[sacw] SACW #1 (31 Oct. 01)

[Harsh Kapoor]

South Asia Citizens Wire | Dispatch #1.
31 October 2001
http://www.mnet.fr/aiindex

[ Interruption Notice: SACW dispatches will be interrupted between=20
the period 31st October - 7th November 2001]

------------------------------------------

#1. 'A War That May Never End' - Cracks in the coalition (Praful Bidwai)
#2. Is the New Patriot Anti "Anti-American?" (Badruddin R. Gowani)
#3. Germany's Green Police State - Busted in Munich (Tariq Ali)
#4. Hiroshima to New York (N.D. Jayaprakash)
#5. India: Noam Chomsky to Speak on "Militarism" at Delhi School of=20
Economics (5 November)

________________________

#1.

The Praful Bidwai Column for the week beginning October 29

'A War That May Never End'

Cracks in the coalition

By Praful Bidwai

"The gloves are off", a senior US official has been quoted as saying=20
in "The Washington Post". President Bush has given the CIA an=20
additional $one billion and told it to do "whatever is necessary" to=20
get Osama bin Laden. "Lethal operations that were unthinkable are now=20
under way." A 25 year-long ban on assassinations has been lifted. The=20
FBI is considering torture, reports the Post, to extract information=20
from 150 "key" suspects in the September 11 attacks in the US.=20
Hundreds of Arab-Americans are being interrogated over a period of=20
weeks. Hate campaigns against ethnic minorities continue. As do=20
anthrax scares. If terrorists wanted to destabilise society and=20
sabotage freedom, civil liberties and all sense of proportion in=20
policy responses, they couldn't have done better.

In Afghanistan itself, an awesome military operation, the biggest=20
since the Gulf War, proceeds apace through an air armada, thousands=20
of ground troops, and special commandos such as the Rangers, SAS,=20
Delta Force and Seals. The civilian death-toll continues to mount=20
with the terrible October 10 attack on Khorram, near Jalalabad, and=20
the more recent bombing of a hospital in Herat. The toll may now=20
exceed 1,000. This has not been convincingly denied by Washington.

Yet, three weeks on, most objectives of the war remain unfulfilled.=20
Despite the destruction of some of their heavy weaponry and=20
logistical infrastructure--although not of tanks--, the Taliban=20
remain in command of the bulk of Afghanistan's territory. For all the=20
defections, and military defeats near Mazar-i-Sharif, their=20
30,000-strong militia is nowhere near disintegrating. Its morale=20
remains high. Hopes that the Taliban would "collapse upon itself"=20
have proved false. This could turn out to be a long, long, war. Vice=20
president Dick Cheney says it "may never end".(emphasise quote)

Meanwhile, new contentions have arisen over rival attempts to replace=20
the Taliban with an alternative regime. The long-overdue US bombing=20
of Taliban frontlines has strengthened the Northern Alliance. The NA=20
has received strong endorsement from Russia during President Putin's=20
Dushanbe visit, and to a lesser extent from Indian and Iranian=20
lobbying. Pakistan's attempt to sponsor "moderate Taliban" has=20
received a temporary setback, but it has by no means failed.=20
Islamabad is also backing Frontier Affairs minister Jalaluddin=20
Haqqani as a foil to Mullah Omar. Mr Haqqani, who belongs to Paktia=20
province in the east, and who joined the Taliban only in 1997, is a=20
Gilzai who hasn't won over the dominant Durrani Pushtun group.=20
Deposed King Zahir Shah continues to vacillate over a loya jirga=20
(tribal assembly).

Faced with military and political uncertainties, the US has drafted=20
in the United Nations which it had earlier derisively bypassed.=20
Washington didn't even bother to obtain proper Security Council=20
authorisation for the use of force. Rather, it arrogantly told the=20
Council it may "require" targeting additional states and groups. Now=20
it finds it expedient to ask UN officials, including special envoy=20
Lakhdar Brahimi, to start creating the appearance of a nucleus of an=20
alternative regime in Kabul. America has very little time left. The=20
holy month of Ramazan begins three weeks from now. As does the onset=20
of Afghanistan's extraordinarily harsh winter.

