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Literary Review
Exposing dichotomies
Dilip Hiro
THE on-going war on terror, as Dilip Hiro puts its, "is a war without end". Based as it is on that ultimate norm of the belligerent, "show me the man, I will show you the rule", this promises to be a long drawn out battle of attrition which Hiro believes will "boomerang". It rankles many. There are dichotomies aplenty. Soon after the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001 that left more than 3,600 civilian Afghans dead, as opposed to 3,900 who perished in the Twin Tower attacks, President George Bush invited the ambassadors of 50 Muslim countries to break their Ramadan fast with him! The irony was not lost on anyone, none was impressed. Again, as Dilip Hiro points out in his book War without End, soon after, a Gallup poll found "74 per cent Muslims refused to believe that Arabs were the perpetrators of the September 11 attacks."
Then again, those who talk of a global war on terror use it just as a subterfuge for their ends. Hence, we have a so-called global coalition against the 9/11 attacks, under which America "neutralised" thousands of Afghans in response to "the martyrs for democracy" who were the unfortunate victims of the New York attacks. Incidentally, as Hiro points out, "In the `war against terror', European allies were reduced to `optional extra'."
Similarly terminology had been used by the West in the case of Nelson Mandela in the past when he was described as a "terrorist". Something similar happened on December 13 last year when an attack on Indian Parliament was described as nothing more than "repugnant", "despicable" and not quite fit for India to unleash a global consortium against the perpetrators of the crime and the backroom boys across the border. When Hiro reproduces a quote from Osama bin Laden, it is not difficult to see why it stirred many: "It is what we instigated, for a while, in self-defence... And it was in revenge of our people killed in Palestine and Iraq... So if avenging the killing of our people is terrorism, let history be a witness that we are terrorists... Every time they kill us, we kill them, so the balance of terror is achieved."
Amazingly, similar voices were heard from Riyadh, which, as Hiro puts it, has been "staunchly anti-Zionist", yet America's most faithful ally in the Arab world. Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah advised the U.S. to examine the roots of terrorism: "We see Palestine children being shot at, buildings being destroyed, trees uprooted, people encircled, territories closed and women killed, unborn babies delivered at checkpoints. They are very painful images. And when we worry about the future, and we worry about the causes that lead people to become violent, the reasons that lead people to become suicide bombers, these are the reasons they do so."
One may not agree with this philosophy of revenge all the time but it points to a root cause of terrorism, which as Hiro says: "is not an ideology ... It is a method open for deployment not only by individuals or groups but also by governments." As President Bush said — and Hiro quotes — "So long as anybody is terrorising established governments, there needs to be a war". And this is precisely what Hiro holds against America when Bush challenges the established government of President Saddam Hussein in Iraq. "The threat to Iraqi Government is despicable. The Iraqi Government is an established one. Iraq is a member of NAM, U.N. Yes, so long as anybody threatens any established government, it amounts to terror. This war is bound to boomerang. Through this book, I have tried to say that American policies have boomeranged everywhere. Americans always blame others, never themselves. Whatever happens to America, it is their own fault. Americans won't like to hear that. This war will go on because of the definition Bush has put on it. He himself is threatening established governments." Hiro, meanwhile, is in the final stages of his book on Iraq. It should hit the stalls later this year abroad, though it may not be immediately available in India.
Incidentally, Hiro aims to clear the cobwebs of "terrorism" and many other similar terms bandied about in diplomatic parlance. For instance, he uses the term "fundamentalist" in the sense of a follower of the fundamentals of a faith, not as a misnomer for a headstrong, violent bigot. "I regard Saudi Arabia as a fundamentalist State with 100 per cent laws based on the Shariah. Incidentally, bin Laden was a part of the Saudi establishment. His point of departure came when he objected to the presence of American troops on Saudi soil. His objection was based on a Hadith — Traditions of Prophet Mohammed PBUH — `Let there be no two religions on Saudi Arabia.' Yes, during the Gulf War there were more than half a million Americans on Saudi soil. When it finished, not everybody went home. Hence, the disgruntlement. Sometime back in a classified survey, it was found that 95 per cent Saudis agreed with bin Laden on the presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia."
On his part, Hiro has tried to come up with a book that is short neither on history nor analysis. "I have tried to produce a comprehensive book for the readers who know nothing at all. Islamist is a recurring theme. I have gone into different Islamist groups. I have used the term Islamist — not Islamic — to denote political Islam. In Islam polity, economy and religion have been intertwined. Prophet Mohammed was not just a Prophet of God. He was a tax collector, judge, commander. It is not true of Jesus Christ who was not a commander or Hinduism, where there is no fountainhead. Islam symbolises all aspects of life. "
Hiro has kept his words simple and straight, refraining from any jugglery. Though some of his interpretations can be used like a diagonal line which can be stretched on either side, he makes a case for re-evaluating the ongoing "war on terrorism". After all, as he points out, if "terrorist" Palestines kill three Israelis, the "elected Government of Israel" kills 10! No cuss words. No vitriol. Hiro uses simple argument, backs it with a mathematician's logic. Speaking to him is an exercise in dispassionate appraisal.
ZIYA US SALAM
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