Dr. Aafia Siddiqui Case: My Honor Is Not For Sale, Not For a Lie By GORDON DUFF

VETERANS Today Editors, Jeff Gates, Raja Mujtaba and I were in the AF-Pak region over the last couple of weeks. Jeff and I are Vietnam veterans, Raja a decorated combat veteran, tank commander, from the India/Pakistan war. We met dozens of Pakistani military, including nearly all of their highest ranking retired officers, from Admiral Sirohey, Chairman of their Joint Chiefs of Staff to General Alsam Beg, Head of the Army to Lt. General Hamid Gul, former head of the ISI. In our party were our other Veterans Today contributors, BG Asif Haroon Raja and BG Raza Ali, of “Charlie Wilson’s War” fame.

Today, I received an email from Admiral Sirohey. His office is lined with memorabilia from a long career of service, service as an ally and friend of the United States. Sirohey and the rest were America’s most stalwart allies during the Cold War. These were the real allies that helped us bring about the downfall of the Soviet Union. I was honored to be among them. Today Admiral Sirohey is scheduled to attend a rally protesting the illegal kidnapping, brutalizing and conviction of Dr. Affia Siddiqui. America’s best friends in Asia, the finest soldiers in the world are horrified at what we have done.

Can it be that bad?

The Bush administration, when it saw its “War on Terror” wasn’t getting enough suspects, hired drug cartel members and criminal elements to kidnap innocent civilians to fill our secret prisons. Yes, we actually did this. In this case, we kidnapped a mother with 3 children, tortured her for years, murdered a small child and then charged her with attempting to murder her captors after years in a secret prison on Bagram Air Force Base.

Every soldier on that base, everyone who has served there has to live with the dishonor of this act until something is done. Remember when America, after World War II painted the people of Germany with the stain of guilt for not knowing about the death camps? Tell me what is different here? We didn’t know that druglords and gangsters were stealing people off the street to fill our prisons with “terror suspects” so Bush/Ashcroft and Cheney could crow about their successes?

If you didn’t know before, this is what all the secret “torture memos” were all about, not real terrorists, but innocent people we “bought” as though we were slave runners of old.

A few years after we bought our phony terror suspects, tortured, raped and brutalized them, most were released. They had committed no crime other than to be standing on the wrong dark street corner when the druglords working for Bush were out hunting “meat” for America’s gulags.

Dr. Aafia had to be convicted, had to be jailed and silenced. The crimes against her and her children were so heinous, only a kangaroo court in America, a country whose news is orchestrated by the Islam hating MSM/Corporate media and powerful Israeli/AIPAC lobby would have the audiacity to bring her to trial.

Do we need to review the case? Remember the OJ case? He was released because of a glove not fitting. Dr. Aafia was shot by the “translator” during her “debriefing.”

She has a Doctorate from an American university. She comes from a country where everyone speaks English. “If the translator doesn’t fit, you must acquit!”

Do we now call a person with a cattle prod a “translator?”

When the My Lai massacre happened, I was with a Marine unit less than 50 miles away. All of us who were there then, not so many are around any more, carry the stain of that dishonor and have for decades. I can talk of honor or service but all people see is babies and their mothers, shot to death, lining the bottom of a ditch.

It is a matter of honor.

There are no “secret prisons” and nobody is tortured without someone knowing about it. We are all responsible, I don’t care if you are serving in Iraq or Afghanistan or anywhere around the world, active duty, reserve, National Guard, retiree or veteran. We are nearly 30 million strong. Many of us don’t have much, memories, wounds, a small pension and our honor.
Our silence strips our honor away.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was not a terrorist. The newspapers lied, we all know why. Either she is guilty or we all are. Better to destroy her than to arrest those guilty of real crimes, arrest people some of us voted into high office.
“We were just taking orders.”

Where have we heard that before, Nuremberg? It isn’t just this one life. We already killed over a million people in our ill fated invasion of Iraq.
Fog of War. We know better, everyone with eyes to see knows better, know it now. Then why are we still acting like criminals? No more lies. We are at war, a war with real enemies. We have so little, our short lives, our families and what we believe in.

