Re: their immoral scheme to murder tens if not hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis would be
anything less than a heinous war crime.
Ray, it will be glorious to hear your apologia on these threads when that does not happen...being forthright and honest, you will of course post your regrets for your rash and hate-filled comments....that you have joined a hate-therapy 12-step program and have made friends with a Marine and a Christian...perhaps in the same person...
Re: [Bush] incapable of convincing anyone
Please read a Pakistani's view of the disintegration of power in the ME caused by the radical Islamists. Then, re-read the article you responded to in posting this response to me...then tell me that you are in the grip of irrational exuberance and can believe only what you are told, rejecting the facts on the ground. That I will understand...I did that with QCOM...Ciao!...... jj
Message 17967565
To:IQBAL LATIF who wrote (43255)
From: IQBAL LATIF
Sunday, Sep 8, 2002 8:31 PM
Respond to of 43256
‘Oderint dum metuant’ ‘Let them hate me, provided that they fear me.’
Iqbal Latif
Approaching the anniversary of September 11, the date reminiscent of the ignominious event seared into the
collective memory of mankind, a period of introspection is sorely required of Islamic societies. It is intriguing
whether the tragic event of September 11 will be known as the day that led to the reformation of the Islamic World
or will it be the final straw at which relationships between Dar-ul-Islam and Christendom finally decide to part
ways. The terrible loss of lives will be a lasting memory in the annals of human history; the attack was an assault on
every thing ‘human’ that we are proud off. In its cruelty, 11th sept crossed the limits rarely ventured by even the
worst of barbarians and vandals. To commit a heinous crime on this scale against innocent civilians in a world
inundated with knowledge and global connectivity is beyond human comprehension as it defies all rationale,
common sense and reason.
On the other side of the coin its ‘political’ influence in contemporary history can be compared to divisiveness,
cunning, mischief and the catalyst impact of 1914 assassination of the Austro-Hungarian successor to the throne. A
member of a band of Serbian conspirators assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and his wife, the Duchess of
Hohenberg, in Bosnia. Upon investigation of the crime by the Austro-Hungarian authorities it was revealed that the
conspiracy against the life of the Archduke was prepared and abetted in Belgrade with the co-operation of Serbian
officials. That single event was the catalyst for the First World War within Europe. The sequence of events from the
assassination in Sarajevo was swift from 28 June 1914, when the Arch Duke was assassinated, to 1st August 1914
when Germany declared war on Russia.
Indeed it does not take too long to fire a tinderbox in tense situations and Osama bin Laden’s attacks on civilian
targets in the pre-eminent city of the largest and strongest nation on earth is like the veritable throwing of the
gauntlet. On its first anniversary of this mass tragedy, the after effects are not a great world war but it is no
exaggeration to see that the most intolerant Islamic state of Talebin lays in ruin within the first anniversary. The
cradle of terror was destroyed in no time, the safe haven denied and sanctuary uprooted. It is heart-warming to see
that the fringe elements all around Islamic crescent of instability are on the run, the connection between seminaries
and Wahabi Islam and the funding of intolerant ideological education is for the first time being choked. The
enlightenment and renaissance that missed the Islamic societies en-masse is now being surely but forcefully
introduced to the most hardened of the Jihadis from Kashmir to Chechnya. The shroud and garb of ‘freedom
fighter’ has been torn, the terrorists with global agenda of coercion are being accurately scrutinised. The world since
11th September has become a smaller place for these fringe elements. The blood money rewards for the
ringleaders have made these leaders fear even their own shadows. If Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda represented
a cancer within Islamic societies, 11th sept is undoubtedly the day of reckoning when surgical removal of the tumour commenced and continues to treat the metastatic tumours, the tumours that arise at sites away from the original location.