The biggest setback the US has suffered is that can no longer claim=20
"universal support" for the war. Serious cracks are beginning to=20
appear in its "international war coalition". Russia, China, Indonesia=20
(with the world's largest population of Muslims), Malaysia, Egypt and=20
Saudi Arabia, have expressed serious reservations about the=20
Afghanistan war. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are the US's greatest Middle=20
Eastern allies (barring Israel). Egypt has the world's largest Arab=20
population. And Saudi Arabia is home to Mecca and Medina. In the=20
Shanghai APEC resolution, the US couldn't secure even a mention of,=20
leave alone support for, the war in Afghanistan. The text only=20
expresses "sympathy and condolences to the victims" of September 11.

The US faces a hard, wrenching, dilemma. The longer the war=20
continues, the higher the wanton toll of civilian life, and the=20
greater the discontent the world over. When Anglo-American ground=20
troops close in, the Taliban is likely to convert itself into a=20
guerrilla force. The war could become even murkier, more=20
destructive--and prolonged. As the body bags come home, it will also=20
become extremely unpopular within the US-led coalition, as well as=20
outside it.

The US has little independent intelligence on the Taliban and=20
Al-Qaeda's assets, strategy, command structures, hideouts or modus=20
operandi. Pakistan isn't obliging it either. The Taliban is more akin=20
to a medieval lashkar than a modern army. It is a militia whose ranks=20
can quickly dissolve themselves, go underground, or cross over into=20
Pakistan and other neighbouring states. Al-Qaeda will be even harder=20
to trace and destroy. Even if bin Laden is hunted down--not easy,=20
given the Afghan terrain, his access to hard-to-penetrate caves, and=20
the fierce suicide squads that are said to guard him--his larger=20
network will probably survive. Bin Laden has already become a hero=20
for fanatical Muslims. Eliminating such an individual won't eradicate=20
the phenomenon he represents.

Put bluntly, the US is chasing a diffuse, elusive enemy--a network=20
with international ramifications. The more it tries to squeeze it in=20
one place, the more it will strengthen it, and the sources of its=20
sustenance, elsewhere. The greater the erosion of support for US=20
actions, the more unproductive their continuation becomes. Washington=20
will only end up increasing the resentment bred by its policies=20
towards Israel/Palestine, Iraq and much of the rest of the Muslim=20
world. The resentment is rooted in a half-century long history of=20
betrayed promises, deception, and support to processes that promote=20
injustice, exclusion and dispossession. The war could prove=20
extravagantly costly for America if it gets sucked into the Afghan=20
morass. Afghanistan could yet become America's Second Vietnam.

The only alternative to this disastrous course is a political (itals=20
"political") approach: a just solution to the question of Palestine;=20
radical reform of the skewed global order; a new initiative to=20
encourage respect for the non-use of force and universal adherence to=20
the rule of law. This tough choice entails grasping many nettles. It=20
means temporarily weakening the sources of American power. It means=20
bringing Israel to heel. It also means giving up dependence on the=20
present Saudi regime--the key to the Middle East's oil. Investigative=20
journalist Seymour Hersh has just disclosed sensational evidence of=20
links between Al-Qaeda and the Saudi ruling oligarchy. The Saudi=20
royals, caught in a web of corrupt and illegal practices and=20
intrigue, have given hundreds of millions in "protection" money to=20
keep rival members from claiming a share in power. Eradicating=20
Al-Qaeda means, quite simply, undermining the Saudi government, the=20
world's most fundamentalist, retrograde, male-supremacist and hated=20
regime--and America's strongest Arab ally.

