Into the fourth week of a devastating bombardment of Afghanistan, the US campaign against terrorism now appears to have been poorly misguided and misdirected. In the aftermath of the worst terrorist actions on continental USA, this nation seething in anger had cause for retaliation; And retaliated they did.
Even before the twin towers were seen to have imploded, the name Osama Bin Laden was on the lips of the newly appointed pundits and experts who were called upon to present their two pennies worth. It did not help matters any, when, Osama Bin Laden, condoned the atrocities and congratulated the young men who commandeered the jets turning them into massive machines of destruction. Before long Bin Laden, the terrorist D’jour and Al Qa’eda were indicted by evidence that according to Tony Blair could not be prosecuted in a court of law. Amid uncontrollable anger and continuous call for blood, the old west proclamation “Wanted dead or alive” was pronounced from the lips of Osama’s former business partner George W Bush.
For its part, the Taliban, who controlled a previous fractious nation, were found guilty by association as were a host of other perceived terrorist organizations all of whom shared Islam as a common belief system. The Taliban were daily demonized by the recurring broadcasts of “Behind the Veil”. Their portrayal as medieval, backward and evil contrasted greatly with the praise heaped upon them by Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. who equated them with the founding fathers of America.
Thus a war “Freedom and Democracy vs. Evil” was justified not only against Osama and Al Qa’eda but also against the Taliban.
As the investigations continue, “the evidence and findings” produced so far makes it appear that these acts were planned in Germany and Egypt and orchestrated by Saudi and Egyptian nationals living in the US. All evidence linking the perpetrators to Bin Laden is laughably full of holes, circumstantial and bereft of any concrete substance. So whilst the investigations continue and the world is forced to accept an ultimatum – “with us or with the Terrorists”, the pummeling of a “medieval people” goes on unabated.
But, exactly what has this pummeling achieved? Carpet bombing ala Vietnam and Dresden has successfully rendered this rock-strewn landscape into a fine powdery wasteland littered with unexploded cluster bombs. Errant bombs slamming into hospitals, senior homes, primitive mud walled residences, Red Cross warehouses and villages have resulted in “Collateral damages”.
And what are these collateral damages? According to Pepe Escobar of Asia Times on line, with each press briefing “collateral damage” is shrugged off as “This report cannot be independently verified”. However the truth is that it is an increasing number of innocent lives lost. Those that do not die from the bombing will ultimately die from starvation and the ill-conceived food drops. Of the 109000 packages of food most of it would go untouched.
As the notable Arundahti Roy of the Independent wrote this is a campaign of bombs smeared in peanut butter. Imagine the arrogance and the cultural insensitivity of the US. Maybe Naan would have been better.
But then again why bother? Initially having realized that the drops were in areas previously mined by the Soviets, the US decided to ensure that they fall in residential areas. Faced with an embarrassment, hysteria stepped in. The engagement shifted to the propaganda front. Afghans were told not to consume any of the food for fear that the Taliban was poisoning it. What Absurdity! Then with news of children being blown up by unexploded cluster bombs, the warnings came not to touch the packages. They are the same yellow colour and the size of unexploded cluster bombs.
Idiocy compounded by arrogance!
In the meanwhile, the UN has lost whatever minute semblance of potency it previously held. The former Dutch Prime Minister, Ruud Luubbers, as leader of the UNHCR initially announced contingency plan in cooperation with Iran and Pakistan for 400,000 refugees. When asked to explain this, the figures were scaled back to 100,000. So far it has been a trickle in comparison. Even worse, the preparations for the camps along the Pakistani/Iranian/Afghanistan border have not fully materialized. This sort of embarrassment has become common place for a toothless UN.
To add insult to injury, Ruud Luubbers contrary to his mandate has chosen to endorse the new wave of bombing whilst overlooking the human casualties. This man needs to be reminded that his priority is to the refugees and not as a spokesperson for a war machine.
For the Afghans the “medieval people”, this fight against terror is terror unleashed upon them by the mightiest nation the world has known. This campaign only serves to further hasten their deaths. Eking out an existence from a landscape devoid of vegetation wreaked havoc upon by Soviet occupiers, the ensuing internecine and the past five years of relentless drought they are now faced with the oncoming, usually harsh winter. With no protection over their heads, no warm clothing and no firewood for heat many will freeze to death in the bitterly cold open. Those who don’t, will succumb to mass starvation.
In the meanwhile a cynical world looks on and like spectators in the Coliseum relish the savagery of the mighty upon the weak and feeble Afghans.
May we all be helped out of our miserable pitiful lives!
Jay Mobeen
jaymo