Arabs view campaign with suspicion

By Kesava Menon

MANAMA (BAHRAIN), OCT. 2. Despite protestations from Washington and elsewhere that the campaign being currently waged is against terrorism and terrorism alone, the perception that it is being directed at the Islamic world is gaining ground. Those who express this view point to the alacrity with which the U.S. has identified Al Qaeda as the perpetrator of the September 11 attacks and to the reports of harassment that Arabs and Muslims in the West suffered subsequently.

Almost all the Governments of West Asian States have stated that they would be more comfortable if the U.S. presented the evidence that it says it has to prove that Osama bin Laden and his organisation, Al Qaeda, were behind the attacks. Few in this part of the world think that the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair's statement that he has seen the proof and is convinced by it is good enough. Arab commentators also note that U.S. officials had pointed to an Arab or Muslim link soon after the Oklahoma bombing only for it to be proved subsequently that the attack was the work of a U.S. citizen.

No government in this region cares much about what happens to Bin Laden. He represents a threat to the monarchies and the one-party dominated republics that make up the Arab world. Despite U.S. efforts to find a link between Bin Laden and the Iraqi Government, it is unlikely that the secularists in Baghdad want to have anything to do with Al Qaeda beyond exploring the possibility of using the outfit to embarrass the United States.

However, the Arab regimes once again find themselves under pressure from the street. Either because of his own efforts or because the U.S. has turned him into their No. 1. enemy, Bin Laden has become the symbol for all the festering grudges and resentment that people in the Arab world nurse against the U.S.

If the U.S. were to proceed against Bin Laden without presenting the evidence that they claim to have, the Arab world will almost certainly believe that the U.S. is applying double standards. There is bound to be a reassertion of the comparison between the treatment that the U.S. accords to Israel and to people in the Arab world. Even some of the reasonable leaders in the Arab world have drawn attention to the fact that the U.S. has applied no pressure on Israel despite evidence that it has ``terrorised'' Palestinians. They question how, under such circumstances, the U.S. can proceed against Bin Laden without proof.

Arab governments have also expressed the wish, it can hardly be termed a demand since there is no chance that it will be accepted, that any action taken should be under the aegis of the United Nations. Once again Arab Governments appear to be walking a tight rope since they know that the U.S. will not hand over the leadership of the campaign to anyone else while at the same time the Arab population does not want to follow the U.S. in any action against another Muslim country.

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Section  : International
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