Author: C R Irani
Publication: The Statesman
Date: October 16, 2001
George Bush thought he was throwing
a lifeline to the Taliban by his offer to do something about what he was
doing to their country, if only they would save him the trouble and bring
in Osama bin Laden and his gang quietly and without fuss. Apart from always
calculating what suits them best, the Americans have again shown themselves
to be either excessively naive or incredibly self-centred. There is total
misjudgment of what the Taliban are all about. It is not my purpose to
glorify them but nothing will be achieved by misreading their temper. Bush
expects them to indulge in continuously updating calculations ¡X
comparing damage suffered, deprivation stoically borne, hope slowly extinguished
with what can be gained by handing over Bin Laden as demanded. Whatever
they may be, the Taliban are not Chicago gangsters. They are fanatics,
they are religious bigots, they kill easily and sacrifice themselves in
the process. They are among the toughest fighters and indeed survivors
in the world. They know nothing of compromise, of reason, even of common
sense. Their minds are closed, barred and bolted and the keys thrown away.
They are indoctrinated as only closed minds can be; they are promised something
no one on earth can offer instant access to the best in heaven. Against
such an enemy even a Napoleon would be at a loss how to proceed.
These assumptions make American-style
combat impossible. Taliban¡¦s professional commanders at the
periphery are indoctrinated too; however if there is hope it may lie here,
but it is a faint hope. In other words, the world must be readied to do
away with them, if the rest of us are to have any peace. And here the Americans
are about to make another miscalculation. The Taliban are not unique; they
share their thinking with other religious fanatics. What is common is the
terrorist mindset, essentially the willingness to die for what they believe
is a cause greater than any the world has known. And there is no difference
between terrorists in Kashmir, in New York or indeed the Tamil Tigers in
Sri Lanka. One may pity them but they are not reclaimable. They are lost
to humanity and will kill, spread terror, indulge in brutality that beggars
belief, like Musharraf's men returning bodies of Indian soldiers mutilated,
not merely dead. The Al-Qaida have just announced that they would like
the USA to stop backing India on Kashmir. This is no flash in the pan.
Kashmir is about vengeance sought by Pakistan over the ignoble surrender
in Dhaka and the contemptuous return of 90,000 Pakistani prisoners of war.
The Taliban and Pakistan have made common cause for a very long time. Afghan
terrorists have infiltrated Kashmir and Pakistani regulars, at brigade
and battalion strength, have fought alongside Taliban. The Pakistanis have
withdrawn for now for fear of conceding prisoners in the wake of expected
advances of the Northern Alliance. Retired Pakistani army commanders have
trained and led Taliban in battle and the most unkind cut of all, both
Islamic countries have collaborated in the very profitable but utterly
un-Islamic activity of dealing in drugs. This is why Pakistan is now flapping
at the prospect of alternative regimes replacing the Taliban. It is a failure
of logic to argue that a vacuum created by the anticipated defeat of the
Taliban should be filled only by the Taliban. The suggestion is merely
an indication of panic at skeletons tumbling out of the cupboard. The only
sane alternative is for the vacuum to be filled by a combination of the
Northern Alliance and the forces gathering behind the former King. At one
stroke Bin Laden has exposed Pakistan¡¦s hypocrisy and its
obsession over Kashmir. This is the reality that faces the world and it
makes the latest American casuistry particularly deplorable. For three
days and more the Americans have been publicly discussing banning the Jaish
gang in Kashmir; they knew their friend, General Musharraf was up to his
neck in the stuff. Having given all concerned time to wind up and resurface
under another name, Washington announces that the accounts of Jaish and
Masood Azhar who was released from an Indian jail under compulsion of a
terrorist hijacking, have been frozen to the accompaniment of suitably
worded protests. It is such sophistry that ensures less than respect for
America's word.
Colin Powell will have some explaining
to do when he comes visiting. Such behaviour hardens the feeling in this
country that when it comes to terrorism as it affects India, 1) it is a
different kind of animal from that which laid America low and, 2) that
we will have to fight this battle alone. Powell has the makings of a statesman;
all he needs to do is to prove it.