http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=129768&d=18&m=12&y=2009&pix=opinion.jpg&category=Opinion
Friday 18 December 2009 (02 Muharram 1431)
Al-Qaeda threat used once again to justify war
Shabana Syed/Arab News
The old cliché that the first casualty of war is truth has never been so
blatantly evident as we witness the making of further wars and conflict.
As 2010 heralds in with fresh hopes and expectations and sentimental
songs of love and peace will be sung at end-of-year parties, our leaders have
already signaled that occupation and war will be continuing in the New Year.
Ironically US President Barack Obama, fresh from accepting the Nobel
Peace Prize, had already ordered 30,000 troops to be deployed to Afghanistan to
basically "get Al-Qaeda' which Obama has declared is still "holed up there and
a threat to US national security."
As history has shown, the first casualty of war is not only the truth but
also a free press. In more autocratic regimes blatant censorship is the rule;
however the twisted phenomena practiced in the Western media is to abhor
censorship but at the same time omit the truth. The main trend after 9/11 has
been not to question government policies while at the same time omit the facts
that do not fall in line with "our reality."
The mainstream prominent broadcasters and newspapers today continue the
same unquestioning narrative that led President Bush to start the "unending war
on terror".
Many critics view the war in Iraq as a failure. Far from transporting
democracy, American occupation turned the country into one big violent
insurgency. Attempts were made to link the insurgents to Al-Qaeda, yet the
truth could not be disguised; the insurgents were just mostly Iraqis against
American occupation. In the same way that the Taleban which after 2001 was just
a weak and dispersed group have turned into a strong fighting force. Many
Afghanis disagree with their ideas, but joined it just to fight against
occupation of their country.
Most Western journalists continue to omit the facts in their news reports
and push the government line that all insurgents are linked to "Al-Qaeda".
Very few have actually questioned the existence of Al-Qaeda and the
illusive Osama Bin Laden. Most of the main press continues to describe them as
a subhuman organization with tentacles reaching out to every corner of the
world. And most of us only know two of its members, the video stars Osama Bin
laden and his deputy Ayman Zahwari. The rest of the cast is supposed to be
mostly in Guantanamo, many having admitted their membership of the terror group
through torture.
And we all know the legality of accepting evidence through torture.
Any Islamic group fighting for independence or occupation is now linked
to this illusive group; from the struggle for independence in Kashmir to
Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya and Somalia.
If one looks at the BBC website "Investigating Al-Qaeda' even the July 7
bombings in London by Muslims who clearly said they carried out the bombings as
a protest as they were against the killing of innocent Muslims in Iraq,
Afghanistan and the West's blind support for Israel - the BBC website has
explained it otherwise, stating "analysts say the attacks bear the hallmarks of
groups linked to or at least inspired by Al-Qaeda".
Just before Obama took power there had been many reports in the press
that Al-Qaeda as a fighting force did not really exist anymore in Afghanistan.
The National Security Adviser to President Obama Gen. James Jones told
Congress: "The Al-Qaeda presence is very diminished. The maximum estimate is
less than 100 operating in the country, no bases, no ability to launch attacks
on either us or our allies".
The press who is aware of the general's statement ignored the facts and
continues to exaggerate the threat of Al-Qaeda supporting Obama's policy of
sending more troops. This makes one wonder who really owns the media and why
are they pro-war?
We have already had evidence through 'Spinwatch' investigations of how
so-called terror experts linked to neocons and Zionists had planted fake scare
stories of
Al-Qaeda attacks in the media and how those stories had been published
without question.
The press continues to perpetuate the fear factor associated with the
"Al-Qaeda threat" there were no probing questions asked about "why one of the
excuses used to attack Iraq was that Saddam was linked to Al-Qaeda; and how can
the public trust anything after their governments lied about weapons of mass
destruction to go to war? Very few have asked why every "uncovered" terror plot
is linked to Al-Qaeda and at the same time no one has found any real evidence
linking the two.
Much has been written about the existence of Al-Qaeda as a terror group
with sleeper cells worldwide. However in a climate of lapdog journalism those
asking too many questions about its existence and its so- called threat are
relegated to the "island of conspiracy theorists" along with those asking how
could Third World jihadists used to fighting in caves, carry out a plot that
needed powerful technological and organizational skills to cause the
destruction of the twin towers.
The former British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook shortly before his death
told the House of Commons that "Al-Qaeda" is not really a terrorist group but a
database of international mujahideen and arms smugglers used by the CIA to
channel guerrillas, arms, and money into Soviet-occupied Afghanistan.
And since then it has been a database that compiles names and numbers of
every Muslim resistance fighter who attempts to fight American and British
imperialist ambitions in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
As a result of this, innocent men and women have been incarcerated in
prisons like Guantanamo - many put in there as a result of being at the wrong
place at the wrong time, some guilty through association and some because they
felt it their right to fight against American occupation.
According to Jason Burke who as The Observer's chief reporter and author
of "Al-Qaeda - casting a shadow of terror" writes: "Al-Qaeda in fact does not
exist. It was made up in January of 2001 in order to prosecute Osama Bin Laden
in his absence. Under the law if such an organization exists then the head of
the organization can be prosecuted."
In his analysis he wrote, "there is no international network with a
leader, with cadres who will unquestioningly obey orders with tentacles that
stretch out to sleeper cells in America, in Africa and in Europe".
Adam Curtis in his powerful documentary "The Power of Nightmares" argues
that whenever one looks for this Al-Qaeda organization from the "mountains in
Afghanistan to sleeper cells in America - the British and Americans are
pursuing a fantasy." He points out that the West is wasting its time, while in
the process it is missing the real threat that is from the increase of Islamist
radicals.
The increase in suicide bombings and resistance groups in places like
Pakistan which had relative stability is a result of growing anger in the
Muslim world; the incessant American drone attacks on innocent civilians, the
innocent lives lost as "collateral damage" has led to a backlash.
Arthur Scahill of The Nation has revealed the mercenary group Blackwater
infamous for killing innocent Iraqis, with the knowledge of the US government
is operating secretly in Pakistan under the name of Xe - they changed their
name after they were exposed causing death and destruction in Iraq.
Al-Qaeda as described in the western media is to some extent a mythical
organization. However what is not a myth is that there is growing resentment
and anger in Muslim countries, and if the West wants to ignore these facts and
continue to attack countries they believe are harboring Al-Qaeda they will only
be creating more resistance movements and an increase in terrorism.
- Shabana Syed can be contacted at: [email protected]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
