{EOB}Commentary: In The Name Of The Big Game!

Salman K. | The Writer

"Osama killed in Pakistan" 


Note the timing, note the location! A mere coincidence? With Presidential elections around the corner, could the timing be any better? A perfect ploy! America is really the master of deceit.


The masters decide when, how and where what happens. The world is just a spectator that cannot ask questions and even if it does, what difference  does it make? No evidence has to be given since it is the US operations we are dealing with here.


The 'rule of law' prevailed. The rule of law, dictated by American foreign policy and whatever suits its national interests prevailed as ever. They can engineer any propaganda out of nothing. Such are their creative skills. We perfectly understand their version of the'rule of law'. History has shown ample evidence. The purported upholders of justice have shining examples to their credit. Take the cases of Iraq, Afghanistan, drone attacks, Guantanamo bay, sadistic torture techniques like water boarding. Or the grand lie of 'Weapons of Mass  Destruction' or any other reason.


It seems America is allowed all idiosyncrasies. Extrajudicial  killings by US military forces and their private contractors are not something to be surprised of. Targeted assassinations that violate international laws and sovereignty of nations are not things to be taken into account. Remember 9/11, isn’t that good enough reason to go about justifying all kinds of  action, all kinds of war even almost after a decade?


The 9/11 episode was the license to kill, the license to wage the “War on Terror”. Thus, the creators of terror waged war on terror killing more innocents than the ones killed in 9/11. On the first day of May alone, the alleged Bin Laden operation was launched on Pakistan’s soil; NATO killed Gaddafi’s youngest son and three grandchildren, yet "Justice has been done", says Obama. The world sends congratulatory messages. No word about violating the sovereignty of Pakistan are spoken, no questions of violation of international laws are  raised in the free world. A statement from the White  House has to be believed with no questions from any side of the world. 


Isn’t the word from the mouth of the US President enough evidence, can we question the mighty power of America? Can America ever be wrong?


Justice for 2,819 Americans done! Was this justice or revenge?


Is there any justice for those killed in the name of "War on Terror"?  The American War on Iraq and Afghanistan was to bring justice or death and  destruction for innocent Iraqis and Afghanis? The death toll for these wars is unaccounted for because it was not white blood that was lost.


According to estimates "1,455,590" were killed in Iraq war & countless in Afghanistan (the strange thing is, if you search for Afghans killed in the war, no figures for their death would appear and you would only  get the list
of US casualties) Does America have the answer to the  killing of innocent people by drone attacks in Pakistan which have crossed the figure of 2000 deaths? Who will bring justice to them?


Is the Osama episode the only version of justice the world will see and celebrate? It was not a triumph but another defeat that has won the Americans only hatred now from the Pakistani people as well. Pakistanis have paid a too
heavy price for being America’s allies. It only brings home the fact that can we afford to continue being an ally or do we need to rethink our strategy. Can Pakistan allow this exploitation? It  only bring home the sickening fact that all sorts of lies and cover ups would be fabricated for political and national interests. The latest being the OBL fiasco.


As the story goes "Osama captured,  killed and dumped in the sea". The US invaded a foreign country without its consent in the middle of the night, raided a house, killed the target rather than arresting him and then took the body to dump it in the sea (if indeed that happened).  Well that was quick, end for a story continuing for over a decade. The intelligence and superior US technology failed after years of hunt for the most wanted man on earth and yet when he was captured, he was purportedly killed and not brought for trial. Were they afraid to take him to trial and question him about terrorist plots? Is this not a violation of international law and human rights?


Not a single evidence was given to the world. No DNA test reports, no pictures! Were they ashamed of anything that it had to be so secretly done? What stopped them for capturing him alive, for giving evidence to the world of
his death? Even the body had to be disposed off, why? Were they afraid he would come alive again and wanted to quickly end it all?  Why the hurry to bury? Were they afraid of the body?  No, the reason the  US gives was that they just wanted to "conform to the Muslim traditions"; that of burying the body within 24 hours, so respectful they were of the Muslim traditions! While they respected one tradition, did they forget that sea burials are not allowed in Islam? All praise for the most civilized nation of the world!


A great plot was engineered at Abbottabad. It had to be made to look like a Hollywood movie that would glorify Americans and make the enemy look small. Out came the headlines, “Osama  Bin Laden killed in firefight with US Special Ops Team”. A clash would certainly grip the world’s imagination with firefights and a conflict between the terrorist and the 'heroic commandos' who finally emerge to be the winners.


Certainly it seemed a good story. But no plan is foolproof. Did they just forget a small detail, that there were no bullet holes to be found anywhere? Out came another work of fiction! The US revised its “firefight reports” and came with another version that of capturing him alive but then killing him in front of his wife and daughter for no obvious reason, so would it be termed as a cold-blooded murder?


A question that comes to mind is: Trillions of dollars could be spent on capturing Osama yet when he was allegedly caught unarmed, why was he not captured alive? Leon Panetta claims that because of resistance Osama was killed,  while Obama claims it was a search and kill operation. Which one you choose to believe is entirely up to you as the US believes in freedom of choice and expression!


In the meantime, the CIA is enjoying the limelight, trying to take credit for something that never happened. The wise guys however, first need to get their script in order. The contradictory statements can fool wise men of America but
the world is not a fool. America must realize that it is possible to fool some people for some time, or all for some time but it is not possible to fool all people at all times.


There was another aspect of this staged drama. The US media reported that Obama and Hillary along with members of the national security team watched the heroic episode live from the White house. The US government released dramatic pictures of the pretence of watching the live drama with horrified expressions. It was reported that it was beamed live to the White House via a camera that was mounted on the helmet of one of the members of the Navy SEAL taking part in the operation. A far-fetched story and in contradiction to the report by the CIA Director Leon Panetta, who claimed that there was a 25 minute blackout of the live feed which was cut off before the US Navy SEALs even entered the building. Later, the CIA Chief admitted that there was no live video footage of Osama Bin Laden.

