COMMON SENSE
By: Hassan Al-Haifi
Since that dreadful September 11, 2001, it seems that everything that seems to be happening in the world has gone far beyond what the mind can conceive to be comprehensible and falling into a logical flow of events and consequences. That the attack on the World Trade Center itself is surely one of the most deplorable and inexcusable act goes without saying, but surely the world superpower and the rest of the world could have come up with the right way to seek and "bring the perpetrators to justice or bring justice to the perpetrators of the crime", then all this endless fumbling that does not seem to get anybody closer to an end to the calamities that are arising as a consequence of the tragedy in New York.
For one thing it seems that the reaction to the attack falls short of so many elements of sound logical good sense that one wonders if the United States was no more than letting off some anger without really knowing exactly how to go about achieving concrete results towards setting the proper legal and political groundwork required to really achieve the desired goal at the least cost to all concerned. This is out of consideration especially for the millions of Afghans who fate has destined to become the tragic victims of both the naïve dogmatic regime that has been allowed to assume Government in their country, with its leaders really not having the faintest idea about the awesome responsibility involved, and of a giant superpower that has been dealt a severe blow to its pride and its grandeur by an invisible enemy that seems to maintain the initiative, especially of keeping the Americans on Emergency Hold, with ominous threats lurking in various forms.
The fact is that the Americans are entitled to seek the people behind the ugly terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, but the fact is also obvious that somehow the steps taken so far have neither gotten them closer to their enemies or to a full understanding of how exactly such tragedy came into being, who is really behind it and what appropriate steps should be taken to bring them to justice or bring justice to them. The point to be made here is that one would think that before the bombs started falling on Afghanistan, an essential first step should have been to solidify the legal framework by which such attacks are to be dealt with. Surely, the international community would have been more than happy to help in anyway possible to reach the right legal foundations that will not give anyone a chance to doubt the justification for any attack on Afghanistan or any other place where the terrorists may have been based or set out from. But the anger that the attacks in New York and Washington was so great that assumptions prevailed as the only justification for the existing tragic suffering now being unleashed on the helpless Afghans.
From the early days that followed September 11, the Americans declared that they will not give consideration to such matters as collateral damage or unfortunate innocent victims as they go after the enemy who did this mess in New York and elsewhere.
While a considerable amount of investigative work was done, it was obvious that the assumptions will have to suffice for now, because it was also assumed that the American public wanted action and fast. One would think that the American public would rather have real adequate proof that the attacks did in fact emanate from Afghanistan and there is really no escape from this need for proof for a number of reasons. Real adequate proof would have put the Taliban Government on the spot and could no longer insist on protecting an "innocent" hero. On the other hand, the international community would have no reason whatsoever to feel that they are being asked to join a coalition without a clear mandate and purpose as seems to be the case now. There may be reasons to believe that the American assumptions do have strong circumstantial support, but in all criminal acts, concrete proof is required to go after the criminals and bring them to trial or even to bring justice to them. Thus, because of the disregard for this important point, and the rush to do something, makes the coalition that America seeks to have with it, somewhat loose and purely born out of sympathy.
Moreover, the death of so many people, who had nothing to do with Taliban or Bin Laden, has seriously damaged the credibility that the US is only after its enemies, who seem to be rather confident and in fact continuously dare their attackers to come down and fight them on the ground, obviously indicating that all these bombs seem to be doing nothing except digging craters or knocking down mud brick walls, which is another of the absurdities that make the Strike Against Terror seem like an ongoing cat and mouse fight without end or purpose.
We think that the Americans really need to assess their handling of this war and start showing some real nitty gritty superpower sense, with a strong control on temper, lest they fall into the trap that the terrorists and whoever is behind them really wants them to get into. What seems to be apparent is that even if all of Afghanistan is bombed out of the map, the Americans will neither eliminate those they want to eliminate, and if they do, they still would not have ended terrorism for good, because the kind of terrorism that was witnessed in New York is far beyond what Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, alone or together could ever conceive of doing, let alone plan, coordinate and execute such a monstrous crime. The fact of the matter is that if they had anything to do with it, which could be possible, the chances are that they are doing nothing more than implementing the designs of a far more refined, dangerous and evil force, that has far greater sophistication than what either Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda or the Taliban have ever shown.
Terrorism cannot be dealt with through assumptions and absurdities. Terrorism must be confronted with strong legal footwork, political sense and disciplined emotions, if the world is to be truly made safe against the evil that sophisticated enemies of world peace and stability conjure up, even if Bin Laden and the Taliban are involved, one would have to think that there is a much more sophisticated control center behind them, which could even be located closer to home, in the United States or elsewhere. If the Americans think that destroying Afghanistan will end terror in America or anywhere else for that matter, then we can easily assume that terrorism will stay a long time, even after Afghanistan is wiped out.
In retrospect, one must give credit to the previous American Administration in their handling of the War Against Genocide, when another madman was destroying human life in the Balkans as though it was a sport. The campaign against Melosovitch showed a lot more finesse in all aspects than what is being displayed now in Afghanistan. No one then would think of even doubting the sincerity and the intentions of the United States.

Sadaf Shah
Dear Editor
You printed a letter by Rod Barbo without comment in issue 42 dated 15th Oct 2001. This is the American gentleman who referred to your newspaper as "steadily downward- spiraling," and I, as a Canadian, have many comments in response to Mr. Barbo's ignorance.