Did a tiny crippled woman, illegally imprisoned for years try to murder a room of FBI, Special Forces and Blackwater/CIA operatives?

I can tell you this: If I get my butt kicked by a 100 pound woman in a wheel chair, you won’t see me in front of a jury in New York City crying for my mama.

The only possible answer is that everyone involved in the trial of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui is a liar. Nothing else is possible. I know why they lied, they were ordered to “for the good of the service.” Was there something in the oath involving “protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America unless told to lie for the good of the service?”

What are we protecting?

Once the public learns that we are buying phony terror suspects from the worlds largest drug dealers, people we are protecting, people flooding our streets with narcotics, there might be problems. Best not let the public know why we never found those weapons of mass destruction, that yellow cake uranium, those mobile bio-weapons labs or why our continual search for Osama bin Laden keeps failing.

The deal of the century, destroying an innocent life and earning the hate of a valued ally, all to stand behind the lies and rhetoric of America’s “dark age.” We would be lucky if it were only every citizen of Pakistan that was enraged at us for this travesty. It is worse, far worse.

Who are the real terrorists? In Pakistan, Admiral Sirohey, friend to half a dozen American Presidents is heading to a peaceful protest. What can we, Americans, claim? If kidnapping, torture, rape and covering it up by letting the victim rot in prison isn’t terrorism, I don’t know what is.

We should be thankful for that seat on the UN Security Council. We may need it for more than covering up for Israel. The next nation facing sanctions for international crimes may be us. All that stands between us and being cut off from the world is our veto. All that is keeping an entire administration from War Crimes trials is the Bush administrations withdrawal from the International Criminal Court at the Hague.
Why is President Obama allowing the outrages of the Bush administration to continue?

SOURCE: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/03/03/gordon-duff-freeing-dr-aafia-a-matter-of-honor/#respond

New Iran – New Intentions

Ishaal Zehra

The attack which killed the national Deputy Commander of the ground forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guards (RG), General Noor Ali Shooshtari and the provincial commander for Sistan-Baluchistan, Rajab Ali Mohammadzadeh along with some senior officers and 42 others in a homicide bombing inflicted Iran's worst military casualties in years.

Quick after the mishap, an Iranian military official went as far as to raise the prospect of a possible military offensive into Pakistan against the group blamed for the attack. "There is even unanimity that these operations (could) take place in Pakistan territory," the ISNA news agency quoted MP Payman Forouzesh as saying. While the headquarters of Iran's armed forces blamed the bombing on "terrorists" backed by "the Great Satan America and its ally Britain," Fars News Agency said Sunday.

Islamabad strongly denied the allegations and said the attack was an attempt to "spoil ties" with Iran. "There are forces which are out to spoil our relations with Iran. But our ties are strong enough to counter these machinations," said the Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman Abdul Basit while dismissing the allegations.

The point to ponder is that, how come Pakistan would be wishing to create unrest in some neighbour while its own house is burning. Pakistan has been the victim of worst type of terror since many years. The war which initially started in Afghanistan was purposely shifted to Balochistan province of ours as a part of the Great Game. Amid the GWOT the active involvement of many countries intelligence agencies in Balochistan was observed. These agencies, while playing with the internal conflicts of the center and the Baloch people, are subversively involved in provision of funds and arms to different armed groups. This has been proved many a times that the outlawed armed groups of Balochistan, BLA and BRA are funded and trained by Indian RAW. Even the websites of BLA and greater Balochistan are updated from India. The role of Indian consulate offices in Afghanistan is suspected since their origin.

Keeping in view the sensitivity of the problem, it is difficult for India to openly support the Baluch insurgency because it may harm her relations with Iran (never bother about Pakistan). If the Indians will come out openly in support of the BLA, anti-Indian elements in Pakistan will quickly bracket New Delhi with the alleged Great Game of the US against Iran.
Indian relation with Iran have generally been viewed by observers as a tightrope walking to balance out her interests in Iran as well with the US. India, knowingly, that sidestepping the international community’s efforts to thwart Iran’s so-called drive for nuclear weapons would only devalue her credibility in the eyes of global power, New Delhi is fast trying to convey an unambiguous message that a nuclear armed Iran is as unacceptable to India as it is to the US, the U.K. or France. Hence, India (a good time’s friend) seems to be all set to dump Tehran to seek new alliances and please her new friends.

