Dear All
I am sharing an article that a friend of mine has written on USA, Obama and the Laden episode. I find that I share his views totally- hope all of you will read this.
Regards
Sheema Kermani
“… For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law’s delay, The insolence of office, and the spurns That patient merit of the… unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? ...” Hamlet: Act 3, Scene 1
According to President Barak Obama, May Day 2011 was “.. A good and historic day for both of our nations” [USA and Pakistan], yet I worry that a larger and more unaccountable terrorist emperor is still at large. Maybe, like Hamlet, I’m just an ulta-multa sort of guy, but I’m struggling to understand why I should feel safer and sleep easier in the nights that have followed President Obama’s announcement. The orchestrated media pantomime following the alleged capture of Osama bin Laden actually frightens me, as does the reaction of most of the aligned world’s political leaders.
Let me explain …
Firstly, what evidence remains that Osama bin Laden – a creature of the CIA’s nurturing – has indeed “shuffled off this mortal coil”? The convenience of a body buried at sea neatly overcomes the ability to have any independent verification of his demise, via post-mortem.
Secondly, how is it that I should sleep easier when a foreign military power can drop into sleepy Abbottabad – a military town that I’ve visited on several occasions – take lives and just leave with no accountability and no respect for the rules of engagement? This is the stuff of violent Hollywood action movies and future nightmares for our children. The dehumanising language of President Obama’s speech is also a worry for me. The notion put that “… the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden …”, is sterile and devoid of any sense of an individual’s right to face his accusers in a court of law.
To my mind this horrific exercise has been nothing more than an extra-judicial murder, where the American President has appointed himself judge, jury and executioner and looks like getting away with it, via the approval of other world leaders. And a wry irony strikes me on a much smaller but no less important scale, when I consider the parallel killing of former Balochistan Governor and Chief Minister Nawab Mohammad Akbar Khan Bugti, at the behest of the former President of Pakistan.
Unlike Hamlet’s Uncle, President Obama postures significantly and publicly in taking full responsibility for the death of bin Laden. Notice the language: “… Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan …” This arrogant admission of guilt seems to be flung into the world’s face, disturbing me at least with its bullying, implied taunt of “So now I’ve done it and you all are just going to have to live with it.”
In his ratings-winning speech announcing Osama bin Laden’s death, President Obama spoke of the man whose murder he authorised, as being “responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children”. This too is unnerving and overlooks the fact that the people of Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan Province could well level a similar charge at the American President for the countless innocent civilians murdered or “disappeared” in the CIA’s relentless drone attack and abduction campaigns over the past few years.
Perhaps I’d sleep better if the Pakistan military were to quietly drop in uninvited on the Obama residence one evening, gently but firmly detain him – use anaesthetic darts if need be, but not murder him – and bring him before the International Criminal Court on behalf of the people of Pakistan. But it seems an unrealistic dream and the killings in Pakistan’s western frontier so callously disguised as “collateral damage”, seem unlikely to be brought to account.
Finally, having admitted his culpability, I find it even more disturbing to hear President Obama talk of being “… true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done …” Sorry Sir-ji, but which justice and values are we talking about here? Secret military operations, summary execution and disposal of the evidence don’t seem to line up with the rhetoric of the American values from the Pledge of Allegiance you quote in your penultimate paragraph, with its closing words “… with liberty and justice for all.”
Unlike the late, former Iraqi President, Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden has not had his day in court, but yet the American President waxes lyrically that “… today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.” He goes on to say “… we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to …” Cause enough for me to not rest easily and wonder whether the tail is indeed trying to wag the dog. ~~~