For all their elevated rhetoric about democracy and pluralism, and=20
opposition to terrorism, America's rulers will find this option=20
unpalatable. Messrs Rumsfeld, Cheney and Ashcroft have long=20
represented corporate interests which have a stake in just the=20
opposite approach. President Bush himself is a quintessential Texan=20
oilman. As critics have said, this Administration is not just heavily=20
dominated by the energy business. It is (emphasise "is")the energy=20
business. A right-wing Republican entity, it is especially partial to=20
military unilateralism and chauvinistic nationalism.

Thus, we are likely to see a "war without end", a messy, "mean,=20
nasty, dirty" affair (Cheney) in Afghanistan and beyond--causing the=20
deaths of innocent civilians, destruction of essential supply-lines,=20
and untold misery, amidst the naked pursuit of corporate profit.=20
Arrayed in this war are parochial forces of state terrorism opposing=20
parochial forces of sub-state terrorism. An attempt is being made to=20
give this war a religious complexion: a clash between Islam and the=20
"Christian" West. The Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, a minority of=20
Muslim leaders, some Christians, and many Hindu communalists, have=20
fallen for this false characterisation. Western leaders haven't done=20
enough to counter this effectively--because their own perspectives=20
are confused and based on double standards. Such ideas have become=20
popular in Pakistan. Some of them have acquired currency in India too.

Encouragingly, such views, representing a small minority, have been=20
forcefully rejected by the mass of the people. Therein lies the=20
significance of the mobilisation of liberal, secular, Muslim opinion=20
by intellectuals and activists like Imtiaz Ahmad, Mushirul Hasan,=20
Shabana Azmi, Zoya Hasan, Javed Akhtar and Sharmila Tagore.=20
Significant here too is the contribution of the feminist movement in=20
Pakistan, Bangladesh and India. The broad masses have shown=20
extraordinary restraint in the face of communal provocation--through=20
Agra, Ayodhya, the banning of SIMI, harassment of secular peace=20
activists, and promulgation of draconian laws.

Here lie the seeds of mass-level opposition to an unjust, vengeful,=20
war-launched without convincing evidence of culpability or an=20
international mandate. Such a peace movement can become a major=20
transformative force if it speaks for pluralism, secularism,=20
tolerance, reform of the world order, and for redressal of the many=20
grievances which lie at the roots of the extreme frustration that=20
leads to terrorism. The peace movement deserves unqualified public=20
support. At stake is the future of this region, indeed the whole=20
world. --end--

______

#2.

Date: Sun, 28 Oct 2001

Is the New Patriot Anti "Anti-American?"

Badruddin R. Gowani

Most of us, I am sure, are impressed, influenced, and/or inspired by=20
some or other human being. For some people it can be an individual,=20
and for others, it can be more than one. I am from the latter group.=20
Among the many people whose writing, conscientiousness, activism,=20
and/or intellect has impressed me, Rushdie is one of them. His=20
novels Shame, The Satanic Verses, and particularly Midnight=92s=20
Children are work of such force, facts, and fantasy, that it can lift=20
you out in no time and transport you into the world of historyland.=20
For me even now, his writing retains the same magical quality. I=20
still remember the pain I felt when Angryollah (caught in the ongoing=20
tussle between the moderates and the hard liners) saved his political=20
life at the expense of risking Rushdie's real life. His life became=20
miserable under Ayatollah Khomeini's fatwa of death sentence. Under=20
such a tragic situation it is hard to predict how the victim would=20
react to different circumstances, and so it would be cruel to blame=20
that person=92s actions or words, written or spoken.

However, I could not resist on one occasion; it was when Rushdie (who=20
is well versed in world history, including the European and US=20
imperialism) decided to meet George Bush Sr.'s officials about the=20
fatwa. I was at that time visiting London. I expressed my surprise=20
to activist and author Tariq Ali. He replied with sadness in his=20
eyes, "Woh bokhla gaya hai," i.e., he is bewildered.

I am in no way questioning his record of humanitarian concerns. In=20
his novels, essays, and articles Rushdie has constantly reprehended=20
the corrupt Third World leaders, US imperialism, anti-South Asian and=20
anti-Black policies of Britain=92s "Maggie Torture" (Rushdie's name for=20
Margaret Thatcher), portrayal of South Asians in British cinema and=20
on British TV, the treatment of Muslim girls and women by their male=20
relatives, and so many other things.

