Osama’s videotape

ON April 19, 1995, a terrorist exploded a bomb at a US government office building located in Oklahoma, one of our midwestern states. The dead numbered 168, including more than a dozen children.

My first reaction was that no American would do this horrible thing. Like most Americans, I thought it must have been committed by someone connected to the Middle East.

The US authorities identified and captured the suspects. They were American Christian fanatics. This deeply embarrassing and distressing fact was not covered up or otherwise disguised by our law enforcement agencies.

The ringleader was executed and his accomplice will spend the rest of his life in prison. The extremism that led to the bombing was condemned by the President and other leaders. To this day, it shocks me that Americans would have done this to other Americans, but I do not doubt the facts.

When I read that many Muslims do not want to believe that Osama bin Laden is responsible for the Sept 11 mass murders in New York and Washington, I recall my initial reaction to the 1995 bombing. However, the facts must override opinions and hopes. The videotape of Osama bin Laden released by the US government is unambiguous. He is a murderer.

From the very beginning, the American leadership has gone out of its way to avoid a charge of Islamic collective guilt. It is true that there have been isolated incidents of mistreatment of Muslims in the United States. They have been extensively publicized, widely condemned and swiftly punished.

There are eight million Muslims in the United States. A far more common reaction by non-Muslim Americans has been to reach out to Muslim acquaintances and express sympathy and reassurance.

There is utterly no appetite for war against Afghanistan in the United States. We see the desperate conditions there. We are appalled by the suffering and hope we don’t make things worse.

This has been an action against terrorism, not Afghanistan. It has been conducted to minimize civilian casualties. Americans are eager for the hostilities to end and the relief and reconstruction to begin.

The United States has declared it has no intention of occupying Afghanistan. Our government has used its influence to ensure that the post-war Afghan government will be representative of the full range of groups there.

Just as Americans faced up to the truth of who was behind the Oklahoma bombing, it is time for Muslims worldwide to face up to the truth about Osama bin Laden.

Much as the Christian crusaders of the Middle Ages and the perpetrators of the Spanish Inquisition, Osama and his followers are vicious, wanton murderers who have tried to defame their great religion. I say this as I have studied Islam.

CHARLES PLUCKAHN

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

THE Osama bin Laden videotape, finally released by the Pentagon, turned out to prove only four things.

First, the audio quality of Osama’s voice was the worst of those shown talking in the video.

Second, the sound was so bad that the Arabic words could be heard either way, with significant differences in meaning. For example, ‘we did’ and ‘we said’, could also be heard as ‘they did’, ‘they said’ etc. This means that the person uttering those words could either be the mastermind or merely a spectator. So, leaving nothing definite.

Third, the tape proves that Osama must be an exceedingly stupid fellow as it shows him admitting in an open dinner party (this while the US air force and special forces were carpet bombing the entire country) and with kids and guests all over the place, that he planned and carried out the WTC attacks, although he had previously declared to the world that he had nothing to do with it.

Fourth, if he is that stupid then there is no way a person of that level of intelligence could have pulled off the sophisticated operation Washington claims he did, from the caves in Afghanistan!

Where is the other “concrete” evidence they are still hiding from us all?

JOHN MARSHALL

Milton Keynes, UK

IN a way, the question of who actually was the brains behind the Sept 11 incident is still unanswered. If it was Osama, then what stopped him from claiming responsibility? If he could express his approval of the incident in his early videos released to Al Jazeera TV, why didn’t he claim full responsibility for the attack if he was the mastermind?

If someone else is responsible for the attack, then it’s understandable why that person is not claiming the responsibility ... obviously, to save himself from a direct attack by the US. But if Osama was the mastermind, he wouldn’t have faced anything worse than what he was, and is facing now, if he admits the responsibility.

The US has given its final verdict, implicating Osama as the main culprit, but is unable to provide solid proof (beyond doubt, as is required in the courts of law). None of the other groups, that don’t agree with USA’s verdict, has been able to indicate anyone else as the central player behind the tragedy.

It looks like the question mark over the identity of the central figure behind Sept 11 attack will always remain, as has been the case with many other historical events over the centuries.

DR SAL

Australia

Flawed US Middle East policy

IN its war against terror the US has many allies on its side with varying levels of support but at the same time it is pursuing a policy in the Middle East which can be best described as “daisy-cutter diplomacy”, the term used by a reporter for the US withdrawal from the ABM treaty.

The recent US veto of a UN Security Council resolution on the Middle East crisis is a continuation of a flawed US Middle East policy. I think the US policy-makers have already decided to support Israel, whatever the situation.

The fact is that the Palestine issue is the only matter that indirectly (many would call that directly) involves the US administration with atrocities against the Muslims. The Muslims that follow the world events are appreciative of the US stand in Bosnia and Kosovo. But they cannot fail to notice US Apaches, Cobra, F-16s, M-113 APCs, etc. pursuing Palestinian civilians every day. There is a history of all-out US diplomatic and military support in Israel. Could Israel have survived any Middle East war without the USA?