Iran is a regional power and an aspiring nuclear state which poses a threat to Israeli expansionism in Middle East. There is no denying the fact that Iran’s nuclear programme has been a persistent worry for both, US and Israel. And the choice between new allies and old friend is getting tough on India. To understand India’s dilemma, it requires a critical view of her relation with both Israel and Iran. There has been a steady strengthening of the India’s relationship with Israel ever since India established full diplomatic relations with Israel in 1992. Ever since then, the flourishing Indo- Israel relationship has gained much potential to make a significant impact on the global politics, by altering the balance of power not only in South Asia but the Middle East as well. Today, India has become the biggest market for Israeli arms with their strategic, defence and intelligence cooperation growing at a rapid pace. Where as, on the other hand, the vast oil and gas reserves of Iran serve magnetic affiliation to the quenching India’s long term thirst for energy. And yet another attraction in Iran’s case is that she offers India access to Afghanistan and Central Asia, side-lining Pakistan.

Given the scenario, India is more likely to tilt towards Israel in future. As regardless of her important ties with Arab countries and Iran, her lure for intelligence consultations with Israel seems a durable one. Until now, India has veered between cooperation and altercation in case of Iran yet in the time to come we may expect India to go along with Israel and US in destroying Iran, one of the country in Bush’s war against his self-selected axis of evil. A nuclear Iran suspected of supporting Palestinians and organizations sympathetic to them, faces a great threat of attack on its nuclear installations. And India would support such an operation clandestinely, while opposing in front of the world, not to annoy Iran because of economic reasons. Amusingly, India’s interest in the proposed IPI gas line project diminished sharply from the time the US-India nuclear deal began to take shape. Probably, the US wants to undermine India-Iran economic relations to such an extent that New Delhi becomes a stakeholder in its plan against Iran.

The geopolitical implications of the collaborations between India, US and Israel are grave and manifold. Despite the denials, India is playing a secret role in US strategy against Iran for past many years. India regardless of having close ties with Iran stabbed her in the back by joining EU-3 on Iran’s nuclear issue. It is no more a secret that EU-3 is no longer acting independently, but as a surrogate of the US. How piteous that a democracy ended up as a deputy of a surrogate. History has witnessed how India once used the friendly ties with Tehran as a ladder to achieve US and European community’s support to secure permanent seat in Security Council. Thanks to her mean and wanton nature which made her vote twice against the same Iran in the IAEA governing board, thus endorsing the US agenda for confrontation with Iran. Nevertheless, the Indian vote against Iran has extensively lowered her global structure and credibility. Despite her close economic and political relations, if India could stab a friendly country like Iran in the back, then she could not be considered trustworthy by other developing countries.

The thriving indo-Israeli relations are posing a direct threat to Iran. Their trade has grown exceptionally over the years, especially after the launch of Israeli spy satellite from the Indian Space center, the tie got even stronger. The launch of TecSAR has considerably enhanced Israel’s intelligence-gathering capability. The satellite is clearly affecting the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, as its ability to produce image in adverse weather and even at night allowed Israel to obtain more information about the Iranian nuclear programme. Though India officially argues that she has commercially utilized her advanced technological capacity but the act brought to light India’s full cooperation to dissuade, isolate and if necessary sanction and contain Iran. Nevertheless, Iran should realize that a friend of your enemy can never be your friend and India has already established herself as Israel’s friend and Iran’s foe at many instances.

It is time that India’s credibility as a friendly democracy should be weighed by other developing countries of the world. The Indo-Israel nexus, under the US patronage, is posing a threat to the Muslim world. All their ambitions revolve around targeting particularly Muslim states that are energy rich and either nuclear or threshold nuclear states. It is high time that the Islamic countries take a unified and concrete step to cater this ghastly menace, or else it might become too late.