What has prompted me to write this article was Rushdie=92s "Fighting=20
the Forces of Invisibility," in the Washington Post (October 2, 2001,=20
p. A25). It is about the barbaric killing of over 6,000 people in=20
the September 11 attacks. His anguish as a fresh New Yorker is=20
understandable. (Sometime back, he moved to this country from=20
England.) What is difficult to comprehend is his argument to mourn=20
the tragedy without reminding the US about its role in the creation=20
of many of these monsters through its inhuman foreign policies.

In his anguish, he recommends that "we must send our shadow-warriors=20
against theirs, and hope that ours prevail." However, he thinks that=20
"the secret war" against Afghanistan alone is not going to bring=20
"victory," cause the nation will also "need a public, political and=20
diplomatic offensive" in order to solve few of the globe's "thorniest=20
problems," such as the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Then he=20
requests the US not to "bomb" pharmaceutical factories in Sudan. The=20
war had not begun then, so Rushdie appealed to the "wise American=20
heads" to spare the "impoverished oppressed" Iraqi people in the=20
manner they have (up until then) spared the "impoverished, oppressed"=20
people of Afghanistan.

As the expression goes, a slap on the wrist =96 and that also in a very=20
mild manner. Then quickly Rushdie distances himself from the=20
"sections of the left" who have savaged the US with a great deal of=20
"sanctimonious moral relativism" such as "The problem with Americans=20
is..." "What America needs to understand..." For him that is the=20
"most unpleasant" results of the terrorists=92 attacks because this is=20
not the time to "heartlessly" blame the US government for the deaths=20
of its own citizens when the nation has just abode the "most=20
devastating terrorist attack in history." On the first thought, one=20
would feel restrained to challenge his heartfelt grief. However, on=20
second thought, one can't resist to counter challenge: Then when is=20
the right time? In fact, there cannot be a better time than this.=20
It is during the crises such as this that the worst aspects of any=20
nation, and follies and crimes of establishment stand some chance of=20
being discussed =96 if not fully, at least partially.

On the other hand, let's say that nobody denounces the US at this=20
moment and everybody unites to display her/his patriotism and to=20
mourn the untimely deaths of so many people. Does this in any way=20
guarantee that after six months or a year the people would start=20
questioning the causes and the establishment would state the real=20
reasons and would promise to rectify their mistakes within a certain=20
timeframe. If it was like this then Dr. Henry Kissinger, George Bush=20
Sr., Madeline Albright, George Shultz, and other US leaders=92 role in=20
Chile, Vietnam, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama, ... would have by now=20
come under heavy scrutiny and the justice would have been served =96 to=20
use the US elites=92 pet phrase. If the system had been functioning in=20
such a neat and clean manner, the US would be the greatest role model=20
of democracy, freedom, non-racism, and egalitarianism for the whole=20
world.

I don't have to remind Rushdie that people's attention span is=20
usually short, whereas the corporate owned media's erasing power of=20
uncomfortable truths, and replacing it with convenient lies, is=20
phenomenal. What he has to accept is that "blaming" of the US=20
policies should not be construed as a denial of "the basic idea of=20
all morality: that individuals are responsible for their actions."=20
Rather the criticism during the present crises should be taken as a=20
genuine sign that out there in the jungle of Stars and Stripes there=20
are many people who are not only concerned of their own country's=20
welfare but they also feel for the well-being of the rest of the=20
world. Those sections of the left should of course be condemned if=20
they are rejoicing at the tragic events. I have not come across any=20
such writing by a progressive =96 however, it does not mean that there=20
cannot be any, and if there are any, then it is doubly sad. At one=20
point Rushdie=92s Star-Spangled Banner reaches such a crescendo that=20
for him the orthodox or "bien-pensant anti-American onslaught" is=20
simply an "appalling rubbish." Rushdie has not named anyone. But=20
critics like Katha Pollitt, Howard Zean, Edward S. Herman, Amy=20
Goodman, Noam Chomsky, Alexander Cockburn, and others have a record=20
of raising their voices indiscriminately against the cruelties of=20
all, whether it is Osama bin Laden, George Bush Jr., Saddam Hussein,=20
Richard Nixon, Joseph Stalin, Harry Truman, Adolf Hitler, Andrew=20
Jackson, or any other tyrant.

