Author Archive
Best Article on Operation Geronimo By Noam Chomsky: My Reaction to Osama bin Laden’s Death
May 8th, 2011 | 
Author: The article by Noam Chomsky reproduced below was published in Guernica magazine on May 6, 2011(http://www.guernicamag.com/blog/2652/noam_chomsky_my_reaction_to_os/) is a master piece analysis on not only the death of OBL but also sheds glaring light on the 9/11 terror acts in USA as well. It is being reproduced below particularly for the benefit of policy makers in Pakistan to charter the future course of nations policy on war on terror.
Article
“It’s increasingly clear that the operation was a planned assassination, multiply violating elementary norms of international law. There appears to have been no attempt to apprehend the unarmed victim, as presumably could have been done by 80 commandos facing virtually no opposition—except, they claim, from his wife, who lunged towards them. In societies that profess some respect for law, suspects are apprehended and brought to fair trial. I stress “suspects.” In April 2002, the head of the FBI, Robert Mueller, informed the press that after the most intensive investigation in history, the FBI could say no more than that it “believed” that the plot was hatched in Afghanistan, though implemented in the UAE and Germany. What they only believed in April 2002, they obviously didn’t know 8 months earlier, when Washington dismissed tentative offers by the Taliban (how serious, we do not know, because they were instantly dismissed) to extradite bin Laden if they were presented with evidence—which, as we soon learned, Washington didn’t have. Thus Obama was simply lying when he said, in his White House statement, that “we quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda.”
Nothing serious has been provided since. There is much talk of bin Laden’s “confession,” but that is rather like my confession that I won the Boston Marathon. He boasted of what he regarded as a great achievement.
There is also much media discussion of Washington’s anger that Pakistan didn’t turn over bin Laden, though surely elements of the military and security forces were aware of his presence in Abbottabad. Less is said about Pakistani anger that the U.S. invaded their territory to carry out a political assassination. Anti-American fervor is already very high in Pakistan, and these events are likely to exacerbate it. The decision to dump the body at sea is already, predictably, provoking both anger and skepticism in much of the Muslim world.
It’s like naming our murder weapons after victims of our crimes: Apache, Tomahawk… It’s as if the Luftwaffe were to call its fighter planes “Jew” and “Gypsy.”
We might ask ourselves how we would be reacting if Iraqi commandos landed at George W. Bush’s compound, assassinated him, and dumped his body in the Atlantic. Uncontroversially, his crimes vastly exceed bin Laden’s, and he is not a “suspect” but uncontroversially the “decider” who gave the orders to commit the “supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole” (quoting the Nuremberg Tribunal) for which Nazi criminals were hanged: the hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions of refugees, destruction of much of the country, the bitter sectarian conflict that has now spread to the rest of the region.
There’s more to say about [Cuban airline bomber Orlando] Bosch, who just died peacefully in Florida, including reference to the “Bush doctrine” that societies that harbor terrorists are as guilty as the terrorists themselves and should be treated accordingly. No one seemed to notice that Bush was calling for invasion and destruction of the U.S. and murder of its criminal president.
Same with the name, Operation Geronimo. The imperial mentality is so profound, throughout western society, that no one can perceive that they are glorifying bin Laden by identifying him with courageous resistance against genocidal invaders. It’s like naming our murder weapons after victims of our crimes: Apache, Tomahawk… It’s as if the Luftwaffe were to call its fighter planes “Jew” and “Gypsy.”
There is much more to say, but even the most obvious and elementary facts should provide us with a good deal to think about.” (By Noam Chomsky)
Copyright 2011 Noam Chomsky
Picture of Barack Husain Obama – Worth A Million Words
The most surprising thing for me was the very unimpressive image of president Barack Obama, sitting in a corner of the meeting room of get Osama Bin Laden operation, on the right side of a uniformed man, who seemed to be the all in all, in the meeting room.
The picture shown above is belittling the presidents image and is very surprising, unusual & revealing.
As they say a picture is worth more than a thousand words. In my opinion, this picture was worth more than a million words.
Did Osama really die on Monday in Abbottabad? – A Thought Provoking Article By Akhtar Jamal of Pakistan Observer
The subject article by Akhtar Jamal published in the “Pakistan Observer” is reproduced below with link. The questions raised in the article with particular reference to the DNA test results authenticity, needs answers from the concerned authorities.
Observer Exclusive
Islamabad—The claims regarding Osama bin Laden’s death began almost immediately after Sept. 11, 2001 American invasion of Afghanistan.
In 2010 a website released photo of the body of Osama bin Laden and claimed that he was killed several years ago. But what is more surprising is that the very same photo was being circulated Monday after U.S. forces reported that Osama bin Laden was killed early Monday.
