing Likud Party] doesn’t want to go as far.”
Feldman polled 10 high schools and found that Yisrael Beiteinu was the most popular party, followed by Likud. The left-wing Meretz Party came in dead last.
In part, the politicalization of the education system is to blame.
Mariam Darmoni-Sharviot, a former civics teacher who is helping implement the 1995 Kremnitzar Commission’s recommendations on education and democracy, told Feldman, “When I talk to a civics class about the Arab minority, and about its uniqueness in being a majority that became a minority, my students argue and say it’s not true that they [Arabs] were a majority.” She said when she confronted teachers and asked why students didn’t know that Arabs were a majority in 1947, the teachers become “evasive and say it’s not part of the material.”
In part, students reflect the culture that surrounds them.
“Israeli society is speaking in two voices,” says Education Minister Yuli Tamir. “We see ourselves as a democratic society, yet we often neglect things that are very basic to democracy…If the students see the Knesset disqualifying Arab parties, a move that I’ve adamantly opposed, how can we expect them to absorb democratic values?”
All the major Israeli parties voted to remove two Arab parties, United Arab List-Ta’al and Balad, from the ballot because they opposed the Gaza war. Balad also calls for equal rights for all Israelis. Kadima spokesperson Maya Jacobs said, “Balad aims to exterminate Israel as a Jewish state and turn it into a state for all its citizens.” Labor joined in banning Balad, but not Ta’al.
The Israeli Supreme Court overturned the move and both parties ended up electing seven Knesset members in the recent election.
“The ultimate aim here,” says Dominic Moran, INS Security Watch’s senior correspondent in the Middle East, “is to sever the limited ties that bind Jews and Arabs, to the point that the idea of the transfer of the Arab-Israeli population beyond the borders of the state, championed by Yisrael Beiteinu, gains increasing legitimacy.”
This turn toward the Right also reflects an economic crisis, where poverty is on the rise and the cost of maintaining the settlements in the Occupied Territories and Israel’s military is a crushing burden. Peace Now estimates that the occupation costs $1.4 billion a year, not counting the separation wall. Israel’s military budget is just under $10 billion a year. According to Haartez, the Gaza war cost $374 million.
Some 16 percent of the Jewish population fall below the poverty line, a designation that includes 50 percent of Israeli Arabs.
“The Israeli reality can no longer hide what it has kept hidden up to now—that today no sentient mother can honestly say to her child: ‘ Next year things will be better here,’” says philosophy of education professor, Ilan Gur-Ze’ev. “The young people are replacing hope for a better future with a myth of a heroic end. For a heroic end, Lieberman fits the bill.”
Intercommunity tension manifests itself mainly in the Occupied Territories, where the relentless expansion of settlements and constant humiliation of hundreds of Israeli Army roadblocks fuels Palestinian anger.
This past December, settlers in Hebron attacked Palestinians after the Israeli government removed a group of Jewish families occuping an Arab-owned building. In response, the settlers launched “Operation Price Tag” to inflict punishment on Palestinians in the event the Tel Aviv government moves against settlers. Rioters torched cars, desecrated a Muslim cemetery, and gunned down two Arabs.
Settler rampages on the West Bank are nothing new, even though they receive virtually no coverage in the U.S. media. But a disturbing trend is the appearance of extremist settlers in Israel. Late last year Baruch Marzel, a West bank settler and follower of Kahane, threatened to lead a march through Umm al-Fahm, a largely Arab-Israeli town near Haifa.
“We have a cancer in our body capable of destroying the state of Israel,” Marzel told The Forward, “and these people are in the heart of Israel, a force capable of destroying Israel from the inside. I am going to tell these people that the land of Israel is ours.”
Arab-Israelis charge that settlers—some of them extremists re-settled from Gaza three years ago— played a role in last year’s Yom Kippur riots in the mixed city of Acre and forced Arab families our of their houses in the east part of the city. Arabs make up about 14 percent of Acre and 20 percent of Israel.
Rabbi Dov Lior, chair of the West Bank Rabbinical Council, has decreed, “It is completely forbidden to employ [Arabs] and rent houses to them in Israel.”
The Adallah Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights is urging Israeli Attorney General Mernachem Mazuz to investigate “Wild incitement to racism against Arabs in general and the [Arab] residents of Acre in particular.”
On Oct. 15, three days after the Acre riots, two Arab apartments in Tel Aviv were attacked with Molotov cocktails. Seven Jewish men were arrested. The Arab residents of Lod and Haifa charge that they too are being pressured to move.
In the case of Lod, municipal authorities are open about their intentions. Municipal spokesman Yoram Ben-Aroch denied that the city discriminates against Arabs, but told The Forward that municipal authorities want Lod, to become “a more Jewish town. We need to strengthen the Jewish character of Lod and religious people and Zionists have a big part to play in this strengthening.”
However, the growing lawlessness of West bank settlers and Jewish nationalists has begun to unsettle the authorities in Tel Aviv. After rightwing extremists tried to assassinate Peace Now activist Professor Zeev Sternhell, Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin said the intelligence organization was “very concerned” about the “extremist right” and its willingness to resort to violence.
Even Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said “We are not willing to live with a significant group of people that has cast off all authority,” and called Operation Price Tag a “pogrom.”
So far, however, the government and Shin Bet have done little to rein in the rising tide of rightwing terror, which is aimed at Jews as well as Arabs.
Ahmad Tibi of the Arab Ta’al Party says that while Arab Israelis feel threatened by what Ben Gurion University political scientist Neve Gordan calls a “move toward xenophobic politics,” Tibi warns that, “It is the Jewish majority that should be afraid of this phenomenon.”
Readers might want to subscribe to Jewish Peace News at jpn@jewishpeacenews.net for a very different picture of Israel than most Americans get.
Conn Hallinan can be reached at: ringoanne@sbcglobal.net
http://www.counterpunch.org/hallinan03032009.html
New conspiracy against Bangladesh
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
Right after the mutiny by Bangladesh Riffles [BDR] troops, which is partially resolved by now only at its Head Quarters in Dhaka, some vested interest groups are becoming increasingly active in putting bad names on Bangladesh Army by saying, “they are corrupts, violators of rules and abusers of human rights”. Such campaign is aimed at stopping the participation of Bangladesh Army in the United Nations Peace Keeping Force.
Some so-called intellectuals in Bangladesh are also joining their voice against Army and are trying to give justification to the heinous crime committed by the mutineer BDR troops.
Bangladeshi Economist Anu Muhammad saw the rebellion of BDR soldiers as a “class revolt though the cruelty in it was extreme”.
“Discrimination was going on in the regimented forces for long and people had accepted it for sometime. But the situation began altering with the changes in society, as the soldiers in the forces were part of the society’s subaltern section,” he said.
Playwright and cultural activist, Mamunur Rashid said “it was the most shocking event for the nation. What the Bangladesh Rifles members have done is not right although it was clear that the repression by officers reached an intolerable level. But I think the government has to go deep into the matter that led the soldiers commit such cruelty.”
My personal analysis is the statement by both Anu Mahmud and Mamunur Rashid are designed in indirectly justifying the criminal actions by the mutineer BDR troops.
In a television talk show, former military officer turned political leader General [Retired] C. R. Dutta said, “The BDR revolt is the outburst of their decade old accumulated anger.”
Here again, General Dutta tried to defend the notoriety of BDR troops.
Meanwhile, public sentiment is growing increasingly against the killing and atrocity by the mutineer BDR troops. No grievances can justify a mutiny and killings by a disciplined force anywhere in the world and those who murdered officers at the BDR headquarters should be tried under the laws of the country.
The general sentiment of the people and defence personnel on Thursday turned strongly against the BDR mutineers as news and pictures of the brutal killings of army officers started to emerge in newspapers and on television channels. The bodies recovered from sewage system bore marks of utter brutality. The bodies were mutilated by gunshots and bayonet charges and ruthlessly dumped in the sewage system.
Commenting on Prime Minister’s general amnesty to the mutineer troops, defense experts said, “It's globally common ethics not to support any mutiny or terrorist acts."
"If there are grievances, there are many other civilised ways to express that. If mutiny is justified, it would then simply welcome terrorism. While amnesty may be acceptable for the general mutineers considering that there could be more bloodshed otherwise, those who committed the murders should be tried under the laws of the land. They cannot be pardoned.”
Commenting on the mutinee, some said, the way the killings took place surely indicates that there was a hardcore element, which wanted to give the mutiny a worse shape. The group, their relationship and linkage should be brought into light through proper and professional non-partisan investigations. The government should look into the fact seriously.