Terrorism, Islam and Pakistan: The Fault-Line

Dr. Raja Muhammad Khan

According to famous Roman historian Josephus; terrorism has existed in one or the other form, ever since the origin of human being. However the act was formally known to be called as, ‘Reign of Terror’ (terrorism) during the French Revolution (1789–1799), in the Christen and Jewish dominated Country, as cited by Jacobins. At that time it was neither labeled as Christen nor Jewish terrorism.

However, in the ensuing history of mankind, this act of violence has been committed by people from various religions, areas, communities and casts/ creeds, but never ever, it was linked with a religion to call it either; Jewish, Islamic or Christen terrorism. Unfortunately it was only after the incident of 9/11, that the term was dubbed as the ‘Islamic Terrorism’.

While analyzing the Islamic dictate on the subject, it is very clear that; Mischief comprises all forms of anarchy and terror that remove security, comfort and peace. Whereas Islam teaches peace and tolerance and orders its believers to compassion and justice; thus “Islam and terrorism cannot stand side by side”. Islam forbids terrorism and aims to bring peace and security to the world. Indeed, no divine religion permits terrorism and violence. As Holy Quran says, “If someone kills another person - unless it is in retaliation for someone else or for causing corruption in the earth - it is as if he had killed all mankind”. Thus, the teaching of Islam is that, ‘a person who kills even a single man indeed commits a crime as if he had murdered all mankind on earth and such people will have a painful punishment’. In no part of the Quran does God command believers to "respond to violence with violence", but commands Muslims to "respond to evil with goodness".

These directives from the Holy Quran are enlightening for a better understanding of the Western disinformation in the name of, “Islamic Terrorism”. In reality those conduct and harbor these acts of terrorism in the name of Islam cannot be regarded as Muslims, as Islam do not allow such inhuman acts. In fact, whether a conspiracy or otherwise, against the essence of Islam, these militants try to make Islam, a tool of barbarism. In fact the beginning of this barbarism, which may well be called, “third world fanaticism” is the benighted initiatives of people who are devoid of love for human being. In 11th century, the way Crusaders distorted and misconstrued the Christianity as a teaching of brutality, some tainted groups might have budded in the Islamic world to get the wrong impression about Islam through brutal acts of terrorism. The commonalities of Crusaders and these so called Islamic terrorists are their "Bedouin" nature, that; “they were ignorant, unrefined, uncultivated, vulgar, and isolated people”. The violence they resorted resulted from this social structure, rather than the religion to which they claimed to adhere. The true message of a religion or another system of belief can be at times exposed to distortion by its pseudo-adherents. The Crusaders, who constitute a dark episode of Christian history, set a good example of this.

Created on the ideology of Islam, the terms like; extremism, violence, terrorism and suicide attacks were alien for the peace loving society of Pakistan. It was never the panorama of nonsensical violence and unpitying massacres even until 2003. Ever since the start of global war on terror in the post 9/11 scenario, this peaceful nation has lost innumerable innocent civilians and security forces personnel while acting as a frontline state. These losses have been caused by so called Islamic militants; the Taliban, Al-Qaeda and their accomplices, during their terror attacks either on security forces, innocent masses or else due to collateral damages caused in the process of combating the militancy. In fact the number of causalities Pakistan has suffered during this so called war on terror is much more than what we afforded during combat operations in all wars with India. The inopportune incident of 9/11 was a milestone in our current history and has caused inconceivable domestic turbulence in Pakistan. In reality, the incident was fallout of Western sponsored Jihad against the invasion of former Soviet Union in Afghanistan (1979 -1989). After disintegration of Soviet Union, the Western backed former Jihadis were left out of work, as US lead West left the region in haste. A majority of them kept itinerant along Pak- Afghan border until 9/11. Thereafter their presence in tribal areas was mulled over as a budding risk; therefore security forces launched operations to flush them out, to which they resorted to terrorist attacks on innocent civilians and security forces. Starting from Waziristan in 2004, they successfully made inroads into our major cities and carried out terrorist attacks across the length and breadth of the country. Over the years these militants were strengthened by acquisition of latest weaponry and equipments and an unending financial support by forces operating from outside the Pakistani borders, having historical rancor against us. In 2008 alone, over 5000 innocent Pakistani have lost their lives in the ongoing wave of terrorism.