Then what was the drama about, what were they looking at? Did the White House get carried away in spinning the story and making it look like an intriguing thrilling  movie? Great performances they were, even if they were fake but isn’t that the idea of ACT-ing. Shakespeare said, "All the world’s a stage and we all are actors"; so maybe they were only playing their part. A job well done!


The US government was quick to release the dramatic pictures of Obama and Hillary watching the drama unfold; they were quick to release 4 or 5 videos of Osama that they claim to have captured from the building. The only small thing that they couldn’t show the world was the picture of the man himself.


Would not a picture be enough to shut the mouths of those who are claiming that it never happened? Or is there no picture? Did they not keep a single evidence for themselves to show the  world of the big'triumph of the good over evil' or are they so arrogant to believe that the world does not deserve an answer and should go by the word of the mighty power?


According to the President of America, the pictures were "of a graphic nature". so to spare the world the anguish of watching such pictures at the cost of fingers pointing at them, the US government decided to take the criticism that it never happened rather than coming out clean.


Such is the moral standing of a nation that claims to value its high ethical standards. Such are the standards of morality and sensitivity that it does not allow them publishing the pictures and to subject the world to such a gruesome experience. The world must remember and understand the ethical grounds of the freedom loving country, the idealistic vision they have or have they forgotten all about Guantanamo? A short term memory this world has indeed! 


Have they forgotten that these standards were the one that did not allow them to show the live execution of Saddam on all channels?


The whole episode is described in the words of Obama as a “testament to the
greatness of our country”. The greatness can certainly be seen in the violation of sovereignty of a country, in the cover ups and lies, in the drone attacks, in the  fabrication of massive propagandas on the basis of which they destroy  countries.


Obama goes on to say that “Osama was a mass murderer of Muslims”. If this was the case then why was he not brought before the world, why only the US enjoys the authority to  give a judgment and punishment the way it decides?


The Osama episode is all part of the greater game, a new plan was devised. A plan that is slowly unfolding. The lies are all strategies to mislead the world once again. This time, against Pakistan. The strategic location of Osama's alleged hideout is claimed Abbottabad, a small distance away from the Pakistan Military Academy. It is not conceivable  that the ISI or army would not be aware of it had he been living there. They would not have risked letting Osama stay there in an open compound right in the middle of the city. So why Abottabad?


Is the US looking to bring the "War on Terror" to its ally, who has been at the forefront fighting a war that was only America’s? Or does the US want to take revenge for the Raymond Davis case? The target here is the ISI and the Pakistan Army. The Raymond Davis case revealed the secret network and  mission of American spies, it could just not digest it. There were calls for such CIA operatives to be sent back, to decrease the visas for such people, to limit
Americans from coming here, to stop drone attacks. Questions were being raised, but before they could be highlighted in front of the international media and pressure could accumulate on America to rethink its strategy for Pakistan, it played its cards.


In no way was the US going to limit its activities in Pakistan as it had other objectives that included going a bit further than the drone attacks; if they involved violation of sovereignty of Pakistan, then so be it. "Might is right!"


How could the ISI try to dismantle the network and expose America’s secret plot, how could they capture the top CIA official and then refuse to hand him over? Does only the US government enjoy the right to capture citizens from anywhere around the world regardless of their innocence or not? If they think they are guilty, it is reason enough. 


The judgment cannot be challenged. They will capture whomever they wish and they will decide the fate in their own courts. No one will question them.


No one questioned the Aafia Siddiqui verdict who was convicted for attempted murder and weapons possession. No one was hurt, no finger prints were  found on the weapons. She was sentenced to 85 years for “attempted  murder”, while
Raymond Davis who was responsible for the murder of 4  people (counting the death of one of the victim’s wife who committed suicide because she knew justice would not be given) was set free.


Aafia, on the other hand, is now facing life imprisonment and has been refused trial in Pakistan. Her own brother is not allowed to visit her. No one  has access to her. The world is unaware of her plight just as they were ignorant of those who suffered at Guantanamo Bay. And Raymond Davis was set free after not even 2 months of detention. Such are the “testimonies of American grandeur”. 


They are the prosecutors, the judge, the jury and executioners!


Another question that surfaces is that no drone attacks were carried out until Raymond was in Pakistan’s custody  and now they continue unabated. No one questions the drone attacks that killed innocent families, where young children are amputated or brutally  killed on a regular basis. No coverage is given to them, no one is aware of their plight, of the deaths that are not even counted.


The civilized world, the freedom loving country is waging a convenient war. It sends unmanned aerial remote-controlled weaponry to faraway places on  the suspicion of high value targets and kills on a regular basis showing an arrogance and disregard for the lives of innocent people. Who decides if the information of targets is authentic? Who questions whether those killed were innocent or not? Is there no rule for them?


For the year 2010 alone, it has been reported that America carried 111 drone strikes killing around 1000 people. The figure now has crossed 2000 but the US is not to be blamed or even questioned. After all this, the rage against US hypocrisies is quite understandable. The hatred for America under such circumstances is only bound to grow and the US has only itself and its policies to blame. How long will the world remain silent? 


After years and years of killing thousands of people, there is bound to be a backlash. It is amidst these conditions  that Osama’s are born. In the minds of those who have suffered by US antics. Osama would be regarded as someone who stood before the mighty  empire. Whether he stood for right or wrong does not matter to them.  When consumed by hate, in the face of injustices, the idealistic values fade away. America must realize this. It is acts like these that turn even a moderate person to come to hate what America has come to stand for.