The rebellion by a section of soldiers against the officers at the Pilkhana head quarters of the Bangladesh Rifles in the capital Dhaka, which started Wednesday morning and continued late into Thursday afternoon, has put the country in a grave crisis. The members of the paramilitary BDR constantly guard our national borders in difficult situations while the members of the armed forces have been raised to defend our national territory as and when attacked; our nation-state badly needs these two forces to maintain healthy relations. After the revolt in BDR, entire bordering areas of Bangladesh are in extreme security lacking and there are reports of strengthening of security measures by our neighboring nations as well as deploying special commandos for unknown but assumable reason.
Now, let me point to a number of extremely important but very crucial issues, which the government needs to address forthwith.
When the notoriety inside BDR headquarters was continuing, although all the private television channels were covering the incident, state-owned Bangladesh Television was busy in broadcasting entertainment program, as if nothing happened in the country. Such senseless behavior of Bangladesh Television is not only a serious offense by its staffs but the information ministry itself. It may be mentioned here that the information secretary was just removed from his job only a week back for writing a notoriously abusive poem on Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and members of his family. Bangladesh Television [BTV] is under the information ministry. Many believe that, BTV’s roles might have been intentional to put the government into questioned position.
After dead bodies of army officers came out through the sewerage line at Kamrangirchar in Dhaka, their bodies were laid down on ground and members of law enforcing agencies called local people to load the bodies into trucks in a very dishonorable manner.. The law enforcing agencies should have used stretchers to honorably shift the bodies to the trucks. Secondly, none of the representatives of the government visited that spot right after recovery of the bodies. Bangladesh Television was again continuing its all entertainment and fun programs, thus not even showing a special scroll of condolence on its screen.
The BDR mutiny was not a mere instant incident. No way! It is very well planned and well organized notoriety, where many kingpins are involved from behind the scene. It was also reported that on the previous night of the mutiny, leaflets were distributed amongst the troops of BDR. They even collected the red and yellow color mask and bandana much ahead of it. So, they were absolutely prepared for the revolt and murder of 146 army officers, in a planned way to create a vacuum right within our armed forces. Moreover, some of the mutineer soldiers were terming the Prime Minister as “Amader Netri” [Our leader]. To a soldier, how the PM turns into a leader? Moreover, most of the mutineer troops were appearing before the mass media without any musk, while they knew, their faces will be seen by the television viewers and others concerned. Were they already sure of any general amnesty, much before any government delegation met them?
And, most interestingly, why the government decided to send Jahangir Kabir Nanak, MP and Mirza Azam, MP to Bangladesh Riffles headquarters as their first representative for negotiations? Why not any senior leader like Tofael Ahmed or Suranjit Sen Gupta. Or senior minister like Motia Chowdhury? Any special reason? Did these two leaders have some contact points already inside BDR?
Bangladesh government must make necessary arrangements for burial of the killed officers with due respect and honor. They should be accorded the honor of national heroes. Moreover, the government definitely should identify the entire conspiracy behind such brutality. There should also be proper investigation on the cases of rapes inside the BDR headquarters during 30-hour mutiny. And finally, the government should do everything in stopping anti-army propaganda inside and outside Bangladesh by various elements.
Armed forces are the guards of our sovereignty. They have been sacrificing lives since independence of this country. Many officers sacrificed their lives during the war of independence. Dignity and prestige of this institution should be upheld under any circumstance. There should not be any compromise in this regard!
Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury is the Editor & Publisher of the Weekly Blitz (www.weeklyblitz.net)
Breaking News and Commentary from Citizens For Legitimate Government
03 Mar 2009
http://www.legitgov.org/
All items are here:
http://www.legitgov.org/#breaking_news
'Theory of presidential dictatorship' Bush administration memos on presidential powers stun legal experts --Congress had prohibited the use of torture by U.S. agents, and said "no citizen shall be imprisoned" in this country without legal charges. The memos said neither law could stand in the way of the president's power as commander in chief. 03 Mar 2009 Legal experts said Tuesday that they were taken aback by the claim in the latest batch of secret Bush-era memos that the president alone had the power to set the rules during the war on of terrorism. Yale law professor Jack Balkin called this a "theory of presidential dictatorship. They say the battlefield is everywhere. And the president can do anything he wants, so long as it involves the military and the enemy."
OLC Authorized Pentagon to Ignore Bill of Rights On U.S. Soil By Daphne Eviatar 02 Mar 2009 In an October 2001 memo released today, then-Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Office of Legal Counsel John Yoo advised the Pentagon’s top lawyer that the president may not only deploy the military within the United States, but it may ignore the Bill of Rights in the process of doing so. Yoo and special counsel Robert Delahunty wrote to Defense Department general counsel William Haynes that the president has "ample constitutional and statutory authority to deploy the military against international or foreign terrorists operating within the United States," and that the use of military force "need not follow the exact procedures that govern law enforcement operations."
Department of Justice Releases Nine Office of Legal Counsel Memoranda and Opinions 02 Mar 2009 The Department of Justice today released two previously undisclosed Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memoranda and seven previously undisclosed opinions. "Americans deserve a government that operates with transparency and openness," said Attorney General Eric Holder.
CIA destroyed terror interrogation tapes --The CIA has admitted to destroying 92 videotapes of interrogation sessions with terrorist suspects. 02 Mar 2009 The revelation that far more tapes had been destroyed than previously acknowledged came in a letter filed by US government lawyers in New York. The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit seeking more details of the Bush regime's terror interrogation programmes following the September 11 attacks.
'Impossible' to set date for Afghan withdrawal: Gates 03 Mar 2009 US Defense Secretary Robert Gates [Bush war criminal, retained by Obama] said on Tuesday it was far too early to set a date for the withdrawal of international troops from Afghanistan, where NATO faces a growing insurgency. "We would all like to have a situation in which our mission in Afghanistan has been completed and we can bring our troops home. I do not see that happening anytime in the near future," Gates told a news conference with his French counterpart, Herve Morin.
Murtha says Afghanistan plan lacks goal 03 Mar 2009 Rep. John Murtha said Tuesday the situation in Afghanistan is so challenging that he estimated it would take 600,000 troops to fully squelch violence in the country. The Pennsylvania Democrat, who chairs the powerful subcommittee that funds the military, said his figure was based on the country's history of rigorous fighting and its size.
'Suspected' U.S. Airstrike Kills 7 in Pakistan 02 Mar 2009 Suspected U.S. missiles killed seven people in a Taliban stronghold in Pakistan on Sunday, officials said. The missile strike underscored the Obama administration's unwillingness to abandon a Bush-era tactic, despite persistent Pakistani protests. The missiles landed in Murghiban village in the South Waziristan tribal region and wounded three people, two Pakistani intelligence officials said.
US soldier killed in attack on base in Iraq 03 Mar 2009 'Insurgents' attacked a main U.S.-Iraqi base Tuesday in the northern city of Mosul, killing one American soldier and striking directly at the Iraqi command center for an offensive against the militants.
KBR Posts $88 Million Fourth-Quarter Profit 03 Mar 2009 Engineering and construction firm [terrorists] KBR Incorporated has reported a fourth-quarter 2008 net income of $88 million, up 23.9% year over year, on strong revenue across the board, especially in the Services business unit. Net income for the year totaled $319 million, compared with $302 million in 2007.
Cheney Deposition Is Ordered in Lawsuit by Protester 03 Mar 2009 Former Vice President [sic] Dick Cheney will have to give his account -- under oath, in a legal deposition -- of what happened at a Colorado ski resort in June 2006 when a man stepped up to protest the Iraq war and was arrested, a federal district judge ruled Monday. The protester, Steven Howards, sued five Secret Service agents in Mr. Cheney’s security detail after the encounter at the Beaver Creek resort.
Iran "not close" to nuclear weapon: Gates 01 Mar 2009 Iran is not close to having a nuclear weapon, which gives the United States and others time to try to persuade Tehran to abandon its suspected atomic arms program, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Sunday. "They're not close to a stockpile, they're not close to a weapon at this point, and so there is some time," Gates said on NBC television's "Meet The Press."
Russia hails new US tone on missiles 04 Mar 2009 Russia and the US yesterday dismissed suggestions of a "quid pro quo" deal on Washington's missile defence plans for central Europe. But, speaking after it was revealed that Barack Obama had sent Dmitry Medvedev a letter discussing the topic, the countries' presidents stressed improved prospects for co-operation.
Pakistani police 'were warned' of terror attack on Sri Lankan cricketers 04 Mar 2009 Pakistani police have been accused of having strong intelligence well in advance of yesterday's terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team but failing to deploy forces along the team's route. Opposition politicians and Pakistani media made the claims as the Sri Lankan team arrived home for treatment in Colombo and to reunite with relieved relatives.