It is in the US interest to act as a mediator in the Middle East. The choice is clear: Muslims or Sharon kind of Jews who believe in killing the Palestinians and destroying homes. I am pretty sure that there would have been no Sept 11 if the US policy was fair in the Middle East.

It is another myth of the western media that all terror is coming from Muslims. There are scores of other militant movements around the world: Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, Maoists in Nepal, ETA in Spain, Aceh movement in Indonesia, Kurdish PKK and many more in Africa and Central and South America.

Support for the Palestine cause is widespread among Muslims. Everybody knows there was no Israel before 1948 until Britain and the USA decided to reward the Jews for their support during the world wars. Much of today’s Israeli settlements are built on bulldozed Palestinian homes, provided free by the Israeli government to the Jews from around the world.

Muslims still believe there was no legal basis for the state of Israel and totally disagree with the US Middle East policy.

AZIZ ULLAH

Rawalpindi

First aid in hospitals

THIS refers to the news (Dec 12) that the Sindh government has made it mandatory for doctors of government and private health outlets to ensure provision of first aid immediately to the people who suffer from injuries in accidents.

This is really a positive step taken by the Sindh Government. In the past, many people died due to denial of first aid to the injured people, due to incomplete legal formalities and FIR registration with the area police station.

The amendment to the law will save many precious human lives in the province. The other three provincial governments in the country should also pass similar rules.

SYED A. MATEEN

Karachi

Kashmir unrest

IN the Dec 16 issue, there is an article labelled “Kashmir unrest not terrorism: The Guardian”. I read the original Guardian article. While what is stated is true, the complete statement in the Guardian is:

“There is no doubt that the history of Pakistan meddling in Kashmir is unfortunate, to put it mildly. But to define the unrest in Kashmir as terrorism sponsored by Pakistan is a monstrous distortion. President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s military ruler, inherited a legacy of militant Islam, created in the 1980s, that he has been trying to dismantle.”

Reading the Dawn article gives an incorrect impression that Guardian is only chastising India.

IRFAN CHAUDHARY

Cambridge, MA US

Robbery by security guards

IT was shocking to read that two security men of a security agency, engaged by a bank for the protection of its premises, themselves robbed it of over Rs 8.7 million (Dec 11). The proverb ‘Chor baney hain chowkidar’ has literally come true.

It is evident that the security agencies do not scrutinize the antecedents of the candidates for the post of security guards. These two persons were dacoits and robbers and had joined the service of the security agency to commit dacoity in more secured environments.

Most likely, as is the usual pattern in our country since independence, nothing will come out of the routine investigations.

Beware those who hire security guards of the security agencies, without themselves verifying the antecedents of the guards.

JUSTICE (R) SALAHUDDIN MIRZA

Karachi

Attack on the Indian parliament

FOR the past year I have been regularly reading Indian newspapers and I am astonished at the hatred displayed by the Indians against Pakistan. The letters to the editors of Indian newspapers even advocate dropping nuclear bombs on Pakistani cities. Mind you, among these Indians are those who live in the US and Europe as well.

It seems that they have been brainwashed into believing that Muslims and Pakistan are synonymous with terrorism. They are unable to see the remarkable coincidences over the past few months, like the killing of thirty-seven Sikhs when Clinton was visiting India, the attack on the Kashmir Assembly on the eve of Colin Powell’s visit, as well as the recent attack on the Indian Parliament when the government was under pressure over the coffin scandal and the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance was being vociferously opposed by Indian opposition MP’s (not to mention the forthcoming elections in the UP, where the ruling BJP is in danger of losing).

Now that the staged attacks have taken place, the coffin scandal will be forgotten, POTO will be adopted, and the BJP will be able to convince the Hindu voters that it is the only party they should vote for.

Under these circumstances, only credulous people would expect the Indians to see reason and to stop the indiscriminate killing of Kashmiris. Needless to say, the chances of peace between the two countries are very bleak (as always).

SHAKIR LAKHANI

Karachi

Primostat injection not available

A friend of mine is having a problem with his prostate glands.

His urologist prescribed him Primostat injection, manufactured by M/s Schering GmbS (Pakistan) Ltd., Lahore, but the injection is available nowhere in Karachi or other cities.

According to the druggists, the production of the injection has been stopped for a number of months, for reasons not known to them. Primostat is said to be an effective cure in the enlargement of the prostate gland, and patients who can afford surgical treatment, prefer Primostat.

Would the manufacturers please enlighten us as to why Primostat has gone out of production?

If our Health Ministry has no objection, and there are no side-effects of the injection, its production may be resumed in the larger interest of the patients.

