Pages

Friday 20 July 2012

NATO supports suicide bombers (PO)

M D Nalapat
Terrorism in any form and for whatever cause is unpardonable. The use of deadly violence against innocents, which is what terrorism implies, is morally completely at variance with the tenets that are enshrined in the Holy Qur’an. Because there were more than 120,000 prophets before Prophet Mohammad [PBUH], several faiths other than Islam contain tenets that are similar to that enunciated more their fifteen centuries ago, all of which stress the need for compassion, mercy and tolerance, qualities that were best practiced during the golden age of Islam . In contrast, the use of terror has never in a single instance delivered anything other than temporary success to the perpetrator.

The LTTE, after three decades of waging a campaign in which suicide bombers played a key role, was defeated by the Sri Lankan army in 2009. The Taliban was speedily vanquished in 2003,and despite NATO’s errors, will never regain control of Afghanistan. In the Holy Land, the use of terror against Israeli civilians has meant nothing other than misery for the residents of Gaza and the West Bank There is nothing specifically related to any single faith about suicide bombing, whose practitioners have come from numerous religious backgrounds.

LTTE cadres were overwhelmingly Hindu, while Japanese “kamikaze” pilots (who killed themselves on the decks of enemy ships) were mostly Shinto. Some members of the IRA - all of whom were Catholic - were in effect suicide bombers. Hence it may be said with accuracy that the cult of the suicide bomber is independent of religion. However, because of NATO’s focus on Muslim-majority states, these days, suicide bombing is being regarded as being the monopoly of a single faith. Unfortunately, some within that faith give credibility to such false charges by resorting to the use of terror, including through suicide bombing.

After 9/11 showed the blowback inherent in the US-led effort to create and sustain the Taliban in the 1990s, NATO capitals adopted a Zero Tolerance policy towards suicide bombers, refusing to accept that any situation justified the use of such an extreme and inhuman measure. Countries where there was a rash of suicide bombers and attacks began to be targetted, including by drone strikes. However, cracks began to develop in this - correct - policy when NATO began giving tacit backing to Jundallah in Iran. The extreme Wahabi militia regularly carries out terror attacks in Iran, and does so without any condemnation by NATO capitals.

However, a far more serious breach of the Zero Tolerance (towards suicide bombers) policy has occurred in Syria. The July 17 suicide bombing in the heart of the Bashar Assad regime was conducted by the “Free Syrian Army” (FSA). It is no secret that this “army” ( exactly as its counterpart in Libya) makes extensive use of terror operations in order to force the fall of the present Syrian government. Even more than in Libya, suicide bombings have been regularly carried out. Despite this self-declared link with terrorism, NATO continues to encourage its regional allies to arm the “Free Syrian Army” and provide it with lavish funding.

It is dismaying to watch while television channels such as BBC and CNN turn into cheerleaders for suicide bombers. In most NATO capitals, there is not even a ritual condemnation of such methods, nor indeed mention of the fact that the murdered Defense Minister of Syria was a Christian. Clearly, David Cameron, Francois Hollande and Hillary Clinton approve of the methods of the FSA. What would be their reaction if similar tactics were to be carried out during the London Olympic ceremonies, or in Paris or Washington? Terror is evil, and suicide bombing is morally wrong. Years ago, Indira Gandhi trained and funded the LTTE, the organisation that killed her son Rajiv in 1991. NATO’s backing for terrorism in Syria will soon come back to haunt an alliance that ought to know better.

http://pakobserver.net/detailnews.asp?id=165697

1 comment:

  1. Pls note that the LTTE's major transformation was brought about after their top brass converted to Xtianity.

    ReplyDelete