Pakistan declares: 'We are at war' --Pakistan in shock [?] after masked gunmen ambush Sri Lankan cricket team, leaving seven people dead and six players injured 04 Mar 2009 Pakistan declared that it was in a "state of war" after masked gunmen ambushed the Sri Lankan cricket team as they were on their way to play a Test match, injuring six players and their English assistant coach as well as killing seven Pakistanis. The spectacular military-style raid in Lahore bore marked similarities to the assault in Mumbai last year, which left 172 people dead.
Military jet had chance to land before fatal crash 03 Mar 2009 A pilot struggling to control a crippled Marine Corps jet bypassed a chance to land at a coastal Navy base and instead flew toward an inland base, where minutes later the fighter crashed into a San Diego neighborhood and killed four people, recordings released Tuesday revealed. Military officials announced they had disciplined 13 Marines for a series of avoidable mechanical and human errors that led to the crash, which killed four members of the same family, including two children.
Scumbag supplicates himself before Lard Ass: R.N.C. Chairman Apologizes to Limbaugh in Flap Over His Role 02 Mar 2009 The new chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, apologized to Rush Limbaugh on Monday after describing him in a television interview over the weekend as an "entertainer" who made incendiary and sometimes ugly remarks, party officials said. Mr. Steele called Mr. Limbaugh after the radio host belittled Mr. Steele on his show, questioning his authority and saying the new Republican leader was off "to a shaky start."
Fed Eliminates Compensation Limits for TALF Program 03 Mar 2009 The Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury eliminated executive-compensation limits for companies that bundle loans accepted under a new $1 trillion program, indicating the rules may have hampered efforts to start the plan. The rules won't apply to the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility out of "desire to encourage market participants to stimulate credit formation and utilize the facility," the New York Fed said in a document on its Web site today.
U.S. senator wants Fed to name loan recipients 03 Mar 2009 A U.S. senator berated Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday for refusing to name banks that borrow from the central bank and introduced legislation that would require public disclosure. In a testy exchange at a hearing before the Senate Budget Committee, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), said he found it "unacceptable" that the central bank risked taxpayer money without detailing where the funds went.
US banks may need more bail-outs, says Ben Bernanke 03 Mar 2009 The Chairman of the Federal Reserve warned that the US Government may have to pour even more cash into the twin bail-outs of its financial and economic systems. Ben Bernanke said the White House would have to consider increasing the scope of its $750bn banking rescue package, as well as readying further aggressive measures to shore up the world's biggest economy.
Obama: Bush government tried to undermine unions 03 Mar 2009 President Barack Obama said on Tuesday the Bush administration had tried to undermine organized labor and he assured U.S. labor leaders they would always have a "place at the table" under his presidency. "We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests," Obama said in prepared remarks for a video address to the executive board of the AFL-CIO, the largest U.S. labor federation, meeting in Miami.
Alaska's senators seek to change polar bear language in omnibus 03 Mar 2009 Alaska's two senators [dirtbags] want to throw a roadblock in front of the Democratic push to do away with a pair of Bush-era Endangered Species Act decisions. The fiscal 2009 omnibus spending bill in the Senate would give the Obama administration significant leeway to reverse two controversial endangered species rules -- one that scaled back longstanding safeguards for endangered species and another that limited protections for the polar bear.
Obama overrides Bush rule on Endangered Species Act 03 Mar 2009 President Obama on Tuesday overrode the Bush regime on a key step in applying the Endangered Species Act, restoring a requirement that federal agencies consult with experts before launching construction projects that could affect the well-being of threatened species. Environmentalists said reinstating the requirement blocks the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Forest Service and others from "nibbling away" at crucial wildlife habitat.
Scientists, Conservationists Cheer Obama at Interior Dept. By Chris Good 03 Mar 2009 The march away from Bush continues today as President Obama issued a memorandum canceling (pending further review) a Bush edict pertaining to the Endangered Species Act, and evidently some Interior Department employees were happy enough to cheer about it.
EPA to test schools' air for toxic chemicals 02 Mar 2009 The Environmental Protection Agency will soon begin testing the air around schools for toxic contaminants. The $2.25 million program announced Monday will be the first to specifically target air contamination near schools.
Sarah Brown gives Malia and Sasha Obama clothes from Top Shop 04 Mar 2009 Sarah Brown has given Barack and Michelle Obama's daughters a gift of British style from the high street chain Top Shop. The Prime Minister's wife talked for more than an hour with Mrs Obama, the First Lady, in the East Wing of the White House. She personally gave the gifts to the President's daughters Malia, 10 and Sasha, 7. The Prime Minister's wife also gave the girls children's books by British authors. In return, Mrs Obama presented Mrs Brown with a model of the Presidential helicopter Marine One to give to her two boys Fraser and John.
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Previous lead stories: Bush Lawyers Approved Constitution-Free Domestic Military Ops, Docs Show By Ryan Singel 02 Mar 2009 The Justice Department secretly authorized President [sic] George Bush to use the military inside the United States to snoop on, raid and even kill citizens in order to fight terrorism without regard to the Fourth or Fifth Amendment, according to a Oct 23, 2001 memo released by the Obama Administration Monday. "We do not think a military commander carrying out a raid on a terrorist cell would be required to demonstrate probable cause or to obtain a warrant," the Office of Legal Counsel memo said. "We think that the better view is that the Fourth Amendment does not apply to domestic military operations designed to deter and prevent future terrorist attacks." Department of Justice special counsel Robert Delahunty and John Yoo, a deputy assistant attorney general best known for penning a memo authorizing government agents to torture suspected terrorists, wrote the memo after the administration asked whether it could use the military inside the United States.
Bush Administration Memos Claimed Vast War Powers 02 Mar 2009 The Bush regime claimed unfettered presidential powers in the war on of terrorism, including sending suspects to other countries where they might be tortured and using the military within U.S. borders, newly released papers show. The materials, released today by the Obama administration, reveal legal arguments that supported some of the Bush administration’s most controversial acts to combat terrorism.
'We put in many other proteins into that vaccine; we are using it like a carrier.' Experts insert H5N1 virus into smallpox vaccine to fight bird flu --Vaccine uses a Vietnam strain of the H5N1 virus 01 Mar 2009 Scientists in Hong Kong and the United States have developed an experimental H5N1 bird flu vaccine for people by piggybacking it on the well-tested and highly successful smallpox vaccine. Initial tests on mice showed the vaccine to be highly effective, they told a news conference in Hong Kong on Sunday. While H5N1 rarely infects people, experts fear it could mutate into a form that people could easily pass to one another, sparking a pandemic that could kill tens of millions and topple the global economy. [See: Flu 'Oddities'.]
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America The Illiterate
By Chris Hedges
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20081110_america_the_illiterate/
We live in two Americas. One America, now the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world. It can cope with complexity and has the intellectual tools to separate illusion from truth. The other America, which constitutes the majority, exists in a non-reality-based belief system. This America, dependent on skillfully manipulated images for information, has severed itself from the literate, print-based culture. It cannot differentiate between lies and truth. It is informed by simplistic, childish narratives and clichés. It is thrown into confusion by ambiguity, nuance and self-reflection. This divide, more than race, class or gender, more than rural or urban, believer or nonbeliever, red state or blue state, has split the country into radically distinct, unbridgeable and antagonistic entities.
There are over 42 million American adults, 20 percent of whom hold high school diplomas, who cannot read, as well as the 50 million who read at a fourth- or fifth-grade level. Nearly a third of the nation's population is illiterate or barely literate. And their numbers are growing by an estimated 2 million a year. But even those who are supposedly literate retreat in huge numbers into this image-based existence. A third of high school graduates, along with 42 percent of college graduates, never read a book after they finish school. Eighty percent of the families in the United States last year did not buy a book.
The illiterate rarely vote, and when they do vote they do so without the ability to make decisions based on textual information. American political campaigns, which have learned to speak in the comforting epistemology of images, eschew real ideas and policy for cheap slogans and reassuring personal narratives. Political propaganda now masquerades as ideology. Political campaigns have become an experience. They do not require cognitive or self-critical skills. They are designed to ignite pseudo-religious feelings of euphoria, empowerment and collective salvation. Campaigns that succeed are carefully constructed psychological instruments that manipulate fickle public moods, emotions and impulses, many of which are subliminal. They create a public ecstasy that annuls individuality and fosters a state of mindlessness. They thrust us into an eternal present. They cater to a nation that now lives in a state of permanent amnesia. It is style and story, not content or history or reality, which inform our politics and our lives. We prefer happy illusions. And it works because so much of the American electorate, including those who should know better, blindly cast ballots for slogans, smiles, the cheerful family tableaux, narratives and the perceived sincerity and the attractiveness of candidates. We confuse how we feel with knowledge.
