|
If wild guesses are permitted, I too
like to jump into the bandwagon and try to fly a kite! My guess is
both US and Pakistan knew about the whereabouts the most want
fugitive on earth that’s Osama Bin Laden i.e. OBL. They both
sheltered him as long as they felt it was necessary to justify the
war on terror.
As made out to be, OBL was a virtual prisoner and it is not
possible to lead such a life that too in a populated area without
the connivance of those who were sheltering him. It is common
wisdom that no one can hide for such a long time without the
consent of those who were protecting him.
Now the question is who was protecting OBL? Was it Pakistan or the
US? One cannot accuse Pakistan that has come out with a statement
that it was sharing the information with the US about the compound
since 2009, so that means from 2009 to 2011, there was a
complexity on the part of both the countries to hide the most
wanted mortal living on our planet.
One may also question the veracity of the fact that OBL was living
in that compound for a long time. How can a fugitive like OBL hole
in for a considerable period who is suppose to have been changing
places as one changes its cloths. The theory is unpalatable and do
not pass the test of reasons.
Even for argument sake if we accept that the fact that OBL was
living there for long, then where were his bodyguards, with whom
he was suppose to be moving in the Afghan mountains.
According to the US fed story, its commandos happily dropped into
the compound without any resistance. They managed to get into the
second floor of the building and got their target like a sitting
duck and shot it in head, took the picture of the dead and carried
his body. All this happened in 40 minutes and with little
resistance. Is this story palatable? It may hard for someone to
believe it lock stock and barrel.
Imagine “Operation Blue Star” on the Golden Temple in 1984 where
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was holed up. What kind of resistance
wall he had built to protect himself. It needed tanks to crack
that cordon and this did come with heavy causalities.
If OBL was living in that compound for long, why he did not had
any defense mechanism laid for him. OBL knew the kind of threat he
faced, he could have laid a mine in the compound and may have
other layers of his defense? Why that was not so? Can the story
that US commandos walked in shot him and took him away is
believable?
The US operation exposes Pakistan's defense preparedness. If the
US commandos can enter the Pakistani territory and leave it
unchallenged, so can any other country. The “blind spots” that
Pakistani establishment say were the reasons for US helicopters
being undetected is for all its enemies to make use of not for the
US alone. If a government and its army cannot protect its
territory, then there is every reason to pull down such a
government. Such glaring lapses cannot be permitted. The lesson is
better security arrangement should be in place to deter such
future adventurisms.
Any way we have to believe the story that the US wants to us tell
and we cannot question its veracity as they are the lord of the
universe. Will they remain so forever?
The rejoicing that was seen in the US matched the glee that the
Palestinian showed who they came out on streets on the fateful day
of 9/11. The two images are still fresh in mind, one of gloom and
despair in the US, the other of awe and glee in Palestine. It is
not to condone the perpetrators of 9/11 but God alone knows, who
was on the right side of the justice.
I agree with the view that no country has the right to violate the
territorial sovereignty of another country; else, the rule of
jungle will dominate, the strong will prevail over the weak and
such unethical conduct may become the order of the day.
In case of the operation against the OBL, it was imperative that
US government may have taken the Pakistan government into
confidence and both jointly could have finished the job.
The other objectionable point is the clod-blooded murder of the
OBL. As the story is he, the target was unarmed and offered little
resistance, why he was not arrested? According to civilized norms,
OBL should have been taken into custody by the Pakistani
government, and then handed over to the US. A fair tail on his
crimes could have decided his fate. However, not all this happened
and what happed was beyond all civilized norms.
The other disgusting fact was the way OBL’s body was handled is
something nauseating. Again as the story is fed, OBL’s body was
literally thrown into the deep sea; because the US did not want
his mortal remain to be left behind as that may make him a martyr
and may become a rallying point. Its pity a civilized country can
think such a way on such issues.
Once a person is dead all the animosity ceases to exist, the
person is no more an enemy but reduced the status of a mere
corpse. In the world of civilized people such corpse should have
been disposed according to the deceased religious tents. But what
was done was frightening, was it meant that way? Who was
intimidate and with this will this cycle of intimidation may come
to an end?
I suspect that OBL was he was mastermind behind the operation
9/11. A man who drinks water in a tin pot and looks more like a
cleric and do not seem to posses any modern scientific knowledge,
can be a mastermind of such a high profile operation like 9/11.
Its myth that was created to satisfy the hurt feelings and in the
process a Frankenstein monster was created.
There is no doubt, that OBL was an American baiter who poured his
anger in words against the highhanded policies of the US against
the Arab world. What he was saying not untrue as there remains
seething anger that was aspiring to be canalized? OBL was a symbol
of resistance against American hegemonic designs. There was
nothing beyond it. His end does not solve the problem rather it
aggravates them.
Is it a crime to oppose American policies and for doing so one may
become an enemy of US. There is no dearth of US baiters in this
world and will they all meet the OBL fate? Oh boy, where are we
heading for?
To cut the long story short, the US created OBL and used him for
the Afghan Jihad against the Soviets. In the process, it gave him
the taste of its code of conduct. The man who held the US flag
aloft on battlefield of the Great Game, and drove away the
communists from Afghanistan was a disgruntled man at the end of
the war.
The realization that the US policy of use individuals for its
vested interests and dump them when the purpose is served made OBL
a diehard US baiter. He started an organization that’s committed
to armed resistance against the US and it’s this organization that
represents a movement that maybe hard to contain.
It took long for the US to bottle up the Frankenstein monster that
it had created. The cost of it is yet to be tabulated but suffice
would be to say that a huge amount of men, material and firepower
was lost in the process. To cap it all, it leaves behind a legacy
that now flourishes in the minds of those who are opposed to the
handed policies of the US in the world.
The big question is whether the US has bought peace by physically
eliminating OBL. I have a feeling that the momentary rejoicing may
be a recipe for sleepless nights in future. Such lessons of
history are not forgotten and soon it may come to haunt the nation
whose policy makers are basking in the glory of being the supreme
power.
I feel OBL was a stupid guy. He may have shifted his base to US
and lived there happily while his hunters may have been searching
him elsewhere. He had enough resources to bribe through to the US
mainland and get a new name identity. As clean-shaven, short hair
man, wearing jeans and jacket and American cap, he could have
started new life.
Was all this was possible? Well all this is flying the kite too
far. Each of us is destined with over lives. How and when the end
our life may come remains a mystery. Perhaps the end of OBL was
destined that way and one has to be contended with that. As far as
I am concerned OBL was not a hero, but then was he a villain, and
if so, for whom and why?
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be
contacted at syedalimujtaba@yahoo.com
|
Comments
|
Quick links