It was not clear why the same photo of “dead Osama” which was available with several regional agencies were released Monday once again to the media.
This led to speculations that “Osama’s body might have been brought in to be later ‘discovered’ from the scene of clash with other Al-Qaeda militants.
The discovery of Osama’s body from Bilal Town, Abbottabad has increased pressure on Pakistani security forces.
Some experts expressed surprise over official confirmation of Osama’s death at highest level in the United States just within a few hours of Osama’s death. Experts say that a DNA test cannot be done within a few hours and professionals cannot be satisfied with DNA tests conducted within three or four hours after death.
American, French, Saudi and even Pakistani leaders Benazir Bhutto and President Zardari had claimed that Osama was long dead.
In 2007, Benazir Bhutto in an interview with U.S. TV channel claimed that the Al-Qaeda leader was ‘murdered’ years ago. In the interview, she identified the man who killed the notorious al-Qaeda leader as one Omar Sheikh. A few weeks after her statement Benazir Bhutto was assassinated on December 27, 2007.
The report that Osama bin Laden’s body had been buried at sea, claiming it was in accordance with Islamic law, has also raised several questions. It is also a fact that burial at sea is not an Islamic practice and Islam does not determine a timeframe for burial.
Here is the time-line on claims of Osama bin Laden’s death since 2002.
July, 2002 FBI counter-terrorism chief Dale Watson tells a law enforcement conference: “I personally think bin Laden is probably not with us anymore, but I have no evidence to support that.”
August 2002, an American radio host Alex Jones announces, citing high-level Bush administration sources, “that bin Laden died of natural causes and that his family has given the body to the CIA.” Jones added, “they’re gonna roll him out right before the election, he’s on ice right now.”
May, 2003 French military analyst announces that bin Laden was killed in an American air raid in Tora Bora shortly after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.
February, 2004 Iranian Radio reports that bin Laden was captured in the Afghan-Pakistan border area “a long time ago”—but the official announcement was delayed because “Bush is intending to use it for propaganda maneuvering in the presidential election.”
April, 2005 The Israeli press picks up an account from a radical Muslim London newspaper: “We now report that the al-Qaeda organization has announced the death of Osama Bin Laden.”
September 2006 French intelligence document says that Saudis believe bin Laden had died of typhoid in Pakistan.
June 2008: Citing two unnamed officials, Time magazine reports that a recent CIA study has concluded bin Laden has long-term kidney disease and “may only have months to live.”
April, 2009 President Asif Ali Zardari tells the media that his country’s intelligence services “obviously feel that (bin Laden) does not exist anymore”.
Finally on May 2, 2011 American President Barak Obama announces that the U.S. killed bin Laden in Pakistan.
Sacrifice – A Lesson From A Japanese Boy
THIS letter, written by Vietnamese immigrant Ha Minh Thanh working in Fukushima as a policeman to a friend in Vietnam, was posted on New America Media on March 19. It is a testimonial to the strength of the Japanese spirit, and an interesting slice of life near the epicenter of Japan’s crisis at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. It was translated by NAM editor Andrew Lam, author of “East Eats West: Writing in Two Hemispheres.” Shanghai Daily condensed it.
Brother,
How are you and your family? These last few days, everything was in chaos. When I close my eyes, I see dead bodies. When I open my eyes, I also see dead bodies.
Each one of us must work 20 hours a day, yet I wish there were 48 hours in the day, so that we could continue helping and rescuing folks.
We are without water and electricity, and food rations are near zero. We barely manage to move refugees before there are new orders to move them elsewhere.
I am currently in Fukushima, about 25 kilometers away from the nuclear power plant. I have so much to tell you that if I could write it all down, it would surely turn into a novel about human relationships and behaviors during times of crisis.
People here remain calm – their sense of dignity and proper behavior are very good – so things aren’t as bad as they could be. But given another week, I can’t guarantee that things won’t get to a point where we can no longer provide proper protection and order.
They are humans after all, and when hunger and thirst override dignity, well, they will do whatever they have to do. The government is trying to provide supplies by air, bringing in food and medicine, but it’s like dropping a little salt into the ocean.
Brother, there was a really moving incident. It involves a little Japanese boy who taught an adult like me a lesson on how to behave like a human being.
Last night, I was sent to a little grammar school to help a charity organization distribute food to the refugees. It was a long line that snaked this way and that and I saw a little boy around 9 years old. He was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.
It was getting very cold and the boy was at the very end of the line. I was worried that by the time his turn came there wouldn’t be any food left. So I spoke to him. He said he was at school when the earthquake happened. His father worked nearby and was driving to the school. The boy was on the third floor balcony when he saw the tsunami sweep his father’s car away.