The illiterate and semi-literate, once the campaigns are over, remain powerless. They still cannot protect their children from dysfunctional public schools. They still cannot understand predatory loan deals, the intricacies of mortgage papers, credit card agreements and equity lines of credit that drive them into foreclosures and bankruptcies. They still struggle with the most basic chores of daily life from reading instructions on medicine bottles to filling out bank forms, car loan documents and unemployment benefit and insurance papers. They watch helplessly and without comprehension as hundreds of thousands of jobs are shed. They are hostages to brands. Brands come with images and slogans. Images and slogans are all they understand. Many eat at fast food restaurants not only because it is cheap but because they can order from pictures rather than menus. And those who serve them, also semi-literate or illiterate, punch in orders on cash registers whose keys are marked with symbols and pictures. This is our brave new world.
Political leaders in our post-literate society no longer need to be competent, sincere or honest. They only need to appear to have these qualities. Most of all they need a story, a narrative. The reality of the narrative is irrelevant. It can be completely at odds with the facts. The consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount. The most essential skill in political theater and the consumer culture is artifice. Those who are best at artifice succeed. Those who have not mastered the art of artifice fail. In an age of images and entertainment, in an age of instant emotional gratification, we do not seek or want honesty. We ask to be indulged and entertained by clichés, stereotypes and mythic narratives that tell us we can be whomever we want to be, that we live in the greatest country on Earth, that we are endowed with superior moral and physical qualities and that our glorious future is preordained, either because of our attributes as Americans or because we are blessed by God or both.
The ability to magnify these simple and childish lies, to repeat them and have surrogates repeat them in endless loops of news cycles, gives these lies the aura of an uncontested truth. We are repeatedly fed words or phrases like yes we can, maverick, change, pro-life, hope or war on terror. It feels good not to think. All we have to do is visualize what we want, believe in ourselves and summon those hidden inner resources, whether divine or national, that make the world conform to our desires. Reality is never an impediment to our advancement.
To
The Editor,
International Herald Tribune,
(letters@iht.com)
March 3, 2009
Dear Sir,
Please find below a letter for publishing in your esteemed daily.
Regards,
Hussain Khan, Tokyo
==================================================================================================================
Kissinger on Afghanistan
In his article, “The way forward”, on Feb.26, 2009, Henry Kissinger has not given any concrete solution for the Afghan problem. He has concluded, “Whatever strategy they (Obama’s new team on Afghanistan) select needs to be pursued with determination.?wbr>h But the problems and difficulties he has pointed out in the article are quite genuine and realistic. And these lead to a clear conclusion, which he is afraid to suggest boldly.
He says that Obama administration cannot sustain the strategy that has brought US to the present situation in Afghanistan. He has rightly pointed out, “That strategy cannot succeed in Afghanistan - especially not as an essentially solitary effort. The country is too large for it, the territory too forbidding, the ethnic composition too varied, the population too heavily armed. No foreign conqueror has ever succeeded in occupying Afghanistan.?wbr>h He has rightly pointed out, “Once free of foreign forces, the various ethnic and regional groups would resume their autonomies, only reluctantly submitting to central authority and only in a limited way.” Thus, he clearly observes the possible failure of US strategy, but is afraid to conclude that the US also cannot succeed as a conqueror to occupy Afghanistan, even for a limited period of time.
He has referred to General David Petraeus, who “has argued that, reinforced by the numbers of American forces he has recommended, he should be able to control the 10 percent of Afghan territory where, in his words, 80 percent of the military threat originates.” Kissinger has rightly pointed out, “In the end, the fundamental issue is not so much how the war will be conducted but how it will be ended.” The end is 10 percent control only. Why then Obama Administration should waste its efforts only to control 10 percent of Afghan territory?
As regards guerilla sanctuaries along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, Kissinger admits, “the sanctuaries exist less by the design of the Pakistan government than by its political and military inability to control the territory along the Afghan border, which has never been under civil administration - even during British rule.” Under such a situation, will it be a wise strategy for the US to continue an unwinnable Afghan war, when even guerilla sanctuaries could not be brought under control until now, either by the British, or by the Soviet Russia or by Pakistan?
Taliban do not have the same agenda as al-Qaida. They regard themselves “Freedom Fighters” and want to get rid of foreign forces from their territory. Has any imperial power ever succeeded in occupying a foreign country? The Independence movements of all Asian and African colonies of Western imperialists suggest a clear conclusion for the US war in Afghanistan. It will prove to be a Vietnam for Obama, as it was for the Soviet Russia as well.
Hussain Khan, Tokyo
BUSINESS RECORDER
March 3, 2009
Political impasse: issues and solutions
HUZAIMA BUKHARI AND DR IKRAMUL HAQ
In the wake of the humiliating defeat of King's Party - Pakistan Muslim League (Q) - on 18 February 2008 - despite all State support extended - there transpired a great hope and chance that the mandate given by the people of Pakistan would pave the way for a new era of democratic dispensation in the country - undoing the long, dark and bitter legacy of military or military-controlled rules. In the beginning, there was a strong awareness of this historic opportunity on the part of the two leading victorious political parties Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muslim League (Nawaz) [PML-N]. But after one year, everything is in a shambles. Now the same King's Party - dubbed once as qatil (murderer) league by President Asif Ali Zardari - now holds the key position in power politics. This is a great failure on the part of PPP and PML-N - both waged a long struggle against Musharraf and his cronies. What a pity that egocentrics of both PPP and PML-N have created a situation where the remnants of Musharraf have once again regained the upper hand in politics. Stalwarts of PPP and PML-N have been reduced to desperately beg PML-Q leaders to side with them in their battle of supremacy in Punjab. So, in our political scenario, the legacy of a dictator remains looming large.
Why is it so difficult to undo the legacy of dictators in Pakistan, even after clear mandates of people given through elections? Why every time in history, after getting rid of a military dictator, we continue to face a civilian authoritarian ruler, who behaves in the same disgusting manner, desiring "total" control over all institutions of the State. These questions need to be debated for finding appropriate answers. Edward W. Said, a great intellectual of our time, in an interview with The Herald, Karachi, in 1992, while commenting on General Zia's era observed that "in a country where might is right, the dictators ensure the perpetuation of their control through handpicked cronies and lackeys". In 2009, in Pakistan we are faced with the same grim reality. The powerful, with the help of their cronies - are bent upon to dispossess the masses of their legal right of being ruled through their elected representatives. The action of February 25, 2009 has once again confirmed how the powerful want to perpetuate using cronies, henchmen and lackeys.
The events of March 9, 2007, November 3, 2007 and now February 25, 2009 - all black days in Pakistan's political and judicial history - should be seen from the perspective of the presence and continuation of dictatorial legacy - started way back in 1950. On March 9, 2007 a man in uniform summoned the Chief Justice of Pakistan and asked him to resign, which he bravely resisted.
On November 3, 2007, the dictator imposed a second martial law and created a great constitutional crisis that is still lingering on. On February 25, 2009, a civilian, democratically-elected President, following in the footsteps of dictators, imposed governor's rule in Punjab, without any justification. Everybody knows how, after manoeuvring, disqualification order - the State being applicant, argued against its own petition - was obtained against political adversaries from hand-picked judges. Just as Musharraf wanted to rule unchallenged, so does Zardari.
Cronies surrounding Musharraf convinced him to stick to both the positions, President of Pakistan as well as Chief of Army Staff. Now those around Zardari want him to remain party chief and all-powerful president - armed with the sword of Article 58(2)(b). They even convinced him to capture the most powerful province through a henchmen like Salmaan Taseer.
In this power game, unfortunately, the judges who took oath under Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007 are being used - earning bad name for the judiciary as an institution. Is this democracy? How could Rehman Malik and Farooq H. Naek contest Senate elections - declared elected on 18 February 2009 uncontested - from Sindh? It is a blatant violation of Article 59(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan.
Political parties and judiciary remained silent on this vital issue where legitimate right of a province is transgressed by two King's men, belonging to Punjab but getting Senate seats under Article 59(1)(d) from the Sindh quota. Why did PML-N, MQM and others remained oblivious - of course political compromises for seats was the reason - and failed to register any protest, let alone filing objections before the Election Commission. The "principle politics" slogan is, thus, a hoax. In reality, all are part and parcel of an ugly, "profitable" political game, without realising that it is self-destructive as eventually, the mighty dump their "allies" and "friends" after using them to meet their end.
If our politicians are sincere with the causes they profess, why are the elected members of PML-N, PPP, Awami National Party (ANP) and others, remain hesitant to table a move in the house to disapprove November 3, 2007 actions of Musharraf? They are capable of unanimously electing Yousuf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister, but not undoing the blatant amendments made in the supreme law of the land by former dictators. What has prevented them, during the last many months to move a bill, resolution or even a constitutional amendment for the restitution of deposed judges who refused to take oath under Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007?
