Posts Tagged ‘United States’
War on Terror or War on Islam?
Posted on: November 22, 2007
- In: Politics | Psychology | Society
- 1 Comment
For quite a while I had been thinking that the United States had generalized its war on terror where every muslim, mainly of Middle Eastern descent and the Sub Continent were considered “terrorists.” The term terrorist and fundamentalist are now widely negatively associated with the Muslim Ummah. The Global Village needs a gentle reminder that with the advent of technologies, we are now closely linked together, and hence we are a Global Village. We need to learn to live together since we are technically sharing the same physical spaces. Also, being a fundamentalist says nothing about anything. A mathematician is a fundamentalist due to his firm belief and acceptance in math being the fundamental governing force of all physics in the universe. A doctor is a fundamentalist as the root cause of all physical problems lie in chemical and biological disbalance and this is the starting point for the doctor from where he initiates a diagnosis.
This isn’t the first time, however, where there have been negative connotations to words. The best and most important example is the African-American community – or Blacks. As sensitive a topic this is, it is important to remember the early years. Our African brothers have been discriminated, hated and have had other heinous crimes commited against. Even now, a major portion of our society still associates the African-American community to drug addicts, alcoholics, and thieves. The Black Is Beautiful movement did try to change the dominant ideology in West about this, and to an extent has succeeded.
Coming back to the point, is the war on terrorism and those exclusive, selective individuals and organizations that commit acts of terror? Or has the Western media generalized the term?
On 21st November, 2007, ArabianBusiness.com reported Lieutenant General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim of Dubai as saying that “the US was responsible for strengthening the Al-Qaeda organization by inciting a “war of civilizations” with Arabs after the attacks of September 11.”
By launching a “war on civilizations” as opposed to a war on terror, the U.S. had strengthened Al-Qaeda. The fuel to the fire, so to say. The article says, “He said the US had “created the Satan” by ostracizing the Arab world and, more directly, by teaching Al-Qaeda “how to make and explode bombs” during their involvement with the organization when Afghanistan was battling Soviet insurgents during the 1980s.”
“Brian Jenkins, a Rand Corporation think tank expert on terrorism and former advisor to the US administration, refuted the general’s charges against the general population’s perception of Arab people in the US, saying that most people there do not believe that the war on terror ‘is a religious war, is a conflict against Islam or is a conflict of civilizations.’ “
“I must agree with General Tamim that a number of decisions taken in the name of the ‘war on terror’ are contrary to American values” adding that certain decisions made by the Bush administration had been “strategically stupid.”
While it is not diplomatic or polite to say that a government had messed up in their decision, the position is politically correct. Not just from a standpoint of one individual, but from the entire Muslim Ummah.
It is time to ask ourselves, remind ourselves, and foresee the repercussions of this “war” since September 11, and the further repercussions, say, within the next 10 years. Do we want another Martin Luther King Jr. ? Better than rogue armies which retaliate with equal or greater force of Al-Qaeda. The dominant ideology of muslims as terrorists has been built into us since alot of us have not had direct encounters with the muslim world, and if we have had such, those encounters have been with people who have become really sensitive to any relating issues and immediately go on the guard. As for Muslims, we are ambassadors of Islam – not just the religion, but what it stands for: Peace.
Disclaimer: What follows is a work of pure fiction and not foresight. The views expressed are just a creative piece or writing and nothing more.
It’s January 21st, 2008. Geo is back on air, stronger than ever. the PCO has been done away with and PEMRA’s objectives and role distorted. Oh and, I almost forgot: Musharraf is dead. Yes, he had been asassinated. An EMP destroyed all the remote jammers, leading the way for a detonator to blow up his car: A bomb secretly planted inside the bonnet of his car by his driver who had been coerced, threatened, bribed and everything possible by the so-called democratic leaders of Pakistan. Once again, Pakistan finds itself in ruins, quite like ancient Moenjodaro, except, people are still alive. The media and telecommunications sector is booming more than ever, catering to the zombified minds of Pakistanis and Talibans alike. Each Provincial Capital is a state within a state. Life goes on as if nothing happened; monotonous, mechanical.
The Chief Justice has unfortunately died of a heart attack as it is now clear, however, during Musharraf’s regime some illicit drugs were planted in his office and closet along with supposed records of phone conversations with members of the Anti-Narcotics Force who had been providing him with drugs. The Musharraf regime claimed that he had overdosed on Cocaine and traces of alcohol were found in his system. All this to defame the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudry.
Nawaz Sharif has gotten rid of his wig and is back with rigour. Benazir Bhutto and Sharif have amalmagated parties to multiply their profits and power over the Pakistani Federal Reserve and the people, respectively. A new mind warfare game plan developed by the military had leaked whereby the Pakistani citizens’ minds have been effectively brainwashed. They now carry on about their business as the political premieres discuss deals with Washington, the Koreans and the Taliban about how to make more money. In their heart of hearts they plot against each other, leading the world to mutually assured destruction, an idea coined initially under the Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado.
The stock markets have stayed pretty stable, fluctuating ocassionally, the exchange rate too. All of this is unpredictable however, since a big hole in the vault of Pakistan’s reserve building has allowed a few rats to sneak in, steal a bit of the money which has blood scent all over it – apparently something only the rats can smell… and enjoy – and many a times come back with I.O.U’s or the equal amount of reserve money.
The nuke reserves have been relocated, half of them under the military’s control, a quarter dismantled and the uranium sold to the highest bidder, the remainder hidden somewhere in the Cayman Islands inside a large underwater cave. Who owns this, or how it got there, no one knows.
Indian officials come to Pakistan more frequently sharing drinks on national television with prominent figures, from musicians aiming to improve their self-image by working for World Peace and government officials trying to find more political entertainment. But they’re just looking out for their own benefits: I call this Mutual Hypocratic Facade.
Kashmir has been forgotten about by Pakistan, the attention of the people that matter has been diverted to international political power. India seems to be conducting some non-nuclear missle tests (they do not want to feel the effects of radiation ofcourse) and military training near the borders of Kashmir – perhaps where the takeover will begin from. Something says that there is a love-triangle here: America has vested interest in the economic gain India will receive when it takes over, and so to cash in, has offered a couple of high grade military equipment disguised under a large shipment from Ford Motors to India as it sets up its business there. The Ford Motors representatives have flown into India with sensitive equipment – something they say could not have been shipped along with the rest of the cargo since the rugged conditions would cause terrible damage to their investment. They are actually high-ranking officials from the U.S. military in engineering who are going to run a standards test on the Indian arsenal.
China seems to have sided with Pakistan, trying to work for its own benefit regardless of who runs Pakistan. The Gwadar port is where China has kept its eye on: Provide cheap equipment for the port; everything from construction, maintenance to surveillance equipment, logistics and freight. The Silk Route is seeing considerable capital expenditure to improve its state for the influx of all the machinery. China has estimated atleast $200 billion dollar gross profit in finalizing and running the Gwadar port. For some odd reason, the Taliban are nowhere to be seen here and extensive manpower has been deployed from government-independent security forces (mainly operated under the names of retired CIA and U.S. Military officials).
What happens next?
(Part 2 follows soon).
