Back to Star Wars

WITH the inauguration of the “Son of Star Wars” programme by the US last week, the Bush administration has launched the world on a dangerous course. A throwback to the Reagan era, the national missile defence (NMD) is to be operational in 2004 to give America the security which the Bush administration thinks it needs against terrorists and “rogue” states. The project is violative of the Anti-Missile Treaty of 1972, which had contributed in no small measure to nuclear restraint during the cold war years. The NMD also goes against last May’s agreement at the St Petersburg summit, which visualized a US-Russian strategic relationship. The hawks in Washington now feel that the ABM treaty has outlived its utility and that Russian objections can now be ignored. What has encouraged them is the low-key opposition the NMD is fac-ing from the Putin government.

Initially, Moscow had reacted very strongly against what constituted a unilateral abrogation of the 1972 treaty. It had also attempted to enlist Beijing’s support against the Bush project. However, subsequently Moscow realized that it could get economic and other concessions from the US in return for a soft stance on the NMD. Moscow also feels, and perhaps justifiably, that it does not serve its national interests to actively pursue an anti-US policy in a unipolar world. However, the issue is not what stance Russia adopts on America’s sabotage of the 1972 ABM treaty. What matters is that the Bush administration should examine carefully whether the NMD serves America’s own long-term interests.

The NMD’s basic assumption is skewed. Terrorists can hijack planes or bomb embassies and nightclubs, but it is unlikely that they are going to be in possession of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles to hit any of their supposed targets. Press reports about terrorists having “dirty bombs” are patently manipulated. Similarly, all “rogue” states know they will be sorry if they take on the US. What happened to Iraq in 1991 and what is most likely to happen to it again constitute grim lessons to deter any of the so-called “rogue” state from an adventurist move against the US or its allies. The NMD’s most negative effect will be a shift of focus away from the global fight against terror. Since some of America’s own allies have serious reservations about it, the NMD will appear to the world as yet another manifestation of the Bush administration’s hawkish unilateralism. The war on terror will then be seen by America’s allies as occupying a secondary position in Washington’s foreign policy priorities. The NMD will also mark a new phase of militarization of outer space. Canada’s reaction is significant. Its foreign minister said that weaponization of outer space will be “immoral, illegal and a bad mistake.” Also, the NMD will start a new arms race. The move could also threaten America’s relations with Russia, where anti-US hawks could hope to undermine President Putin’s position. China will also be forced to expand and accelerate its missile programme, thus affecting Indian thinking on the issue. This could start a new arms race worldwide and thus complicate rather than advance America’s security interests. In any case, when the US emphasis is on disarming everyone, NMD can hardly be morally justified.

The French example

AFTER nearly seven years of intense negotiations between the French government and representatives of French Muslim organizations, a historic accord has been reached giving France’s over five million Muslims equal privileges with those enjoyed by French Jews and Protestant Christians. The accord establishes an official representative council of French Muslims, who constitute the second largest religious community in France. The council will ‘minister to Muslims in the army, the universities, prisons and other state institutions.’ It will also help acquire burial grounds, make halal meat available to Muslim communities, organize the annual Haj pilgrimage, and tend funds for building mosques and running community centres. The 20-member council is fashioned after a similar representative body formulated in 1908 for overseeing the affairs of French Jews.

The move comes on the heels of the rising ‘fear of Muslims’ in France, as revealed by a public opinion poll conducted after the September 11 attacks in the US. It is partly aimed at fostering an acceptable and progressive ‘version’ of Islam in a country that rigorously pursues secularism in order to keep the church and the state apart. The council will operate under the aegis of the interior ministry, of which the portfolio of religious affairs is an integral part.

France’s Muslims are largely represented by three broader organizations or groups, namely the Grand Mosque of Paris, the Union of Islamic Organizations of France and the National Federation of French Muslims. Though the council was pushed by Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s interior minister, mainly for the purpose of regulating Muslim affairs in France, Muslims generally stand to gain from its establishment which, for the first time, also has Muslim women’s representation. Among the immediate matters to be taken up by the council will be the legality of the Islamic veil, the wearing of which in public schools and state-run institutions is disallowed by a law that continues to be flouted by Muslim women — sometimes at the risk of being chastized. Hopefully, the move will be emulated by other EU countries having sizable Muslim populations that have increasingly found themselves being subjected to public hostility since 9/11.

Wanton destruction

ILLEGAL cutting of trees in the forest of Allai in Batgram district and the tribal belt of Mansehra district represents wanton destruction of a natural endowment and valuable resource. Smuggling of timber is also going on unchecked, causing millions of rupees to be lost to the government every month. The ecological danger posed by indiscriminate logging is widely known, but no effective steps have been taken to check the menace. Hence the aggravation of the environmental threat. Heavy silting is taking place in the Tarbela lake as a result of massive mudslides caused by deforestation of mountains. The problem of mudslides is particularly acute in the Kala Dhaka area, posing a threat to the life of the Tarbela Dam. Considering the crucial role of forests in ecology, it is strange that depredations by the timber mafia have not caused much concern, let alone move the authorities to take firm legal and administrative action to save the fast-depleting forest cover, constituting hardly four per cent of the total land area, which is far below the minimum international standard required for ecological balance.

Indiscriminate felling of trees, coupled with reduced flow of water in rivers, has had a denuding effect on our forests and heightened the threat of desertification. Particularly in the hilly areas, known for natural forests, large-scale logging is going on, making lush green mountain spots barren and destroying natural habitats of many rare species of birds and animals. The timber mafia operates in collusion with smugglers, landlords and forest officials. Illegal loggers in Haripur have contacts with smugglers in Allai and Kala Dhaka who collect timber at various points and affix fake stamps in collusion with forest officials. The government must boldly face up to the challenge of checking illegal cutting of trees and smuggling of timber and at the same time make concerted efforts to promote afforestation and conservation.