NINE--ELEVEN
On the eleventh of September the tragedy reached America. In few minutes more than six thousands people perished belonging to more than 20 countries of the world. It was the most ruthless suicidal attack in history.
True, the 11th of September tragedy may not have been of the size of the tragedy that struck Hiroshima and Nagasaki when they were hit by the nuclear bombs. It was not of the size of the tragedies that struck Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Syria, Lebanon, Serbia, Chechnya, Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Ireland, Kurdistan, Kashmir and tragedy of Palestine. However, the audiovisual coverage that it had received surpassed any audiovisual documentation of any of the above-mentioned tragedies.
American imagination and power to destroy seems to have been outdone by a group of people who, demonized by a deep destructive conviction, decided to end their lives and those of others by transforming passenger flights into human bombs targeting the symbols of the economic might and the military might of the greatest power on earth; The World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
President Bush promptly addressed the shocked American Nation. He accused Muslim Terrorists of planning the attack, which he termed as an attack on the American Way of life.
Gracefully disregarding President Bush’s allegations, the leaders of the Islamic world and the Palestinian organizations offered their sympathies to the United States of America. The whole world agreed that what happened to America was very tragic.
However, the media coverage has given this tragedy a new dimension. The Media tycoons of the Western World indulged in criminal manipulations of the broadcasting of the events unleashing centuries old racist feelings all over the world. They poured their wrath against anything that looked differently, spoke differently, thought differently or even breathed differently. They made it into a confrontation of civilizations. Muslims in Europe, oriental looking people in America and even Christians in Pakistan have feared and on occasions have even been subjected to racist and religious attacks ranging from mere abuses to actual attacks on their persons and their lives. Undoubtedly, the Western coverage of the 11th of September attack has shattered the myth of the West being on the top end of education and civilization. Some Western citizens who appeared to have gathered their history and religious education from cartoons like Aladdin and Sindbad and the Prince of Egypt, where people wearing turbines only meant ‘mean poor unscrupulous Muslims’, attacked siks in America for they too wore turbines.
William Gerald Golding’s novel, The Lord of The Flies, began unraveling in front of our eyes where, otherwise innocent and funny children, panic and grief stricken turned into aggressors, killing the weak and who disagreed with the collective opinion. American and European Newspapers indulged in first page editorials that have shamed many of their own citizens.
Though no convincing proofs have been found yet, President Bush, armed with the sympathy of the whole credulous world, announced war. The mightiest nation of the world was at war. He said that those who were not with him were against him. There was no third option. His enemy number one Ousama Bin Laden, the Saudi dissident living in the Taliban controlled Afghanistan.
A long list of countries and organizations was declared as terrorist harboring entities.
The shadow of a world war three lead by America against a not very clearly defined enemy loomed large over the world, overshadowing the role that the established international forums could play in dealing with the crisis. The United Nations, the European Union, the Islamic Organization, the SAARC and other international organizations have momentarily ceased to exist in the minds of the people’s representatives in the United States of America.
In the 21st century, terms such as holly war, infinite justice, crusade, have been resurrected from the middle ages and have been uttered by those who claim to be at the top echelon of culture and civilization.
As the dust settles on the towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and as the days pass without substantial proofs on who the culprits may be, another side of America and Europe emerged, peace and justice loving people gathered strength form their grief and collectively expressed their disapproval of America’s and NATO's decisions. In demonstrations in Washington, San Francisco and other American and European cities, citizens declared ‘Our grief is not a call for war’.
The rage that has engulfed the American Administration today has undressed old wounds and grievances. Japanese American citizens recalled the treatment they met when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. All those who resembled the enemy where gathered in concentration camps. A trend set by Hitler those days and considered as the most horrific crime he has ever done during his stint in power.
As the world was occupied with their condemnations of the Terrorist Attack on America, the first anniversary of the Intifada fell on the silent conscience of the United Nations. As resolutions were passed against the Taliban, the United Nations remained silent on the atrocities committed by the Israeli regime in Palestine.
America’s rejection of any peaceful solution of the differences between their government and the Taliban’s government has put Pakistan in a dilemma. We have been enduring the economic and political consequences of our Afghan policy of the past when we were abandoned by the United States after we had helped them in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is our neighbor. We are deeply concerned about the plight of the Afghan People, poor and hungry and always forced to seek shelter in Pakistan.
Pakistan’s concern over the civilians’ safety in Afghanistan is inevitable. The ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan are of ethnic nature. Afghans have relatives in Pakistan and naturally they will look towards them for relief. To Pakistan any aggression on Afghanistan will only add to the Afghans’ and Pakistanis’ suffering. Reports speculate that 7 million refuges will flock to Pakistan within the next few weeks.
Nonetheless, the United States has adopted the policy of the carrot and the stick with Pakistan. President Bush warned Pakistan of the consequences of Pakistan non-collaboration yet promised to make of it a prosperous model state if they do. Sanctions have been lifted, debts have been rescheduled, new loans have been granted and the list of the US generosity have been growing ever since they have rediscovered the importance of the role that Pakistan can play in their new adventure in our region.