Now that the "wise American heads" have gone senseless and have=20
started wasting the already ravaged Afghanistan by bombing, and=20
creating civilian casualties, fear, and refugees, Rushdie should=20
calmly question his own position and should think whether the=20
terrorist acts occur in vacuum, without any reason or rhyme, or are=20
there any sincere causes.

(I should remind the reader that Rushdie is not a lone voice on the=20
left who has taken this stand. The Nation magazine's editor, Katrina=20
vanden Heuvel, has come up with the idea of "just response!" Marc=20
Cooper has suggested that the left should be careful and should wave=20
flags. Christopher Hitchens, a very good and conscientious writer,=20
is also opposed to the linking of US foreign policies with the recent=20
events. I may be wrong, but the way things are it seems that soon=20
we'll have a new left, which I think should be named, "mainstream=20
left.")

______

#3.

Germany's Green Police State
Busted in Munich
By Tariq Ali

At 7am, on 29 October I was arrested at the Munich airport. After a day of
interviews and book-signings and another two spent at a Goethe Institute
seminar (on 'Islam and the Crisis'), I was exhausted and desperate for a cu=
p
of coffee. I checked in. Soon my hand-luggage was wending its way through
the security machine. No metal objects were detected, but they insisted on
dumping its contents on a table.

Newspapers, dirty underpants, shirts, magazines and books tumbled out in
full view. Since news always reaches Germany a day after it has appeared in
the US press, I thought the locals might be unaware of FBI and CIA briefing=
s
to the effect that Bin Laden or Iraqi complicity in the anthrax scare was
extremely unlikely and were on the look-out for envelopes containing powder=
.
There were no envelopes of any sort in my bag.

The machine-minder brushed aside the copies of the Sud-Deutsche Zeitung
(SDZ), the International Herald Tribune and Le Monde Diplomatique. He
appeared to be very interested in the Times Literary Supplement and was
inspecting my scribbled notes on the margin of a particular book review.
I suggested that if he wanted my views on the present crisis he could read
them in German in the SDZ which had published an article of mine. I pointed
it out to him.

He grasped the text eagerly and then, in a state of some excitement, rushed
it over to the armed policeman.

Then his eyes fell on a slim volume in German which had been handed to me b=
y
a local publisher. Since I'd had no time to flip through the volume, it was
still wrapped in cellophane.

The offending book was an essay by Karl Marx, 'On Suicide'. It was the
reference to suicide that had gotten the policemen really excited. They
barely registered the author, though when they did real panic set in and
there were agitated exchanges.

I was slightly bemused by the spectacle, waiting for them to finish so I
could read the morning papers. This was not to be. The way they began to
watch me was an indication of their state of mind. They really thought they
had got someone.

My passport and boarding card were taken from me, I was rudely instructed t=
o
re-pack my bag, minus the crucial 'evidence' (SDZ, the TLS and the offendin=
g
text by Marx), after which I was escorted out of the departure area and
taken to the police HQ at the airport.

On the way there the arresting officer gave me a triumphant smile. 'After
September 11, you can't travel with books like this', he said. 'In that
case', I replied, 'perhaps you should stop publishing them in Germany or
better still burn them in public view.'

Inside the HQ another officer informed me that it was unlikely I'd be
boarding the BA flight and they would make inquiries about later departures=
.
At this point my patience evaporated and I demanded to use a phone.
'Who do you want to ring?'
'The Mayor of Munich', I replied. 'His name is Christian Ude. He interviewe=
d
me about my books and the present crisis on Friday evening at the Hugundube=
l
bookshop. I wish to inform him of what is taking place.'