The question arises who caused this all? Essentially these are those elements, fighting under the wrong pretext of promoting their version of Islamic ideology which is contrary to true spirit of Islam. It is worth mentioning here that Islam preaches peace and tranquility not violence and killings. These militants kill the innocent people indiscriminately, basing on which one can safely say that they are pursuing a philosophy contrary to Islamic one. Infact the militants fighting against the world in general and Pakistan in particular are sloppily damaging the Islamic ideology and impression of Islam, which cannot be done by a Muslim. All tangible evidences and analysis are indeed leading to the coherent conclusions that; camouflaged like Muslims, these militants are operating against Islam. It will be impulsive to say that who’s cause they are promoting? But indubitably none is follower of Islam or well wisher of Muslims in general and Pakistan in particular.

It is beyond doubt that, Pakistan is suffering, mainly because of its historical alliance with US and West whose policies and actions against Muslims have created the so called Islamic militants in Pakistan and elsewhere in the Muslim world. Time has come where Pakistani nation has to understand these so called Islamic militants, damaging the very basis of existence of the only ideological Muslim country in the world by promoting terrorism and extremism. Their uninterrupted flow of finances and munitions and secured hideouts has to be questioned and ceased consequently. It was unimaginable until a few years ago to target mosques that were known to be place of protection for every Muslim, but recent attacks on religious congregations in mosques/imam bargahs etc. have become a routine. These terrorist and immoral acts, violence and armed assaults on national, social and religious congregations are seriously leading towards their long term out of sight un-Islamic intentions. Their activities have made everyone and any one insecure in Pakistan. They have seriously hampered the economic progress of the country by encumbering the foreign investment through acts like; kidnapping and terrorizing the foreigners. They are openly torching the educational institutions specially girls schools and colleges, the very basis of our intellectual growth and quintessence of Islam. They are publicly butchering and beating the innocents including women and all those who question their true motives and ideology. They are promoting sectarianism, ethnicity and factional divide among the nation. In short, these militants are at war with all the peace loving people of Pakistan for motives better known to them or their abettors.

As in Islam, every divine religion, commands love, justice, mercy and peace. Violence turned into terrorism on the other hand is divergent to the religion and promotes; brutality, carnage, misery and unscrupulousness. This being the case, the origins of a terrorist act should be sought in disbelief rather than in any religion. Irrespective of their native religion, people with fascist, racist or materialist ideologies should be alleged as possible perpetrators. The name or the identity of the triggerman is not important. If he can kill innocent people without blinking an eye, then he is a nonbeliever, not a believer. Therefore, the misinformation that Islam promotes terrorism is rather a flawed concept which contradicts its basic teaching as referred above. The religion of Islam can by no means countenance terrorism, rather, terror in Islam is a great sin, and Muslims are responsible for preventing these acts and bringing peace and justice to the world. And this is what Pakistani as a nation is doing to save itself and the world from terrorists.

Terrorist are carrying out attacks in all corners of the world. Sadly, the fact that the perpetrators of various terrorist acts carry Christian, Muslim or Jewish identities cause some people to put forward claims which do not concur with divine religions. The truth is that even if terrorists have Muslim origin, the terror they perpetrate cannot be labeled "Islamic terror", just as it could not be called "Jewish terror" if the perpetrators were Jews or "Christian terror" if they were Christians. Therefore, it is felt that media, think tanks and intellectual should report to the real motives and un-Islamic practices of the terrorists. As terrorists attacking the Mosques (House of Allah) cannot be considered Muslims. Their motive is not supremacy of Islam rather they are actually playing in the hands of anti-Islamic and anti Pakistan elements.

The writer is a South Asian analyst. Email; drmk_edu@yahoo.com