Anyone who has any doubt that this gauntlet would not be picked up was sadly mistaken. If Muslim societies
continue to maintain their eerie silence and quiet tacit approval of the action by not condemning and stopping future
acts of aggression, I see no reason that 11th sept is not the beginning of a struggle that may have long-term
ramifications for the Islamic societies at large. Fault lines within Islamic societies have crystallised post 11th
September. Definitely there is an overwhelming segment of the society whose sympathies lies with the terrorist who
believe that they have evoked a new era of recognition of Islam as a counterpart to Western civilisation. Rather the
effect is exactly the opposite. It has cast suspicions on the entire nation of Islam, and most of the Islamic countries
have lost significance and political influence. The Palestinian cause in short run has suffered the most, the
Palestinians leadership embracing terrorism, have almost become diplomatic pariahs and politically destitute. The
collective political capital of all Islamic states has been reduced to naught in shortest term possible.
The uncertainty around the ‘assets’ of Muslim nations is another pitfall; the sword of Damocles hanging over Saudi
assets in USA is an issue that is a direct result of these non-sensical attacks. Libya is ready to pay a sum of
10billion US$ to escape the global sanctions levied on Libya post Lockerbie Pan Am flight 103. Libyans have
learnt the lesson well after Lockerbie; punishment and retribution for a crime of terror is essential.
The dawning of reality that how flimsy an asset can be is the biggest after effect of 11th Sept for the oil rich Middle
East. Assets today are scattered as small specks of cyber numbers but the Fed Reserve can freeze any amount
within seconds as evinced when $100 billion worth of Kuwaiti asserts were frozen within hours of the invasion by
Iraq. In the last ten years isolated nations like Iraq have realised that proven oil reserves mean nothing if the financial
markets are closed on them. Since ‘Oil’ is a commodity that fetches mostly $’s, it is worthless if it stays under
ground and even if pumped can be insignificant if sanctions cripple the mobility of money received. From Middle
East oil wells to Rotterdam the dependence of the oil rich nations to act within set of acceptable norm and global
rules of conduct cannot be more eloquently emphasised.
The 11th Sept brought the day of reckoning closer the realisation that oil and $, the life blood of most of the middle
eastern societies, are so prone to sanctions has weakened the entire political class and structure of oil rich
peninsula. The resulting effect has been that the arrogance of oil and grandeur of wealth has notably taken a
backseat. The world has woken up to new research priorities; it is in search of new global oil markets through the
Caspian and new alliances that may bring the demise of oil age closer. The oil age as Zaki Yemani, the powerful
Saudi Arabia Minister for oil and mineral resources in the 60’s and in 70’s, used to say: "The stone age did not
finish for lack of stones. So the oil Era will not be over for lack of oil…" Oil age is not about end of oil, it is about
the aura of oil and control, and it is about ‘power, money and political control’. The end of the oil age will be
marked by the loss of traditional oil power. Sept 11th events have set the ball rolling in that direction that may
cripple the peninsula. Osama Bin Laden may have wished that revolutionary movements within political Islam may
flourish after 9-11 but contrary to this, from Algeria to Turkey and Pakistan mullahs have been dealt a devastating
blow. The political Islam embodied by its message of intolerance and lack of pluralism has lost the support of
Governments all over the Islamic world. The Islamic world needs to know that the “street” wants freedom of
expression and a loaf of bread. Osama’s political Islam is long on sloganism and short of delivery. With the
exception of some fringe geographical outposts, 9-11 has definitely seen the decline of the clout of extremist Islam
personified by the terror of Al-Qaeda.
The muted ambivalent nod in Saudi Arabia, notably in the province of Asir and other hotbeds of extremism, to the
actions of 11th Sept should be dealt with an iron hand. If left unchecked, unbridled extremism can lead to dire
repercussions such as loss of sovereignty over oil. If the richness from oil becomes a tool to create trouble within
the global community, it can be argued that sources of those riches should be curtailed. The extremists of the
Osama’s breed are wealthy kids who like their ideology but love their luxuries too. Al Qaeda operatives, if faced
with riches to rags threat, will first save their empire than their ideology. “Martyrdom” is a stunt of publicity!
Appeasement encourages them and challenges make them run like a coward.
If anyone has any doubt on the resolve of United States and global community to let ‘fringe elements’ dictate the
direction of global economy, they are sorely wrong. I have a petite cue of what I believe the free world symbolises
in this war against terror ‘Oderint dum metuant’ ‘Let them hate me, provided that they fear me.’ |