The proponents of status quo argue that in the presence of judgement of Supreme Court in Tika Iqbal Muhammad Khan v General Pervez Musharraf and 2 others (PLD 2008 Supreme Court 6) and dismissal of review petition against it, validating the act of 3rd November 2007, deposed judges cannot be restored even by the Parliament. This is a lame excuse. In fact there appears to be another unanimous intention of continuing with pro-establishment judiciary.
Since Proclamation of Emergency of 3rd November 2007 by the then Chief of Army Staff and subsequent two orders, namely, Provisional Constitution Order No 1 of 2007 and Oath of Office (Judges) Order, 2007, were prima facie ultra vires of Constitution, the Parliament by not validating the same can easily remove the cause behind the judgement of Supreme Court, thus paving the way for the restoration of pre-3rd November judiciary. There is no need for a constitution amendment to undo the actions of 3rd November 2007, requiring two-third majority. Why Parliament as a whole, is silent on this issue?
The questions posed above reveal that politicians are victims of their own inactions and lack of will to implement true democratic set up in the country. The judgement of apex court validating the unconstitutional acts of Musharraf is no bar in the way of Parliament as wrongly portrayed by the government.
The parliament, by simple majority, should pass a resolution invalidating insertion of Article 270AAA in the Constitution. This will make the judgement in Tika Iqbal case ineffective as the apex court itself held in 2005 PTD 2286 [Para T, Page2334] that where basis of a judgement is removed by the legislature, the order of even the Supreme Court becomes inoperative. Once it is done, the apex court, vide suo moto action or through filing of review petition, can declare PLD 2008 Supreme Court 6 an ineffective order. It is well established that the apex Court has no power to amend the Constitution of Pakistan - it can only interpret it.
Behind the bizarre episodes of 9th March, 2007, 3rd November 2007 and February 25, 2009, there lurks a continuous struggle between the proponents of cronyism and advocates of rule of law. Pro-establishment forces, even after the exit of Musharraf and elections of February 18, 2008, want to deprive the people of their fundamental rights ensuring no room for judicial activism in this society as a means to empower the people. This is why Chaudhry Mohammad Iftikhar and other independent judges are a great threat to them. For them, providing independence to judiciary is a suicide, but for the advocates of rule of law dispensation of justice through an independent and efficient judiciary, is a core issue of national survival.
The PPP leadership must remember that people's power alone can counter any extra-constitutional move. Judiciary - on which they are depending - will not waste a single minute to side with the men in uniform as they have been doing in the past. A lesson from history is that political leadership with the backing of masses can avert action like that taken on November 3, 2007. But if they keep on repeating their past mistakes - fighting with each other and disrespecting rule of law - the masses will never stand up for their sake to resist any unconstitutional capture of State power. Courts are meant to interpret law, whereas enforcing the will of people and countering any despotic rule is always a political question that cannot be solved by the courts. Since our political leadership - busy in politics of confrontation and hate - has failed to establish rule of law, the entire society is now in chaos. All kinds of conflicts are surfacing for want of rule of law and accountability of those who transgress their limits.
The main cause of our present day pathetic socio-political and economic situation is perpetuation of dictatorial legacy, existence of inefficient, corrupt, repressive and criminal institutions, which do not give a damn for the welfare of the common people. Successive governments' policies of self-aggrandisement have reduced Pakistan to a state-in-perpetual-conflict. The ever-worsening political and economic situation, with poor law and order, testify to the fact that progress and tranquility cannot be achieved by merely toeing policies of highhandedness. It is high time that the politicians demonstrate through actions that they have learnt to respect each other's mandate. There is an immediate need to reverse all the unconstitutional acts committed by military and civilian rulers alike - parliamentarians should unite on a one-point agenda to undo the dictatorial legacies of Ziaul Haq and Musharraf.
Parliamentarians, being elected representatives, should be reminded that it is always the Constitution that represents the will of the people and not the legislature itself. Legislature exercises delegated powers given by the mandate of people within the framework of the Constitution, which should not be mutilated by elected representatives of people, let alone by an individual - maybe an elected President or Prime Minister or Chief Minister or nominated Governor - usurping power through unconstitutional means. Once this realisation is made as well as consensus on it reached by politicians, the present political impasse and future happenings of such events would be remedied and forestalled.
(The writers, legal historians and authors of many books, are Visiting Professors at Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
Book Review: THE INDIA DOCTRINE (1947-2007)
by A.K. Zaman
It is almost two years since the first edition of The India Doctrine appeared on Bangladesh bookshelves to wide acclaim and appreciation. The newly revised edition now titled The India Doctrine (1947-2007) is an astonishing work of exceptional depth and analysis and is probably the first book of its kind not only in Bangladesh but also in South Asia as a whole. It is indeed a stupendous effort by Barrister MBI Munshi. While I had a few words of criticism for the original version of the book which appeared to me to be fragmentary and a little disjointed this revised edition is an exceptional work and its various parts have been finely consolidated and is also far better written and organized. As the author reminds us, he had almost two years to write this revised edition and it was certainly time well spent as the language and style is now much easier to follow and effortless to comprehend.
The Bangladesh Defence Journal (BDJ) has published the book at a price of Tk. 1200 or roughly $17 and is 636 pages in length. Of those pages one third consists of end notes and references which number in their thousands leaving in no doubt the strong evidentiary grounds on which Barristers Munshi’s thesis is based. The book also contains a useful foreword by the editor of BDJ, Mr. Abu Rushd, who earlier wrote the ground breaking ‘RAW in Bangladesh.’ Mr. Rushd in his foreword contrasts the original version of ‘The India Doctrine’ and the present edition stating that, “The first edition was a turning point in political and historical writing in Bangladesh. The second edition continues this trend with further elaboration of issues … covered in the earlier book but on very recent events such as the causes behind the cancellation of elections in 2007 and new material on the 1971 liberation war and India’s motivations in assisting [an] emergent Bangladesh.”
Mr. Rushd further elaborates on the importance of the book in the context of South Asia’s geo-strategic realities, “The book is certainly a must read for those interested in South Asian affairs, geo-strategy, intelligence, and the political, diplomatic and economic influences of an increasingly important region of the world which contains almost a sixth of the world[s] population, two nuclear powers and several more in the near vicinity. The book will hopefully inspire others to explore the subject of Indian hegemony and expansionism and also allow policy-makers in the West to better comprehend the risks of permitting an unrestrained India to dominate the region.” The last remark seems particularly relevant in light of the Mumbai terror attacks in December 2008 and the increasingly hostile attitude taken by India towards its neighbour Pakistan who it accuses of having direct involvement in the incident although only a few weeks earlier a Col. Srikant Pirohit had been apprehended for supplying explosives to Hindu fanatics to carry out similar outrages.
Mr. Rushd concludes that the book should hopefully, “educate the policy-makers and military planners in Bangladesh about possible threats emanating from our neighbour and the consequences of New Delhi’s influence in our internal affairs as well as the principal cause of instability.” This is probably even more pertinent after the overwhelming victory of the Awami League (AL) party in the recently concluded 2008 national elections. The AL has often aligned itself with the interests of New Delhi in both foreign and internal matters and this has aggravated tensions within the country. It would be wise for the AL leaders to take some lessons from this book and adopt a more cautious attitude to New Delhi since our own history shows that a two-thirds majority in parliament is no guarantee of longevity or permanence in power especially when deeply held views about our national interest are constantly and arrogantly offended.
The obvious reason for publishing this new edition is that the original book had many gaps and overlooked many significant issues principally due to the time limitations placed on the author. Barrister Munshi states in his opening remarks in the preface that, “By all accounts the first edition of ‘The India Doctrine’ was a book incomplete. While it covered the essentials of the periods 1947 and 1971 fairly well it managed to convey only a fraction of the notable events and incidents that were to take place during 2006 and which were to reach a climax in 2007. The years 2006-2007 had much less of the cruelty, violence and bloodshed associated with 1947 and 1971 but nevertheless represents a significant period of transition that witnessed a revival of great power politics in South Asia that was to significantly affect the terms of the India Doctrine.” This short period indeed witnessed immense and often tragic and horrendous events that will undoubtedly have lasting effects on the South Asian perspective and psyche.
The author next deals quite comprehensively with the internal struggles within India and its new alliance with the United States built upon the tenuous foundations of the nuclear agreement passed amidst intense opposition, particularly in India. The author explores how this new strategic relationship affects the regional balance and includes reference to China and Russia and the wider geo-strategic imperatives of the United States and India. The author then surveys the influence of the India doctrine and Forward Policy on the South Asian neighbourhood and the internal conflicts this incited in many countries of the region (i.e. Sri Lanka, Nepal, Sikkim, Pakistan and Bangladesh). The next few chapters on the liberation war and Indian propaganda have been completely redone and large segments rearranged to fit more logically the shape, context and logic of the book. New material and information is incorporated into chapters 4-8 and recent developments on the CHT insurgency and peace agreement is rendered in the last of these chapters.
