Visit our website: HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------------------------- http://www.strana.ru Russian Observer September 23, 2001 Punishing Osama bin Laden Would Be a Simple Solution U.S strikes against terrorist bases located in other countries without their prior consent could create a pretext for a war "Why should one [group of]terrorists be bombarded while others are supported?" Victor Sokolov 22.49.2001, 13:49 The interview with Doctor Boris Shmelyov from the Comparative Political Studies Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Q. Apart from Afghanistan, the United States can also bombard terrorist bases in other countries. How can you regard such actions from the point of view of international law? A. The international law classifies such attacks as an aggression. If the United States wants to deliver strikes against terrorist camps in Algeria where an undeclared war is on, it can do it only at the Algerian government's request. Otherwise, Algeria can regard the attack as a "pretext for a war". Therefore, I would like to emphasize that the latest U.S statements and intentions indicate that their conduct is unreasonable. The U.S administration has apparently chosen this unreasonable line to console the American public and to show that America has strength to cope with terrorists. Therefore, it is absolutely clear that even numerous strikes against Afghanistan are unlikely to solve anything. It is only now that an almost ten-year program of combating terrorism has emerged in the United States? This is another question. Terrorism has deep roots, including financial, political and organizational. This is going to be a secret war! Q. Countries are gradually moving towards an anti-terrorist alliance. Do you think that America and Russia will strengthen their union? A. They certainly will, on the one hand. On the other hand, the bilateral Russian-American union and an international anti-terrorist alliance will be ineffective if answers are not given to several questions. All right, I agree that Osama bin Laden and the Taliban are terrorists. But who are the Albanian separatists in Macedonia? Are they terrorists or not? Who are they then? Why should one terrorists be bombarded while others should be supported? This is called a double standard... Q. Besides, some Islamic countries say that they are not against an anti-terrorist alliance but will not join it if Israel is going to be its member. This is another big problem, isn't it? A. There are a lot of problems and many questions. Who are terrorists? What's the difference between separatists and terrorists if they use the same methods? Q. Do you mean to say that these notions should be defined at the international level? A. In order to make this decision mandatory for all, it should be taken by the United Nations which has special committees for that. The rules of the game should be equal. Terrorists should always be terrorists. It is totally unacceptable that terrorists are called terrorists only if they hit the U.S interests. If the interests of other countries are hurt, the same terrorists are proclaimed to be fighters for justice. Macedonia is the case. The Americans say that the Macedonian government should not crack down on but negotiate with Albanian separatists. Without solving these problems, the world will never get rid of double standards. Then, why everybody is so sure that the recent terrorist attacks in the United States had been organized by Arab organizations. The Arab pilots in the planes could have been used on the sly by other organizations, including those based in the United States. There has been a lot of talk about a top secret structure inside the United States that had staged those well-organized terrorist acts to pursue its own interests. The fact that this structure has not yet been uncovered proves that it is top secret, the fact that it had prepared such a large-scale action shows that it has enormous opportunities. But the fact that it is not being searched for also speaks for itself. Everybody immediately got fixed on bin Laden but a real investigation is nowhere is sight. Q. Does it mean that the authorities are trying to meet the nation's demands. Bush's rating is over 90 percent. A. Everything is clear. A big political game is under way. But that does not give an answer to the main question: who did it and what was the purpose? Who did benefit from the attacks? One can endlessly elaborate on Arab extremists, but we should not forget that an American, a member of an ultra-right American organization, blew up Oklahoma-City in 1995. He died easily and voluntarily for the ideals of his American organization. Can anybody guarantee that we are not dealing with the case now? __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get email alerts & NEW webcam video instant messaging with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com ------------------------------------------------- This Discussion List is the follow-up for the old stopnato @listbot.com that has been shut down ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9spWA Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
