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Rabble Rousing Random Ramblings by S Jagadish is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License.
David Miliband echoes Barack Obama's prescription
In an article in "The Guardian", David Miliband, currently visiting India in his role as the Foreign Secretary of the UK, reckons that the various terrorist entities across the globe need to be handled differently since their motivations are different and points out the example of groups like the IRA & Eta to back his argument since those groups really had nothing in common.
The central difference is that the main aim of terrorist organizations is to challenge the state, rule of law, liberty and various freedoms by using violence, including mass-scale attacks & suicide attacks, as a mechanism to achieve their goals. In this respect, terrorist groups are all identical - take your pick from the Lashkar-e-Taiba, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Hamas, LTTE, SIMI, the various units of the Sangh Parivar which went on a killing spree in Gujarat, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, Naxalites, Maoists, etc.
Miliband goes on to write
Although I understand the current difficulties, resolution of the dispute over Kashmir would help deny extremists in the region one of their main calls to arms, and allow Pakistani authorities to focus more effectively on tackling the threat on their western borders.This echoes what Barack Obama said in his interview with MSNBC late last year.
The flaws in this thinking are:
- Assuming that the terrorists' only aim is the liberation of Kashmir.
- Assuming that Pakistan will co-operate in helping eliminate the Al-Qaeda & Taliban in Afghanistan when the Kashmir problem has been resolved.
- Assuming that if Kashmir and Afghanistan are both cleaned up & resolved, then the Pakistani army and the ISI will sit idle when their raison d'être is to bleed India with a thousand cuts.
Labels: india, jammu and kashmir, pakistan, terrorism, uk
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The military-mullah equation as per Mike Marqusee
Mike Marqusee, an American who lives in Britain nowadays, writes on a variety of subjects, including cricket, especially focussing on the sociological angle.
In the context of Pakistan's role in the London blasts becoming obvious, he writes in "The Guardian" about Musharraf's links with the radical Muslim clerics he calls 'mullahs' and how despite his talk of enlightened moderation, there is neither enlightenment, nor moderation. He quotes the Mukhtaran Mai episode, the lack of concern for human rights, action taken against women activists, barring women from running in a marathon along with men, etc.
He gets it totally right when he points out that only democracy and accountability can tackle terrorism, of the individual and state-sponsored varieties.
Labels: musharraf, pakistan, uk
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Paranoia in London? Pervez is da maan!
Mark Lawson writes in The Guardian about the way Londoners seem very wary of others on buses, trains etc. in the wake of more attempted bomb blasts last Thursday exactly two weeks after the first set of blasts on 7th July.
According to check lists on the internet, based on Israeli experience, one way of spotting a suicide bomber on public transport is to look out for passengers who seem sweaty or anxious or who are mouthing silent prayers. But the flaw in this technique is that almost everyone I saw on tubes or buses in yesterday morning's rush hour was glistening with apprehensive perspiration, while several seemed to be muttering secret deals with some deity. And yet none of these people wanted to kill me; they were trying to stay alive. So the eventual effect of Islamicist terrorism is to make the threatening and the threatened indistinguishable.
Then a man was shot dead last Friday at Stockwell station. But he in fact turned out to be a Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes and according to Scotland Yard, the shooting was a mistake.
This will only increase Londoners fears about terrorism and they will continue to, as Lawson points out, consider the chap sitting in the adjacent seat fidgeting around to be a bomber as well, precisely what the terrorists would have hoped to achieve.
That is the way global terrorism typically works. Create an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear. Then get the radicals to talk about how their way is the only way out. This increases the paranoia and fear with some of the influenced ones allowing themselves to get indoctrinated in the language of hatred and terrorism. Soon the chap next door also seems like a suicide bomber, even if all he has been doing is pray to God a little more fervently and is as far away from being a terrorist as you and I are. After this, the first terrorist strike will invariably result in confirmation that the chap next door has in fact been hand-in-glove with the perpetrators of the crime. Then it becomes difficult for people to live in peace.
Whats the way out? Eradicate the root cause of global terrorism: Cleanse Pakistan. Read the riot act to Musharraf. Dont be swayed by his rhetoric, glib-talking and his preaching.
Tailpiece: A hunt is on for Pakistani nationals apparently involved in the blasts on Saturday at Sharm al-Sheikh. A Daily Times editorial talks about the linkage between Pakistan and Egypt in terrorism and wonders about the future.
Labels: musharraf, pakistan, uk
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As it becomes increasingly evident that not one, but three of the bombers who terrorized London two weeks ago visited Pakistan, the country's reputation as a safe haven for terrorists and the involvement of the government and military establishments is at last being unmasked by the global media. Indians have known about it for more than two decades now, essentially starting from the early 1980s. Better late than never, I suppose.
Hordes of media personnel from other countries have descended in Pakistan to try and establish the linkages between the suspects and Pakistan's hate flaming institutions, including madrassas and the military. Pakistan's ambassador to the UN pins the blame on Britain, claiming that it didnt do enough to integrate Muslims into the mainstream and that Pakistan was certainly not responsible for the actions of disenchanted British Muslims. I've just picked myself off the floor, having been rolling on the floor laughing much to the amusement of my colleagues here, after reading his comment "We have suffered from terrorism more than anybody else. Pakistan is doing all it can."
Even as Pervez Musharraf launched a hasty crackdown on banned outfits, there is scepticism amongst his own countrymen about the effect. Of course, I really dont think anything will result from his crackdown. He must be getting used to these sort of crackdowns, given that he seems to say these things so often. It is merely lip service to ward off international attention for the present. The terrorists keep surfacing after going underground for a couple of months only to assume different names, identities and modus operandis but with the same ideologies and funding.