From a Bangladesh perspective the most controversial sections of the book will probably be Chapters 9 and 10 that deal with India’s project to have Bangladesh declared a failed state. The chosen method to achieve this objective has been through propaganda with the labeling of Bangladesh as a ‘hotbed’ of Islamist terrorism. The media campaign orchestrated by India has been so successful that many voters in the 2008 elections actually believed this nonsense not realizing that such malicious canards were being propagated by Indian intelligence (i.e. RAW) via our local media. Another method favoured by India to have Bangladesh rendered a failed state is through economic sabotage and as Barrister Munshi explains, “For India to secure its political and military supremacy and control over the South Asian region it has become necessary for it to continuously maintain and protect her lead over other economies even by unfair means such as sabotage, fomenting and encouraging political instability in neighbouring countries and most obviously through propaganda.” However, it is interference in the political sphere that India has been most successful in undermining Bangladesh’s democratic institutions and Barrister Munshi traces the chaotic events surrounding the transfer of power to a caretaker government in 2006 to the release of Sheikh Hasina from custody in June 2008 with each event being heavily influenced by external actors and in particular India.
Barrister Munshi provides a convincing argument and analysis on all the above issues and his contribution to the book stands as an extraordinary achievement that will set the standard for such works in Bangladesh and probably elsewhere in South Asia. The 557 pages written by Barrister Munshi will hopefully gain widespread readership in Bangladesh since the issues raised in the book are incredibly important to the continued independence and integrity of the nation against the hegemonic and domineering tendencies of India. The chapters written by the author will likely stand out as the most important to be written on South Asian affairs for the last 60 years at least. It presents a completely new perspective on South Asia rarely seen in writing from this region and hardly discussed in western literature on the subject.
The final two chapters of the book are authored by two Pakistanis and this is a major development on the first edition which had no chapters on Pakistan and this is probably the only collaboration between writers of both countries on this type of subject matter. Chapter 11 of the book is titled ‘The Peace Charade’ and is written by Mr. Ahmed Quraishi. Mr. Quraishi is a prominent media personality in Pakistan and his background as an investigative journalist, columnist, roving reporter and head of a private, independent think tank are all very impressive and raise his credentials as a highly respected and informed writer. According to Mr. Quraishi, India had by early 2008 been conducting a massive intelligence operation with Pakistan as its target. Afghanistan was being used by New Delhi as a springboard and the Islamists were the tools of this operation. Israel is said to have provided help and the US position as Pakistan’s ally is described as somewhat ambiguous.
This brief summary sets the tone for a very interesting and well researched chapter with its premise based on the discovery of a document that reveals a conspiracy ‘to break the stranglehold of the intelligence agencies, the bureaucracy and the military in Pakistan’ as these are believed by India to be responsible for keeping the Kashmir issue alive. Chapter 12 of the book is written by Dr. Prevaiz Iqbal Cheema who has an outstanding academic career. He obtained and M. Litt in Strategic Studies from Aberdeen University and a Ph.D. from Quaid-i-Azam University in Pakistan. He has been a teacher for almost 28 years with posts held in Pakistan, Australia, Singapore and the United States. His excellent and lucidly argued chapter discusses the Kashmir dispute and Pakistan-India relations. His chapter initially discusses the origin and nature of the Kashmir dispute highlighting the policies of both India and Pakistan followed by a discussion on the internationalization of the dispute. Finally the paper focuses on the new developments that have impacted upon the dispute and the current status of Indo-Pak relations.
Dr. Cheema concludes his survey of the issues by commenting that, “Without the resolution of [the] Kashmir dispute, not only India and Pakistan would never enjoy proper fruits of peace and cooperation but South Asia would also be deprived of much desired peaceful environment.” It is, therefore, unfortunate that India has not shown the requisite sincerity in negotiations for this sensible and desired outcome for regional peace and security.
Overall, this book, The India Doctrine (1947-2007), is an extraordinary and astounding effort requiring not only immense dedication but also a significant amount of courage, boldness and resolution. Writing in the hostile and threatening atmosphere created by India in Bangladesh and Pakistan the writers have shown admirable willpower and fortitude. The book not only deserves success but also our respect.
AK Zaman done Masters in Sociology from Dhaka University. He is a freelance writer and contributes to print and online magazines. He can be reach by email :akz5153@gmail.com
http://pakalert.wordpress.com/2009/01/14/book-review-the-india-doctrine-1947-2007/
Sri Lankan refugees face open-ended detention in camps
Relieved to be out of the fighting, they also chafe at strict rules and often grim conditions.
By Simon Montlake | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
from the February 25, 2009 edition
E-mail a friend Print this Letter to the Editor Republish ShareThis E-mail newsletters RSSCorrespondent Simon Montlake discusses conditions at a Sri Lankan refugee camp he recently visited.VAVUNIYA, SRI LANKA - The camp's dry goods store opened only a day ago, but its windows are already greasy and smudged from the many faces pressed up against it. As workers stack bags of rice, lentils, and flour on crude wooden shelves, war-weary Tamil refugees stare longingly inside. None have money to spend here, only time to kill.
Behind them, a resettlement camp for 2,800 people is taking on an air of permanence. Classrooms are being built to house the children who study outside in crisp white uniforms. A post office, bank, clinic, and vocational training center have already opened.
Inside razor-wired fences, soldiers patrol the dusty lanes. And there is relief and joy among those who escaped the battlefield carnage. But there is also frustration and anguish over the strict rules and the prospect of open-ended detention.
On a 1,000-acre site nearby, a vast refugee town for as many as 200,000 people is planned, as authorities brace for an even larger exodus from what appears to be the final stand of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). So far, some 32,000 of those fleeing the fighting have been evacuated to Vavuniya. Most are crammed into schools and other public buildings until more camps are carved out of the red-dirt soil.
For those in the most makeshift facilities, conditions are grim. "It's so bad here, I want to go back to the Vanni. We're like prisoners here," says Mr. Balachandran, who sleeps with 47 others on the floor of a squalid classroom.
Once the fighting is over, the Tamils of the Vanni, the final stronghold of the LTTE, are supposed to return home. Sri Lanka's government says it must first de-mine the conflict zone, a process that will take many months, if not years. To guard against LTTE subversion, refugees aren't permitted to leave the camps. Nor are visitors allowed in.
"We're not detaining anyone. We're not separating anyone. We're keeping them in a safe place," P.S.M. Charles, a district administrator, told reporters on a visit organized by the military.
A NEED TO IMPROVE CONDITIONS
Authorities say conditions will improve once more camps are built and international aid flows more freely. Sri Lanka has asked foreign donors to shoulder much of the cost. A cash economy should emerge once work initiatives start within the camp, bringing customers to the newly opened cooperative store, whose manager reckons that its sunflower-yellow concrete walls will still be standing in three years' time.
Officials say a faster timetable is possible, once the fighting ends. "The government is trying to think in terms of getting 80 percent of people back [to their homes] by the end of the year," says Rajiva Wijesinha, secretary general of the government's peace secretariat.
A darker fate may await suspected rebels who cross as civilians into government-held areas, where the military tries to weed out LTTE infiltrators. The government says it has detained 32 self-confessed militants and is monitoring another 218 people in camps. But aid workers and church groups have received reports of men being separated from families at Kilinochchi, the rebel capital seized last month.
Western diplomats say they are pressing Sri Lanka to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to monitor the screening and to register those who arrive. Government officials have publicly rebuffed the idea, however. They insist that as a sovereign power fighting domestic insurgents there is no legal requirement for international observers.
Aid workers point out that war refugees can easily be separated in the chaos and that those reported as missing may simply have been sent to other camps. Although the ICRC had begun helping to trace relatives, its program is currently on hold pending further talks with the government.
But there is some trepidation over a repeat of the tactics of the 1990s, when Tamil men taken out of military-run camps joined the ranks of Sri Lanka's disappeared. Some were later traced to detention centers, but many never came back. Fed by LTTE propaganda, such fears die hard among Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.
Still, the most pressing crisis is in the jungles of the Vanni where at least 70,000 civilians are caught between the advancing Army and the cornered LTTE, which has menaced those who seek to flee. While Sri Lanka has insisted that its troops are doing their best to limit civilian casualties, aid groups say the toll of dead and injured is rising.
"My biggest concern is that people are dying … the real crisis is up there," says Annemarie Loof, the country head of Médicins Sans Frontières, a relief agency working in the camps.