Without Pakistan, the American plan to close the Taliban front cannot materialize. Though the BJP government of India has generously offered, unsolicited, its unconditional support to President Bush in his war against Taliban. Though the Uzbek air bases have been opened for the use of the American forces. Though the Afghan opposition has expressed its readiness to cooperate with the United States. Though King Zaher shah has put his old saddle on the back of his horse for his homecoming journey. Though the Soviet Union has backed the United States Plan. Though the American Bases in the Gulf countries are operational. None of those offers either the proximity with the Taliban ruled Afghanistan nor the sea of information that Pakistan has of the Taliban regime. Two imperatives in the logistics and the planning needed to counter the Taliban’s animosity towards the United States and its allies.
Indeed the 11th of September Attack on America is going to prove decisive in the future of Mankind. Not necessarily as The United States foresees it though. If Pakistan cannot convince The United States into a peaceful solution, than it must consider its other options, per contra engaging in a war against Afghanistan must not be one of them.
The stakes today are the sovereignty of Pakistan, of the SAARC region, of the Islamic countries and the future of the new emerging realities in the world.
No American rewards could possibly balance the scale between what the interest of Pakistan and the region compels us to do on the one hand and what the United States Administration whishes us to do on the other hand.
The European Union may find itself compelled to engage in the American offensive against the Taliban through its membership to the NATO. The Soviet Union has once given the NATO its importance and its reason d’etre. With the absence of the Soviet Union, the Europeans are aspiring for a new military organization under a purely European command. Their adventure in Serbia on the advice of the United States has only burdened their economy and affected their way of life. Thousands of refugees are still rooming the streets of Europe displaced by the NATO attacks on their lands and prior to that by the war in Chechnya, Serbia and in Bosnia and in Kosovo.
The SAARC agenda for development would not be implemented if the region were going to be again a war front. Besides an aid based economy in Pakistan or in any of the SAARC countries will delay an economic policy of self-reliance, intrinsic to the economic prosperity of the region.
There is a great shift in the policies and resolutions of the Organization of the Islamic Countries. The statements that followed their meetings of last year in the wake of the Palestinian Intifada and the meeting of the second of October of this year represent a great shift in their policies. Their stand has become more in line with the aspirations of their people. After all Ousama and his followers come from those countries where governments have given away to the American pressure and followed policies that were against the wishes and aspirations of their Nations.
China and Iran have not committed to any type of support. Iran made it clear that it will not allow the use of its air space and has condemmed the military attack on Afghanistan in spite of its conflict with the Taliban regime.
Syria and Iraq opposed the military action against the Taliban.
Ironically, the people who, few years ago, have destroyed the sites of McDonald and of Coca Cola in India belong to the same party that has today extended an unconditional support to the United States in its potential attack on Afghanistan. The BJP’s decision will have detrimental effects on the country whether on the home front or on the Kashmir front of which they will take a very long time to recover. What has isolated Pakistan in the Past will isolate India today.
Disastrous consequences are awaiting the United States if they use the Afghan Opposition and the Nationalists of the new central Asian Republics. The day might come when these Muslims too will be declared terrorists and enemies of the American Way of Life.
Russia offered unconditional support to the United States offensive against Taliban. It has also been sending ammunitions to the Northern alliance. If Russia wishes to repeat its past mistake in Afghanistan, that is no reason for Pakistan to follow suit.
Afghanistan has been a thorn in the side of all invaders. The Afghans will not tolerate foreign interferences into their internal affairs. Once again today’s allies are tomorrow’s enemies.
If the United States of American does not heed the voice of reason and aim first for a consensus amongst the nation on the meaning of the word terrorism and a consensus on the identity of terrorists and a consensus on the roots of terrorism than it is going to face problems within its own boundaries.
As the United States Central Intelligence Bureau set to work to find the suspects, they searched to recruit those who spoke the same language of the enemy under the pretext of giving everyone the chance to fight terrorism. Today the Pushtoo speaking, Farsi speaking and Arabic speaking people services are sought but not their participation. Muslim organizations in American had offered their support during the last American elections through donations. However those were rejected. Their financial support of the Muslim community may have influenced the decision-making in the US administration and may have proved detrimental to the Zionist interests in the Middle East.
The latest events of random arrests of non-American looking or speaking people have shown that it is impossible for the President of the United States of America to protect all its citizens in the aftermath of the campaign against Muslim terrorists. Such ill-conceived campaign would result in depriving America of the diversity of its society in the long run.
The religiously and ethnically diverse immigrants’ lives and security in the United States of America seems to be threatened by the American administration narrow assessment of terrorism and terrorists.
Time is on Pakistan’s side. In their meeting on October 2nd the biggest Islamic organization in the World. The Organization of Islamic Countries has withheld its support to the resolution adopted by the United Nations asking ‘all the member states to crack down on sources of financial and logistical support for alleged terrorists’. The organization has also declared that it was ‘ready to help in providing a definition to the word terrorist and distinguishes it from national resistance to foreign occupation’. That is where Pakistan and the whole world should start from. We will fight terrorism as the whole international community sees terrorism.
Martin Luther King had warned his nation, that ‘injustice anywhere is injustice everywhere’. Today the tears of the mothers who lost their children in the towers of the world trade centre resemble the tears of the mother of Mohammad al Durra in Palestine and the tears of the mothers in Kahsmir. Today the rage of the folks in America for loosing two very prominent features of the New York landscape the Word trade centre towers, are similar to the tears of the Palestinian folks who lost their homes to the Israeli bulldozers.