As I wrote last week, it is unfortunate that Britain has come face-to-face with the reality about Pakistan's role in international terrorism, its biggest export, a few radioactive elements included. The best thing that can happen for the world is if Islamabad's involvement in global terror is systematically exposed. For that to happen, those appreciating Pakistan's role as an ally in the war on terror will have to take the blinkers off and smell the coffee.
Labels: musharraf, pakistan, uk
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It is now becoming clear that four of the suspected bombers who were behind the cowardly terrorist act in London were in fact British citizens of Pakistani origin.
One of the four apparently went to Pakistan, and possibly Afghanistan, for 'religious training'. What you make of that term is left to your imagination. To me, it equates to terrorist training in military camps run by the various terrorist organizations harboured by the Pakistani government and the Taliban.
As this BBC report indicates, it is only now that Britain is feeling the pinch of being in bed with Pakistan. The US felt it four years ago, even though their relationship with Pakistan was deteriorating following the nuclear tests of 1998.
It is really unfortunate that London, and Londoners, suffered because of the inability of the UK government to read the riot act out to Pervez Musharraf. It is really high time the rest of the world saw Musharraf for what he is, a dictator who actively cultivated and supported the Al-Qaeda and now controls several terrorist organizations which strike at will across the world, including, lest we forget in the midst of the carnage, India. Someone needs to point him to this paper indicating the lack of any correlation between poverty and terrorism so that he is forced to alight from his high horse.
Labels: al-qaeda, musharraf, pakistan, uk
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Even as Londoners recovered from the revelry, hangovers and gloating following the news that the city would host the 2012 Olympic Games, a series of blasts have rocked the city just past noon local time. There were blasts in the London Underground as well as on a bus. More than thirty have died. Scotland Yard, in a statement, confirms the four sites which were attacked.
Follow the story at Yahoo! News, Wikipedia, Google News, Yahoo! UK, and BBC News.
Either the French are really mad on having lost out on the IOC vote or there're some people who really want to make their presence and protest felt against the G-8 summit in Scotland or its those terrorists again.
Update: Turns out a terrorist group linked to the Al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility.
Reports from The International Herald Tribune, The Economist, The New York Times and Slate.
Photo essays from Time and Yahoo! News.
London was affected by a blackout a couple of years ago.
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A few minutes ago, International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge announced that London would host the 2012 Olympic Games. The other contenders before today's vote ended in Singapore were Paris, Madrid, New York City and Moscow. Reports/comments from BBC, Reuters, Christian Science Monitor and Economist. Web searches for news on Yahoo! and Google. Coverage of the bid by The Telegraph and The Times.
London last hosted the games in 1948. India and Pakistan participated as independent nations for the first time. India won the hockey gold.
Previous posts on the race to host the 2012 games: Twenty20 cricket if games in London?, IOC member votes for sale scam unearthed, Seb Coe's vision for the Olympics in London, London among front-runners and London welcomes IOC officials.
Paul Maidment writes on forbes.com about how London has merely won the right to pick up an expensive bill, confirming my earlier views on the Olympics being a waste of money. I had written that in the context of developing nations but perhaps it is true for everyone! Perhaps it is true that we overvalue sporting achievements.
I only hope the London local administration doesn't try any such "integrate with the EU" efforts now!
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Abu Gharib trial set to impact Tony Blair's campaign
When a news headline screams "England Pleads Guilty to Abusing Prisoners", it has to make you wonder about what Blair and his cronies have been upto. What effect will it have on Tony Blair's re-election pitch? Certainly not the type of headline he'd want right now!
Turns out that the news item was about Lynnie England, who pleaded guilty to mistreating prisoners at Abuse Gharib even as her government tried to throw out the evil guys running the show in Iraq.
Labels: uk
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British government revamps the 'Beeb'
Following a major overhaul late last year in terms of the BBC's operations, the UK government has decided to constitute a trust and executive board which would be responsible for the BBC's functioning, replacing the existing set of governors. The BBC obviously has little choice but to accept that its own reforms had not worked.
Labels: uk
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London, which is hoping to host the Olympics in 2012, welcomed the IOC officials who would evaluate its charms.
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London is now among the front-runners to host the 2012 Olympic Games. Paris is currently the favourite but New York isnt too far behind. London's bid is headed by Sebastian Coe. But the bid did suffer an embarassment a few months ago when a BBC programme revealed corrupt practices in getting IOC member countries to vote for specific cities, including London. The race gets more and more interesting!
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Sebastian Coe reveals the how London will host the 2012 Olympics, if it is chosen.
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British students spend as much on alcohol as they did on food & books combined!
Labels: uk
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Bookies in England have now finally given up on Henman and are now offering 250/1 odds on Henman's daughter winning Wimbledon.
Labels: uk
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Politics
British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jack Straw talks to N Ram about going to war in Iraq and other aspects of a the India-UK bilateral relationship.
The Hindu's editorial on the pardon granted to Dr. AQ Khan.
George Bush defends his actions on NBC's 'Meet the press' and the New York Times has an editorial while The Washington Post has a column.
Cricket
Australian wicket-keeper batsman (or batsman wicket-keeper?) Adam Gilchrist sums up the VB Series and mentions that there maybe a need to restructure the annual one-day triangular series.
The BCCI hasn't quite received a shot in the arm from the Indian team for the planned tour to Pakistan. Sourav Ganguly has expressed the team's concerns over the security situation, hastening to add that playing Pakistan wasn't the issue. Pervez Musharraf has pledged full support for administrative and security measures to ensure the tour is a success. Unconfirmed reports however suggest that the players are under tremendous pressure from their families not to go to Pakistan.
Labels: aq khan, proliferation, uk
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