Yemenis Condemn War Against Afghanistan [Archives:2001/44/Law & Diplomacy]
October 22 2001
All Yemenis agreed that the barbaric war waged by the United States against the desperate Afghan people is a crime at the beginning of the 21st Century. It is an overt aggression against the sovereignty of an independent state and an application of the law of the jungle which recognizes no human ethics or principles. Evidently, the United States is acting against the principles of essential freedom. This was clearly advocated by President Bush jr. who mentioned that those who would not stand by the United States are with terrorism and that America is a country of justice and freedom with the others being terrorists. This is obviously quite a twisted mentality and a call for a new nazism.
Yemen Times surveyed the views of some Yemeni politicians and intellectuals and filed the following excerpts.
Country Secretary-General of Baath Socialist Party
Permanent peace is just a big American lie apparently merciful but actually brutal. It is the curse of the American way to be dominator and hegemonic. Therefore, the adoption of the slogan of “permanent freedom” is a historical machination in order to exploit world nations in a very arrogant manner. The slogan of “permanent justice,” used by the US President George Bush, seems to have forgotten that there is no justice but the justice of the Almighty God, which provoked and shocked the free world and was rejected by all intellectuals, men of religions and opinion-makers. They all have found in this slogan a way to beyond all the possible limits, an infringement on the divine power of God and a way of being superior over the rest of the world.
America’s definition of “permanent freedom” reflects the domination of less powerful nations and the use of military power to achieve its evil targets. The US does not aim to enforce its slogan of permanent freedom but rather tries to apply its pragmatic policies on the rest of the world.
As a result, we consider the attacks on Afghanistan to be terrorism. For decades, America has been exploiting freedom, democracy and human rights just to serve its evil cause. Now, it is evident that the current war against terrorism under the pretext of defending permanent freedom is a sophisticated way to cover its horrible crimes against Afghanistan. Moreover, the threats that the US extended to other countries, which are accused to be linked with terrorist activities, are only meant to subjugate these nations and force them to follow the American style of freedom and human rights. America also labels every free movement on earth as a terrorist group that should be eradicated regardless of its goals. So, the Palestinian uprising and the call to recover the Golan Heights will be termed as a terrorist act that should be brought down. Similarly, the call for making East Jerusalem the capital of the Palestinian State will be a form of terrorism as well. In brief, everything will be reversed and war will be declared against any call for independence and freedom other than the American way. Finally, I do not think that any sound mind will accept this slogan, while these brutal atrocities are perpetrated against Afghanistan. I also do not think that destroying Afghanistan will solve American narcissism even though the US has tried to convince the world of its strive to achieve permanent freedom. As a whole, permanent freedom cannot be achieved if America does not get rid of using double standards when tackling international issues and does not rationally employ the UN Security Council to serve world peace without any prejudice or oppression.
Director of Political Division at Islah Party
“Lasting Freedom,” the title attached to the American operations, replaced a previous name which was “Absolute Justice.” The name was changed to show respect to religions and the American determination to always give an impression of the civilized dimensions within which the United States of America is moving against terrorism.
Director of Badr for Islamic Studies
The US brutal air raids against Afghanistan with the use of the most sophisticated and modern armament against one of the poorest nation in the world is just a sign that America has gone mad and is openly working against its own interests. The US is committing injustice in its most outrageous form, that is attacking a nation that it used to support in a recent past. This raises the following question: Why did America support them? Was it for the sake of God and the Afghan people? The answer is definitely NO. The aim of the US administration was just to hit two birds with one stone: defeating the former USSR which got slumped and lost badly there; and, killing the biggest number of Mujaheedins and force them to accept American demands. The United States of America and the other Western nations have taken advantage of this opportunity to its limit, as they see the paralyzing of Pakistani military power as a must. They plan to achieve that directly or by provoking turmoil, splits and violence inside Pakistan. Many readers may think that I have gone astray by mentioning Pakistan in this context. I have many strong reasons to mention Pakistan here since America is trying to achieve many evil goals in this regard: building military base in Pakistan in order to protect the country’s weak and mercenary regime and then making Pakistan a base to be used to attack Iran under the pretext that it supports Hizbullah and the Lebanese and Palestinian resistance against Israel. Furthermore, America’s objectives are to monitor closely the Islamic countries of Central Asia and to spread Christianity in those nations. Mostly, the United States wants to have a strong military presence close to the Caspian Sea and the rich oil and gas fields of Central Asia. China is equally one of the targets of the US campaign as the latter searches to weaken the Chinese regime by any means, supporting the separatist Muslim group in China included. Movements like Islamic Jihad, Hizbullah and Hamas are also potential targets of the US military campaign against the so-called international terrorism.
The US administration is also pushing hard the European countries to join its combat in a drive to foil any European attempt to shape up an independent stance on international issues. Indeed, America has been claiming for a long time that Islam is the enemy of Western civilization in order to rally the Christian world under a single umbrella against Islam. Fighting extremism and terrorism are just pretexts cleverly manipulated by the United States to stab Islam in the back. One may inquires what is more outrageous than terrorism undertaken by America itself. 300,000 Japanese people were killed and million others greatly handicapped, mostly civilians, after America dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Moreover, millions of Vietnamese were killed without any mercy in their homeland by US troops which had no other aim but to expand American hegemony around the globe. Similarly, the US has been for decades supporting the Zionist entity with weapons and money in its extermination war against the defenseless Palestinian people. US generous support of Israel and the former’s perpetual use of veto at the UN Security Council are just an example of the US biased stance towards the Zionists and its irresponsible support for state terrorism enacted by Israel. The US went against the entire world when it left, along with Israel, the Anti-Racism Conference in Durban, South Africa. The US government has been supporting Israel when the latter carried out massacres and atrocities against Palestinians and the Lebanese population. One has to recall the Sabra, Shatila, Dir Yasseen and Qina massacres in the past century. As Israel massacred Arabs and Muslims using American weaponry, the US administration considered this as a legitimate and civilized act of self-defense. The devastation that America has brought in Iraq, its domination of the desperate Gulf states and everything else in the world could be OK. However, to attack houses of the desperately poor Afghans and to kill civilians in such a brutal manner is a crime against humanity! Surely, the US will sooner or later provoke its own devastation because of its endless thirst for hegemony and domination. Its current campaign against terrorism is just a prelude to its ruin.
