Man's history is waiting in patience for the triumph of the insulted man

Gopal Sengupta

This refers to the report on Pakistan laments unilateral U.S. action without informing the Pakistani government or getting its authorization. On the one hand, Pakistan says it cooperated with the U.S. in the global war on terror, which led to Laden’s elimination. On the other, it pretends that it was not aware of his presence in Pakistan.The country is clearly in a dilemma. It does not know whether to take credit for helping the U.S. or say it had nothing to do with Laden’s killing. The U.S. was right in keeping Pakistan out of the loop. Even a small clue would have prompted it to alert Laden. There can be only two possibilities. Pakistan has either been harbouring Laden, giving him protection, with the full knowledge of the military and the ISI, while siphoning off billions of dollars in the name of fighting terror. Or, it was genuinely unaware that Laden was living comfortably right under its nose, next to the military academy. Either way, it does not make sense for the U.S. to treat Pakistan as a partner any more and waste billions of dollars. After spending trillions of dollars and 10 years, the U.S. has learnt the truth about its sleeping partner of 40 years. It is ironical that the dollars which flowed into Pakistan to fight terrorists and help find Laden were actually used to protect him. There are cries to declare Pakistan a terrorist state. It is already a terrorist haven.

 

The U.S., in the name of helping the mujahideen against the Soviet forces inAfghanistan, supported the Taliban and elements like Laden. It was only after they turned against the U.S. and the West that they started eliminating these forces. Although Laden is dead, the religious fundamentalism he nurtured, particularly inCentral Asia, will continue to have an impact for many more years. Although Laden's killing is an important step in the fight against terror, we should not forget that he was a by-product of the U.S. government's policies. He was nurtured by the CIA and has been killed only because he became anti-American. The root cause of terrorism has always been imperialistic attitudes of superpowers. The U.S. army has yet again demonstrated its superiority. We pity the situation Pakistan is in. Its intelligence agencies failed miserably when they failed to discover that the world's most wanted criminal was living right under their nose. Another matter of serious concern toPakistan is that a foreign power was able to operate within its territory and get away. And for us, it is a matter of grave concern that we have such a weak and poorly governed state as our neighbour.

 

Although there is every reason for American citizens to celebrate, they cannot forget their government's role in creating the situation. It is the U.S. that should learn a lesson or two from the episode, and desist from acting as the big brother. In its game plan to defeat the Soviet forces in Afghanistan, the U.S. armed and trained Laden and his followers. After the withdrawal of the Soviet forces, the al-Qaeda trained its gun on its mentor. There is a vital lesson in this. Any support to a violent organisation will invite only destruction and suffering. When a nation looks at only short-term political gains, it does so at its own peril. The U.S. should introspect and try to put an end to global terrorism which began with the invasion of Vietnam, and went on to Iraq andAfghanistan, all in the name of democracy. "Man's history is waiting in patience for the triumph of the insulted man," Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel-prize winning Bengali poet, once wrote. Triumph he had, but at a terrible price.

Canada
gopalsengupta@aol.com