Firstly, Mr.Barbo declares that there was "no open condemnation of both the hijackings/bombings and the calls by some Muslims for jihad" by the Arab world or news agencies. I am appalled at his observations, as most Arab channels were focused on the terrorist attacks for about a whole week starting immediately on September 11th when the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center. For example, on Al-Jazeera, Future Television, MBC, and LBC international, there was "open condemnation" by Yasser Arafat of the PLO, Husni Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah of Jordan, Col. Gaddaffi of Libya, President Saleh of Yemen, and Gen. Musharaf of Pakistan. Moreover, the PM of Lebanon - Hariri - and Saudi Arabia also condemned the attacks. These are leaders representing eight Muslim countries that appeared on CNN. Others have appeared on Arab channels, mainly Al-Jazeera, so my question to Mr.Barbo stands:
What type of condemnation do you require, sir?
As for the call for jihad, if you, sir, have been watching the news closely, specifically CNN, you will have heard that the Taliban themselves have admitted that they are not receiving much response for "mujahideens" from the Muslim world.
Moreover, none of the leaders of the Muslim nations have supported the Taliban or Osama bin Laden by providing the U.S., which helped train Osama and his so-called followers during the Cold War when Russia occupied Afghanistan. The U.S left Afghanistan, hoping it would disappear and showing complete disregard for the nation when its purpose was served.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE withdrew diplomatic support for the Taliban. Pakistan, the Taliban's closest ally, is providing logistic and intelligence support, as well as the use of two army bases to the coalition. If this is not "open condemnation" of terrorism, when I do not know what is!
As for jihad, Muslims have not yet marched to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban. Even if they do, they cannot be labeled as "evil" or "terrorists" for trying to restore some amount of dignity to the Afghan people. The Taliban has and continues to face opposition from among its own citizens. This opposition includes the Northern Alliance and RAWA, a revolutionary women's association which is secretly fighting to liberate Afghan women. If the Afghan people believed the Taliban to be representative of a truly Islamic government, they would not flee the country by the thousands, and millions have already fled seeking asylum elsewhere.

Secondly, Mr.Rod Barbo, if you, as a "white Christian American" want to adopt the citizenship of any Arab country, you do have the right, not all governments have distorted policies that are supported by your government. I will remind you that during the Prophet's lifetime, there were many Christians and Jews living in Arabia, and the Prophet never mis-treated them or took away their citizenship. Even today, Syria, Lebanon, Tunis, Algeria, and Egypt have a sizable Christian population. They may not be pure "white" like yourself, but they are, nevertheless, Christian Arabs. There are even Jews living in Yemen today.
They may be poor, but at least the Yemeni government does not occupy their lands or kill them in retaliation for the situation in Palestine.
Thirdly, it is a shame that Mr.Barbo has been treated "unfairly or with prejudice here in Yemen on a regular basis" I, on the other hand, not a Yemeni nor an Arab, have been treated with respect and welcomed into the homes of the Yemeni people. As I made an appointment with a Yemeni manager of a Yemen commercial band to open an ordinary account, I was taken to his private office and offered tea! This type of treatment is not available to the average Yemeni, which is a shame.
And it was not because of my finances that I was only depositing US$100. It was because of my Canadian appeal. Moreover, I do not pay more for taxis or bus fares. However, every foreigner (to any country) does pay more for visas, airline tickets, and work permits than a citizen. A traveler to Canada has to pay more for dental or medical privileges. This does not account for prejudice, but rather benefits the citizens of that country. Even Palestinians and Iraqis have to pay more for some things like Mr.Barbo. Let us clarify another issue: foreigners in Yemen are paid much more than a year's salary compared to an average Yemeni. The average Yemeni cannot afford to eat at Pizza Hut in Sana'a or Aden while he/she is struggling to survive and raise a family on a measly salary, which is not even given to him on time every month. So, please do not blame the anguished Yemeni for thinking all white folks are rich, for to the Yemenis, even the Pakistanis, Lebanese, Indians, and Saudis are rich.

Finally, America's refusal to label Israel as racist was not a wise decision as implied by Mr. Barbo. If America was "to agree across the board to label Israel as racist" they would not have to apply the same standard "to at least twenty other Islamic countries, because Israel is the only one in the Middle East practicing ethnic cleansing to guarantee its existence," see "The Iron Wall." Hence, Israel was rightly labeled racist by the world community.

Innocent people lost their lives on September 11th, but let us not be foolish enough to call the attacks and their perpetrators "evil." Who says the whole world must conform to our Western framework of morality? We cannot expect oppressed, dispossessed, and exploited people to keep quiet while their houses are destroyed, their lands confiscated, and their family members jailed, tortured, and killed for throwing stones. At some point, these people's anger and frustration will explode, and rightly so. Look how fast the U.S. has retaliated, and look again at how many years the Palestinians have been suffering. The American government promotes justice within its own borders, but fails to uphold justice around the world, and that is why America is hated so much. The airstrikes against Afghanistan have yielded no results except to increase the suffering of innocent people and their children. Poor Mr.Barbo is trying to live a righteous life in Yemen by responding that tongue lashing is first as evil. He has called your newspaper "steadily downward spiraling." You were not obligated to print his letter, but you chose to, and that shows courage. I commend you, Yemen Times, for making the right decision. You have shown that you do not hold a double standard. By practicing in deed what you preach, freedom of speech. My respect for you has increased.