The police officer disappeared.

A few minutes later another officer (this one sported a beard) appeared and
beckoned me to follow him. He escorted me to the flight which had virtually
finished boarding. We did not exchange words.

On the plane a German fellow-passenger came and expressed his dismay at the
police behaviour. He told me how the policeman who had detained me had
returned to boast to other passengers of how his vigilance had led to my
arrest.

It was a trivial enough episode, but indicative of the mood of the Social
Democrat-Green alliance that rules Germany today. It is almost as if many o=
f
those who currently in power are trying desperately to exorcise their own
pasts.

While Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was in Pakistan insisting that there
could be no pause in the bombing and that the war of attrition would
continue, his Minister for Interior, Otto Schilly, was busy masterminding
the new security laws, which threaten traditional civil liberties. Schilly,
once a radical lawyer and a friend of the generation of 1968, first acquire=
d
public notoriety when he became the defense lawyer for the Red Army Faction=
,
an urban terrorist network active in the Seventies. It was said at the time
that he also supported their activities.

In 1980 Schilly joined the Greens and was their key spokesman in the fight
against the stationing of Cruise and Pershing missiles in Germany. In 1989
he moved further by joining the Social Democrats. Today he is busy
justifying extra powers to the police and infusing a sense of 'realism' in
his Green coalition partners. One of the "realist" proposals being discusse=
d
is granting jurisdiction to the Federal Office for the Protection of the
Constitution (the German equivalent of the FBI) so that it has the right to
spy on individuals it suspects of working against the 'causes of
international understanding or the peaceful coexistence of nations.'
And since in the debased coinage of the present 'peaceful coexistence of
nations' includes waging war against some of them, I suppose that my
experience was a tiny dress-rehearsal for what is yet to come.

It was a tiny enough scratch, but if untreated these can sometimes lead to
gangrene. CP

Tariq Ali, a frequent CounterPunch contributor, is the author of The Stone
Woman

______

#4.

CounterPunch.org
25th October

"Hiroshima to New York"
by N.D. Jayaprakash

The terrorist assault on various targets in the United States of=20
America on 11th September 2001 is an extremely cowardly act that=20
deserves to be condemned in no uncertain terms. The tragic loss of=20
life resulting from the dastardly act is a reminder of the fact that=20
it is invariably innocent people who get slaughtered in the vicious=20
games which contending political interests in the world keep playing.=20
The premeditated attack was apparently in retaliation for the=20
repressive and wayward policies pursued by the U.S. Administration=20
across the globe, which have had adverse impact on a sizeable section=20
of humanity. In the recent past it is mostly people in West Asia who=20
have had to bear the brunt of such policies. However, under no=20
circumstances can there be any justification for the wreaking the=20
wrath generated against the U.S. Administration on ordinary citizens=20
of the United States, who do not play any direct role in the=20
formulation of the policies in question.

Full text at: http://counterpunch.org/jayaprakash1.html

______

#5.

[30 October 2001]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHOMSKY TO SPEAK ON "MILITARISM" AT D.SCHOOL

Professor Noam Chomsky will be giving a public lecture on
"Militarism, Development and People's Right to Information" at the
Delhi School of Economics on Monday, 5 November.

The lecture will be followed by a public forum, including an
extended question-answer session with Chomsky and also
contributions from Aruna Roy, Shabana Azmi, Arundhati Roy and
others.

Professor Chomsky is one of the world's leading linguists and
political dissidents. He has been a formidable critic of American
foreign policy over the years, and has persistently exposed the
role of propaganda and thought control in "democratic" societies.
Today, he is an inspiration for worldwide movements committed to
social justice.

This event is an initiative of the National Campaign for the
People's Right to Information, in assocation with the Delhi School
of Economics.

Venue: Delhi School of Economics, 5 November, 10.00 am to 1.30 am.

For further information, please contact: Centre for Development
Economics, Delhi School of Economics, tel 766 6533/4/5.

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