M. SHAFIQUE AHMED

Karachi

Dismissal of minister

ACCORDING to a news item on Doordarshan, the Chief Minister of the Indian state of UP dismissed one of his cabinet ministers, because some criminals were found in one of the houses which was under the said minister’s control.

If this principle is followed in Pakistan, then perhaps the majority of the ministers in the Benazir and Nawaz cabinets and those of the four provinces would have been dismissed by the prime ministers of Pakistan and chief ministers of the provinces.

JAMALUDDIN HASAN

Toronto, Canada

Admission to medical colleges

REGARDING the entrance test for admission to medical colleges, I would like to submit a proposal to the Government of Sindh.

In order to provide an open and acceptable opportunity, all the students should be given admission to medical colleges who fulfil these two requirements: (i) at least 50 per cent marks in the Board examination, and (ii) minimum 25 per cent marks in the entrance test. If any candidate gets less than 25 per cent, then he should not be considered for admission.

MUKESH MATHRANI

Jamshoro

Causes of terrorism

WHEN the coalition forces struck Afghanistan on Oct 7 they had three essential targets: one, to lay hands on Osama dead or alive; two, to destroy the Al-Qaeda training network and three, to oust the Taliban government which was harbouring Osama and his network of terrorists.

The Taliban have been routed and the so called training camps have been reduced to rubble.

But where is the prime suspect, Osama?

Nothing is heard about him. Assuming that Osama may be dead or alive in the hands of the US does not banish terrorism.

Debates in the UN and talks between world leaders have abundantly highlighted that the causes that give birth to terrorism must be attended to with the same haste and zeal as shown in the pounding of Afghanistan.

President Musharraf has tersely stated that terrorism and freedom struggle must be clearly demarcated.

Two glaring examples of injustices are Kashmir and Palestine and they remain unresolved for the last 50 years.

If peace is to return to this earth, it is the bounden duty of world powers to address these issues now.

Or else we must be prepared for hundreds of Operation Enduring Freedom in days to come.

M. SHAMIM RAZA

Karachi

Telephone blues

ON Oct 24, as my wife was submitting a telephone application No. 385/3574/01, the receiving clerk at the Gulistan-i-Jauhar Telephone Exchange told a person sitting beside him that this was a case of his area and accordingly asked my wife to get help from him.

The man came outside and introducing himself as a resident of the area and told her that if she wanted the demand note within a week and help in installation, she should pay Rs. 2000 for the exchange men.

On Nov 2, I met the DE to inform him about the situation. He strongly refuted the allegation against his staff to collect the demand note in the next week.

On Nov 15, I again visited the DE’s office but found some other person sitting on his seat. He asked me to collect the demand note in the next week but I requested him to send it.

On Nov 18, the person who had earlier talked of payment of an additional amount of Rs 2000 came to my house and said the demand note was ready and he would personally bring it the next day.

On Nov 21, the same man came with a message that unless the extra amount of Rs 2000 was not paid, the demand note would not be issued. I request the higher authorities to look into the matter and do the needful.

Z.U. MUJAHID

Karachi

Bringing peace to Afghanistan

WITH reports from Afghanistan pointing increasingly to the demise of the Taliban, the powers behind the campaign to rout the Taliban must move with haste to ensure that things do not degenerate into a free-for-all.

The military push to overthrow the Taliban, who have ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist ever since their victory over the communists, is simply the first step in a long journey to restore some sense of order in a country that has virtually been reduced to a shell.

This is a momentous time indeed for the jubilant opposition in Afghanistan, who could be heard chanting “God is great” as they advanced on the capital. But it is joy that must be tempered with caution, given the history of this fractious land.

It is widely accepted that getting rid of the Taliban will not necessarily mean achieving peace and harmony in this beleaguered country. Indeed, there are those who argue that the Northern Alliance may not do any better as an alternative government. These fears are genuine and must be taken into account in the delicate task of crafting the government that succeeds the interim council after the six-month period. But the mere fact that the interim set-up was agreed upon and co-signed by all the groups overrides any argument that it isn’t representative of the Afghans.

We can only agree with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan that a political solution must follow the military campaign in order to save the people of Afghanistan any further suffering.

And even as we all welcome the newly-selected interim government, the international community must work towards putting Afghanistan back on its heels. This requires joint efforts of all the coalition partners to work towards a stable and peaceful Afghanistan.

The priority at this point should be to safeguard the rights and freedoms of the Afghans of all persuasions and ensure, that the rulers will guide their people to a more secure future.

MOHAMMAD AHMED

Karachi

Prices of medicines

THE price of medicines in Pakistan is quite high as compared to other countries. It was imperative for the government to slash these down but instead the government has allowed an increase of 4 percent recently.

How can the poor seek treatment? The government must review its decision.

MOHAMMAD ZAHID KHAN

Islamabad