Well-known social personality
The United States of America is undoubtedly the super-power of the moment. After the last terrorist attacks in its own soil, it is rational to retaliate and find the culprits. The US has considered this attack as a proclamation of war against America rather than just a terrorist attack. This means that the America has the right to retaliate by the ways it deems appropriate. Undoubtedly, any nation exposed to such attacks will not hesitate to wage a furious war against the aggressive party, particularly if it poses the capability to avenge itself. So, the US cannot remain blind on the perpetrators of the attacks as they are capable of unleashing similar other attacks. The current war against terrorism waged by the US seems to be inevitable as America must retaliate against the September 11 attacks.
For the most part, the US cannot fight terrorism without achieving peace and justice and all nations in the US-led coalition will remain vulnerable to such terrorist attacks because of that. The panic that has stricken each American citizen in fear of a potential biological warfare is just an illustration that permanent justice is the only way to achieve peace and eradicate terrorism.
America’s war against Afghanistan will certainly claim the lives of many innocent civilians. For sure, any war will end up with the killing of numerous civilians. Afghanistan is indeed a perfect illustration of this since the war will not only be aimed at liquidating al-Qaeda network and its leader Osama bin-Laden bu also at overturning the ruling Taliban regime. One has just to remember how the perpetrators of the attacks were brutal as they carried out their actions without any consideration of the thousands of innocent civilians who were aboard the commercial aircrafts and in the World Trade Center. I am totally against war, killings, the use of civil jetliners to crash into buildings, or even the use of a dagger to end one man’s life.
Regarding your question about America’s aims in this war, we should remember that powerful nations throughout the human history have been eager to dominate the world. At the moment, the US is undoubtedly the most powerful nation on earth and, despite its progress in many domains, its greed for power and supremacy (natural human traits) incites America to go ahead with its expansionist policies. Finally, let us hope and pray the Almighty God that what happened in America, Chechnya, Afghanistan and around the world will create a spiritual movement to create balance within the American philosophy, mentality and goals. And let us hope again that the US will work closely with the UN and all the European nations to achieve peace, justice and lasting freedom for mankind.
Continued on page 15
Islamic leading personality
Many people question the motivations of attacking New York and Washington as well as the current raid on Afghanistan. The answers are three: its a war between good and evil, a crusade war, or war between faith and infidelity.
None of the above is true. Not all good and all evil are taking part in this war, so it cannot be labeled as a war between the good and the evil. It is not a crusade because there has been no agreement among Muslims or Christians to launch such a war. And, it is not a war between faith and infidelity because Muslims have not appointed others to fight on their name. The reasons are likely to be poverty, backwardness, lack of freedom and humiliation that many nations suffer from.
With globalization aspects spreading worldwide, poor nations do not accept living in acute poverty while others are enjoying fabulous luxury. They refuse to be backward, enslaved and humiliated when others are advanced, free and respected.
The New York and Washington events cannot be easily and quickly conceived. Only hatred and malice can explain what happened. Perpetrators themselves may not know why they did it. Others may also do not know the real motivations behind these events as they have been interpreted in a different way.
Member of P arliament
I think the US strikes against Afghanistan is a reaction against NYC and Washington incidents, even though evidences do not clearly point to the perpetrators.
Some think that America is totally secure and is the only state undefeatable against these global changes. Political analysts confessed that America fell heavily due to its arrogance, superiority and pretention. Perhaps, America does not realize that it made mistakes in policies adopted for the whole world, specifically concerning third world countries. The recent terrorist actions against New York and Washington have been a culmination of the killing of innocent civilians in the entire world. It is also an alarm bell to remind America of its foreign policies towards world nations. America wants to regain its power and control of the world’s resources by reconsidering the world’s political map in order to satisfy its interests and objectives. By poking its nose into world affairs, the US creates instability and jeopardizes global peace.
By: Abdulghani Abdulgaleel Al-Shameeri
To save people in Afghanistan or to save our conscience,
days, hours and nights pass very quickly as if they were centuries. The homeless people in Afghanistan are victims of the Western arrogance. America and the West have been assembling military forces to kill the innocent powerless people of Afghanistan. This nation remained in long periods of destructive wars and has been suffering from the simplest means of life. Of course, all this happened in front of our own eyes. Why are those innocent people killed everyday? What crime did they commit? Where is the consciousness of the Islamic nations and pan-Arabism? Undoubtedly, These acts are scary, horrible and aggressive. All of us are scared to witness such acts. But why do we feel afraid? Why do they claim the right to fight terrorism? Where are the origins of terrorism? They are using right now different kinds of weapons and experience against the Afghans. Does Islam mean terrorism? Why such helpless people are killed?
The basic infrastructure is currently being completely devastated. What will remain?
So many questions need to be urgently answered. The current situation is of great danger. This could lead to huge disasters with the victims being Islam in general and the Afghans in particular.
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