Refugees in Vavuniya tell of desperate treks through no man's land, dodging bullets and artillery shells that fell "like monsoon rain," before being evacuated. All cited the constant bombardment and lack of food and water in the war zone as the reason for their escape. Many said they had moved several times due to the fighting.
A DASH ACROSS A BATTLEFIELD
Devi Segaram, an English teacher, joined around 1,000 others who waited till dawn on Feb. 7 before cutting across a field that lay between the two forces. On their way out, they ran into a group of five LTTE soldiers, who fired warning shots to stop them. When the refugees kept running, the shots came closer, and two young boys fell down, she says. But Ms. Segaram and her daughter, a high-school graduate, didn't hesitate.
"We came running. I held her hand, and we just kept running," she says. Within half an hour, they caught sight of soldiers who called them over with a megaphone. Within days, she was in the camp.
Now she says her hope is eventually to be reunited with a son who lives in the capital, Colombo, far from her war-torn homeland.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2009/02/200922855014421433.html
US to boycott UN racism conference
Israel and pro-Israeli groups applauded the decision to boycott the conference [GALLO/GETTY]
The United States has decided to boycott an upcoming UN conference on racism unless its final document is changed to drop all references to Israel.
The Conference Against Racism, to be held in Geneva in April, is a follow-up to the conference held in the South African town of Durban in 2001.
On Friday, a US delegation taking part in the preparatory talks in Geneva, said the draft resolution was unacceptable.
The US and Israeli delegations walked out of the 2001 meeting in protest against the resolution which likened Zionism - the movement to establish and maintain a Jewish state - to racism.
Israel and Canada have already announced they will boycott the conference, which is known as Durban II.
'Not salvageable'
According to Robert Wood, the US state department spokesman, the "document being negotiated has gone from bad to worse, and the current text of the draft outcome document is not salvageable.
"A conference based on this text would be a missed opportunity to speak clearly about the persistent problem of racism."
Wood said the US would not participate in the conference unless its final statement does not criticise any one country or conflict.
The US also did not want the document to take up the issue of reparations for slavery, which was another hot topic in the Durban 2001 conference.
'Anti-Semitic'
Tzipi Livni, the foreign minister, welcomed the decision.
"Under the fig leaf of combating racism, this conference is blatantly anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli," Livni said in a statement on Saturday.
"The decision of the United States should be an example to other countries that share our values."
Pro-Israeli groups also hailed the US move.
"President [Barack] Obama's decision not to send US representation to the April event is the right thing to do and underscores America's unstinting commitment to combating intolerance and racism in all its forms and in all settings," the American Israel Public Affairs Committee said.
The Conference of Presidents, an umbrella group of more than 50 Jewish organisations, said: "It was clear from the preparatory meetings that this conference was again being hijacked by those who want to have a repetition of the first Durban conference, which focused almost singularly on Israel and was the occasion for vile and bigoted declarations and manifestations.
"It is our hope that the European countries will follow suit and announce that they will not participate."
US officials said they are pressing European nations to boycott the conference unless there are revisions to the final statement.
The Netherlands and France have already expressed concern about the contents.
Source:Agencies
FeedbackNumber of comments : 9
Calum Coburn
Australia 28/02/2009
Shameful
The people of Canada and America should let their Governments know the shame that they are bringing to their people. As a South African from Durban I'm proud that such conferences tackle racism around the world. That any country or people think they are above discussion is arrogant and shows they have something to hide from the world.
Mike Beck
Canada 28/02/2009
I for one will!
Mr Coburn should be relieved to know that I, for one, will definately be letting our government know that I am disappointed in them. I expect, however, little to come of it, as the Canadian government has been more right-wing and pro-Israel than even the Bush administration.
Marjan N.
United Kingdom 28/02/2009
anti-Racism conference
I completely agree with u Calum. The mere fact that the Israelis are scared of this conference is that they know they are doing something wrong, and feel intimidated by the anger that most people feel towards Zionism. I am very disappointed in Obama's decision to boycott this conference. This only feeds into the disparities in the political arena.
Jim
Canada 01/03/2009
Will countries like Malaysia, Burma which have racism built into their laws, also attend? Will there be resolution requesting them to reduce racism? How about the racial policies of the Sudanese in Dafur? Aboriginals in North America? Will the conference be encompassing or narrow minded?
V.T.
Austria 01/03/2009
article incomplete
I'm disappointed that the article did not go into whether the UN conference singles out other countries' issues with minorities or racism, too. After all, if Israel is the only country specifically named, than I could understand U.S., Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, and France's objection. But to Ahmad from Malaysia, I think your comment is a rather simplistic view of the situation. To liken the Obama administration to Bush because of a single conference is a far too hasty rush to judgment.
Noliving
United States 02/03/2009
Oh please people
The US wants all references to any nation too be droped, this isn't an Israel only issue, sudan has racism issues betweens its arabs and blacks and nothing is mentioned, then there is the zimbabwe and the white farmers. The other reason why is because its wants to make criticism of religions a "crime", the US along with Canada sees that is a freedom of speech issue. The US also wants the slavery reparatuibs too be droped. So no this isn't a Israel support issue.
Ahmad
Malaysia 28/02/2009
Obama, another Israeli puppet...
Mr Barack Obama has yet again proven that he is nothing different from George Bush, save that his skin colour and language skills are different from the "Dubya"... Well done, Obama, at least you stopped fooling people early on...
Matt
Canada 01/03/2009
Out of Hand
I don't think that a lot of Canadians realized what they were getting into when they elected a hard-right government in the Fall. The foreign policies it has implemented are bringing Canada nothing but shame abroad, and nobody is even aware! If the government does not change soon, Canadians travelling overseas may soon begin to receive treatment similar to what Americans get. I, for one, might just move to Iceland and naturalize...
Randall
Canada 01/03/2009
Boycott of racism conference
Give me a break here people. This is not a conference on racism - it is a conference to bash Israel. Why is it that Israel is the only country named? Is there no racism in the Muslim world? In Europe? In North America? In Africa? I would have been disappointed if Canada had participated in this farce. Oh, and for the record. Steven Harper's government is not 'hard right' - it is just not as left as some would like.
Chris Hedges
USMC / LCpl Michael J. Ayotte
President Obama talks to service members and civilians during a visit to Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he elaborated on his exit strategy from Iraq.
March 2, 2009
This is the text of a talk by Chris Hedges that will be read at anti-war gatherings to be held by The World Can’t Wait in New York’s Union Square, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Nashville, Louisville, Chicago and Berkeley on March 19 to protest the sixth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
Barack Obama has shown that he is as capable of doublespeak as any other politician when he announced an end to the war in Iraq. Combat troops are to be pulled out of Iraq by August 2010, he said, but some 50,000 occupation troops will remain behind. Someone should let the Iraqis know the distinction. I doubt any soldier or Marine in Iraq will notice much difference in 19 months. Many combat units will simply be relabeled as noncombat units. And what about our small army of well-paid contractors and mercenaries? Will Dyncorp, Bechtel, Blackwater (which recently changed its name to Xe), all of whom have made fortunes off the war, pack up and go home? What about the three large super-bases, dozens of smaller military outposts and our imperial city, the Green Zone? Will American corporations give up their lucrative control of Iraqi oil?
The occupation of Iraq will not be disrupted. Lies and deception, which launched the war in the first place, are being employed by Democrats to maintain it. This is not a withdrawal. It is occupation lite. And as long as American troops are on Iraqi soil the war will grind on, the death toll on each side will continue to mount and we will remain a lightning rod for hatred and rage in the Middle East. Add to this Obama’s decision to increase troop levels in Afghanistan and even his most purblind supporters will have to admit the new president is as intent on maintaining American empire as the old.
The occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan has not promoted U.S. security or stability in the Middle East. These occupations have furthered the spread of failed states, increased authoritarianism and unleashed savage violence. They have opened up voids of lawlessness, including in the tribal areas of Pakistan, where our real enemies can operate and plot against us. These occupations have scuttled the art of diplomacy and mocked the rule of law. We have become an outlaw state intent on creating more outlaw states. The occupations have, finally, empowered Iran, as well as Russia and China, which gleefully watch our self-immolation. And, in the end, we cannot win these wars. We will withdraw all our troops in an orderly manner or see these occupations collapse in an orgy of bloodshed.
Iraq, because of our invasion and occupation, no longer exists as a unified country. The experiment that was Iraq, the cobbling together of disparate and antagonistic patches of the Ottoman Empire by the victorious powers in the wake of World War I, will never come back. The Kurds have set up a de facto state in the north. The Shiites control most of the south. The center of the country is a battleground. There are at least 2 million Iraqis who have fled their homes and are internally displaced. Another 2 million have left the country, most to Syria and Jordan, which now has the largest number of refugees per capita of any country on Earth. And perhaps as many as 1.2 million Iraqis are dead because of what we have done.