I asked him about his mother. He said his house is right by the beach and that his mother and little sister probably didn’t make it. He turned his head and wiped his tears when I asked about his relatives.
The boy was shivering so I took off my police jacket and put it on him. That’s when my bag of food ration fell out. I picked it up and gave it to him. “When it comes to your turn, they might run out of food. So here’s my portion. I already ate. Why don’t you eat it?”
The boy took my food and bowed. I thought he would eat it right away, but he didn’t. He took the bag of food, went up to where the line ended and put it where all the food was waiting to be distributed.
I was shocked. I asked him why he didn’t eat it and instead added it to the food pile. He answered: “Because I see a lot more people hungrier than I am. If I put it there, then they will distribute the food equally.”
When I heard that I turned away so that people wouldn’t see me cry.
A society that can produce a 9-year-old who understands the concept of sacrifice for the greater good must be a great society, a great people.
Well, a few lines to send you and your family my warm wishes. The hours of my shift have begun again.
Ha Minh Thanh
Compiled by Mrs. Fauzia Faisal
A Golden Chance to Retrieve Ill gotten Wealth of Pakistan From Abroad – A Request To The Chief Justice of Pakistan
A.O.A.
Respected Sir,
Firstly, I will beg excuse for taking your valuable time, for inviting your kind attention, towards the subject matter. The moment I read a news on Friday, 08 April 2011 titled “India to get Swiss bank info for cases dating from Jan 2011” on Times of India Website, my mind immediately went towards your honors’ pain staking efforts, in getting back all the looted money of Pakistan, from corrupt persons whether, in Pakistan or abroad.
Sir, although, getting rid country of corruption, is the duty of every Pakistani and more so of the ruling elite yet, the prevailing atmosphere is such, that whenever, there is a news on a corruption scandal, whether big or small, the general public only pins its hope towards the judiciary. In fact, the present judiciary under your ‘DYNAMITE’ leadership is the only and last hope for the survival of the Pakistani nationhood. However, there is no denying the fact, that this situation has unimaginably burdened the judiciary, beyond its resources. I firmly believe that our judiciary will not be tired down, by this enormous task lying before it. I am also of firm belief, that the battle of survival of Pakistan, will only be fought and won, in the superior courts and nowhere else.
Under the circumstances, if your honor deems it appropriate, it is earnestly requested that some kind of government to government protocol may be initiated by Pakistan, under the watchful eyes of the Supreme Court, with not only Switzerland but all other such countries & Islands, where our looted money is stashed by the corrupt people, whom I consider traitors, as well.
Sir, the economic situation of Pakistan cannot be sustained, by just increasing the taxes on those classes who are already, honestly paying taxes (particularly the salaried and middle income group) or constantly increasing POL, electricity and gas charges etc. The gravity of the economic misery can be easily gauged from the ever increasing suicide incidences in Pakistan. Now, the time has come, when business as usual cannot be run, any further.
Sir, corruption is the biggest danger to the survial of Pakistan.
Sir, there is a saying of Hazrat Ali RA, that a system of ‘Kufr’ can sustain but not a system of ‘Zulm’. And in my opinion, the biggest Zulm with the poor after injustice is corruption. In fact, injustice stems from corruption. The monumental increase in corruption has tremendously increased poverty which in turn is now breeding terrorism.
Hoping to be excused for this trouble.
Regards,
Syed Nayyar Uddin Ahmad
As Long As – A Poem By Prof. Shaheena Asif From Her Book “The Ordinary Woman”
“As Long As”
What I wear
You don’t care
Talking to me
But looking
At the car key
Tired too busy
Business dinners
Late nights
Where you go
I need not know
Too long to be mine
The black hair
On your shoulder shines
The lipstick shade
Though light
On your collar so bright
On your body
A strange perfume for days
Lingers on in many ways
I shall ignore this
And much more
As long as
You are kind to the children
And pretend to like me
On Hysterectomy – A Poem By Prof. Shaheena Asif From Her Book “The Ordinary Woman”
“ON HYSTERECTOMY”
Like dried branches
Like earth hard and cracked
Like grass turned brown
Lifeless but alive
Scared for life
Pretending smiling
Exhausted insecure
Secretly terrified
Dear womb
The surgeons knife
Cured the disease
But
Left me dying inside
Love – A Poem By Prof. Shaheena Asif From Her Book “The Ordinary Woman”
LOVE ?
Who will love me?
When I am –
Beautiful and dutiful
Joking and laughing
Healthy and wealthy
Kind and helpful
Just any body and everybody
Who will love me?
When I am –
Sad and bad
Demanding and commanding
Lazy and crazy
Fat and ugly
Unwell and poor
Just no body and nobody