The eight-year war in Afghanistan has seen the Taliban re-emerge from the ashes. An additional 30,000 troops will do little to prop up the detested and corrupt regime of Hamid Karzai. Our attempt to buy off Afghan tribal groups with money and even weapons has collapsed, with most slipping back into the arms of the Taliban insurgents. The U.N. estimates that the Taliban is now raking in $300 million a year from the expanded poppy trade to fund the resistance. The Taliban controlled about 75 percent of Afghan territory when we invaded eight years ago. It has recaptured about half of the country since its initial defeat, and its reach has expanded to the outskirts of major cities such as Kabul and Kandahar. Twenty-nine American troops died in Afghanistan the first two months of 2009, a threefold increase compared with the eight who died during the same period last year. And more Afghan civilians are dying in allied operations than at the hands of the Taliban, according to a count by the Associated Press. In the first two months of the year, American, NATO or Afghan forces have killed 100 civilians, while militants have killed 60.
Do the cheerleaders for an expanded war in Afghanistan know any history? Have they studied what happened to the Soviets, who lost 15,000 Red Army soldiers between 1979 and 1988, or even the British in the 19th century? Do they remember why we went into Afghanistan? It was, we were told, to hunt down Osama bin Laden, who is now apparently in Pakistan. Has anyone asked what our end goal is in Afghanistan? Is it nation-building? Have we declared war on the Taliban? Or is this simply the forever war on terror?
Al-Qaida, which we have also inadvertently resurrected, still finds plenty of recruits. It still runs training facilities. It still carries out attacks in London, Madrid, Iraq and now Afghanistan, which did not experience suicide bombings until December 2005. Al-Qaida has moved on. But we remain stuck, confused and lashing about wildly like a wounded and lumbering beast.
Obama, during the campaign, promised that he would pull out one combat brigade per month over a 16-month period from Iraq. But this promise has been scrapped. Instead, troop levels will remain steady for most of this year and into the first few months of 2010. Troops will only start leaving, we are told, in large numbers in the spring and summer of next year, but even the pace of this downsizing will be left to the discretion of commanders. The troops left in Iraq after the "withdrawal" will, the Obama administration says, train Iraqi soldiers, protect U.S. assets and conduct "anti-terror operations."
The U.S. agreement with Iraq, known as SOFA, or status of forces agreement, calls for all U.S. forces to be out of Iraq by the end of December 2011. But this seems very unlikely. The Pentagon has, despite the SOFA agreement, built its long-range planning around the assumption that anywhere from 30,000 to 50,000 troops will be based in Iraq long after 2011. The U.S.-Iraq agreement (which was ratified by the Iraqi parliament but never brought to the U.S. Senate for ratification, as mandated by the Constitution) calls for a national referendum to be held in Iraq during the summer of 2009. Iraqis will supposedly be able to approve or reject the agreement. The some 50 U.S. bases in Iraq are, under the agreement, to be turned over to the Iraqis.
Will Obama defy the results of a referendum and ram the continued occupation down the throats of Iraqi voters? It certainly looks like it. Of course, all this will be handled, I suspect, by having our client government in Baghdad "request" that we remain, making an even greater farce of our public commitment to democracy.
There are huge corporations who are making a lot of money off this war. Obama seems intent on not impeding the profits. So much for our anti-war candidate. We should have known better than to trust the Democrats after they rode to power in Congress in 2006 on an anti-war platform and then continued to fund our wars and approve increased troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If the delicate cease-fire we have negotiated with the former Sunni insurgents in Iraq breaks down, how will we respond? Suppose the some 100,000 Sunnis, who have been allowed to ethnically cleanse the areas they control and build militias, turn on the central Shiite-led government. Suppose we can no longer buy off these Sunni "Awakening" militias with the $300-a-month salaries we dispense to these fighters. Suppose the war heats up again. This is what happened in Afghanistan when we tried to bribe tribal groups with money and support. A deterioration of the security situation in Iraq could instantly scuttle even a reduction of forces.
And the military, if some troops do leave Iraq, will have to rely more heavily on airstrikes to control territory and keep insurgents at bay. The airstrikes in Afghanistan have, along with the expanded fighting, driven tens of thousands of Afghan refugees into Iran and Pakistan. Even the Karzai government has vigorously protested these airstrikes, which feed scores of recruits to the Taliban. Expect the same ugly backlash in Iraq.
I could live with the prolonged injustice of the occupation in Iraq if I thought there would really be peace, that we could then help rebuild the country we destroyed and that we had restored the rule of law by rejecting the Bush doctrine of pre-emptive war, something that under post-Nuremberg laws is defined as a criminal "war of aggression." I could live with 19 months more of the war if I knew it would really be the end. But the war in Iraq, like Afghanistan, will go on. Our imperial projects and killing will continue under the Obama presidency. Many more, including some of our own, will die.
The only hope now lies in renewed protests against the war and a reinvigorated anti-war movement. This time the movement should hold fast, as stalwarts like Cindy Sheehan, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader have, to the moral imperative of peace and not the false hopes offered by the Democrats. They cannot be trusted. Politics is a game of pressure. Abandon that pressure and you lose.
:: Article nr. 52281 sent on 21-nov-2009 16:42 ECT
Link: www.truthdig.com/report/print/20090302_its_obamas_war_now/
Should a future Palestinian state be disarmed? Should US or NATO
troops be stationed along the Jordan River? Would a two-state
solution allow for one of the states to be less-than-fully sovereign
when it comes to importing arms and stationing troops along the border?
A disarmed Palestinian state?
AMITAI ETZIONI
THE JERUSALEM POST
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1226404823692&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
During an off-the-record meeting in Washington, DC on November 10, one
of Obama's senior foreign policy advisers stated that pushing a
two-state solution on Israel and the Palestinians had to take place
with great urgency, as it was the best way to turn around the Middle
East (which he defined as including Afghanistan and Pakistan). Three
elements of the plan the United States is to push are well known (no
refugee return, a divided Jerusalem, and redrawn 1967 borders), but
the fourth is much less often explored. Namely that the Palestinian
state be disarmed and that US or NATO troops be stationed along the
Jordan River.
I suggest that this fourth condition is a dangerous trap, despite the
fact that such troops played a very salutary role in the DMZ in Korean
and - during the Cold War - in Germany. Before I proceed I should note
that I am free to quote what was said at the meeting, but not to
mention who said what or the name of the organization that hosted the
meeting. I should also note that the same ideas are found in a new
book America and the World, wholly composed of interviews with
Zbigniew Brzezinski and Brent Scowcroft, conducted by Washington Post
columnist David Ignatius. In the book, both interviewees agreed that
"They [Israel and the Palestinians] need a heavier hand by the United
States than we have traditionally practiced." Brzezinski suggests "an
American line along the Jordan River," and Scowcroft favors putting a
"NATO peacekeeping force" on the West Bank.
HOW CAN I count the ways the fourth condition is a dangerous trap?
First of all, while the first three conditions are almost impossible
to reverse once in place, the fourth one can be changed by a simple
act of Congress or an order by a future American president, or - the
current one. Abba Eban once compared a United Nations force stationed
on the Israeli-Egyptian border, which was removed just before Nasser
attacked Israel, as an umbrella that is folded when it rains. The new
umbrella is not much more reliable.
Second, the American troops in Iraq, and the NATO ones in Afghanistan,
are unable to stop terrorist bombs and rocket attacks in those parts.
There is no reason to hold that they would do better in the West Bank.
Third, there are very few precedents for demilitarized states - by force.
A two-state solution means to practically everyone involved, except a
few foreign policy mavens, two sovereign states. A sovereign state is
free to import all the arms and troops it wants. One second after the
Palestinian state is declared, many in the Arab world, Iran, and
surely in Europe, not to mention Russia and China, will hold that
"obviously" the new free state cannot be prevented from arming itself,
whatever it says on some parchment or treaty. And if this not allowed,
whatever therapeutic effects the creation of a Palestinian state may
engender will be about the same size as the ending of the Israeli
occupation of Gaza had - either too small to measure or a negative one.
A strong case for a two-state solution has been made, but it better be
based on the Palestinians developing their own effective forces and an
Israeli presence on the Jordan River. Neither can rely on the United
States, beleaguered as it is, or conflict- and casualty-averse NATO to
show the staying power for peacekeeping which neither mustered in
Kosovo, Bosnia, or Haiti, and which they have never provided in Sudan
and the Congo.
There is a new dawn in America, but when the sun rises in Washington,
it is often close to sunset in the Middle East.
Amitai Etzioni is Professor of International Relations at The George
Washington University. For more discussion, see his book: Security
First (Yale, 2007) or www.securityfirstbook.com
Etzioni can be reached at comnet@gwu.edu.
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