| Username |
Post |
| Horizon |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 01:03 PM
This is my first time visiting and posting to this site. I am very impressed and my compliments to all the contributors. I am trying to look at what Biswo started but from a different prospective. In the midst of all the chaos and the world crying foul, we are selling out our basic fundamental principles when it comes to Mullah Omar - his rights. Some argue that he is a terrorist while others think he is just a bad leader and religious fundamentalist in a secular age. If the world is fighting for freedom, what about the freedom of Omar to get a fair trial ? Will he ever get a free trail now that US is gearing up for military tribunals intervening the possible amnesty by the provisional Afghan government ? With the exception of few, no judicial system allows the victims to judge the accused and certainly not US.
I personally have no doubt in my mind that Mullah Omar should be tried with a formal charge sheet possibly by UN or Afghan government. In the name of justice, if the world overlooks his rights to justice then it will be very Ironic. Your thoughts...
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| Horizon |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 01:06 PM
I meant fair trial
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| Paschim |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 01:19 PM
Naipaul's 'Biswas' is a classic, of course, as are so many of his other works. The Enigma of Arrival is very good, and his latest, "Half a Life" is interesting too. See if the review that follows tempts you to read this.
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/contents/englishdaily/ktmpost/2001/nov/nov25/features1.htm
The one book that I took up most recently and found maddeningly brilliant is Alan Bennett's "The Clothes They Stood Up in". It's really small, more of a novella, which you can finish in a few hours. No booklover who relishes intelligent humor should miss this.
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| Orion_ |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 02:26 PM
- I am not sure who you mean by "we" but I think many Nepalese and South Asians whom I have spoken to in this and other forums think the US is acting like a big bully in what it calls its "war on terror". Not to say there aren't people who are totally behind what America is doing but I personally get the impression that the vast majority of South Asians (at least those I have spoken to) while disliking Bin Laden also dislike American actions with equal gusto. If anybody has a different impression,please speak up and share your thoughts with the rest of us.
- I totaly agree with you that the US is currently practicing what it has long been accused of - double standards - in dispensing 11/9- related justice . I support neither the military tribunals nor the US Middle East policy but I realize what drives American foreign policy is not morality but self-interest. I doubt America will ever have a morally driven foreign policy , as much as I would like it to, and think what America does with the miliatry tribunals may have long term repurcussions dependinng on who is put trial and what the sentencings are like. At this point no one , not even Bush in the Barbara Walters interview, seems to have a clear idea of how excatly these tribunals are going to be conducted and who is going to be tried. I think the US gameplan , at least as advocated by conservatives in that country, seems to be on the lines of the following : The US is going to piss off Muslims anyway whether or not it puts on trial Omar or Laden - so it will serve American security interest in the short and medium term to kill Laden and Omar and America can try to kiss and make up with the Muslims later or the Muslims can just continue sulking and America really doesn't need to give a damn about these people.
I think the whole concept of a miliatry tribunal is flawed and could have all sorts of consequences in the long term. In Omars case, he didnt bomb WTC - I dont understand why he should even be tried as per US law criminal or military. His only "war crime" as I see it was to defend his country when the Americans came bombing. His other crimes like atrocities against women, the way I see it, have nothing to do directly with September 11th and should he should be tried by a UN tribunal for those crimes.
On another note, the world has swung so much to the right after September 11th, America and the Muslims especially, I think both sides are still going to have to find a way to co-exist. Bombing erach other, putting each other on trial doesn't mean the problem will go away. As long as Islamic extremism and the factors that give birth to it exist, it will be diffcult for the world to leave in peace. Unfortunaltey Islamic extremism has no quick solution to it and I think it will be a few years before the problem can be solved.
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| Horizon |
Posted
on 07-Dec-01 04:54 PM
When I say we, I mean the world at large.
Speaking of foreign policy, there is no ethical framework to base one's policy on. It is completely driven by domestic agenda and national interest. I think it's true for any country but US is more visible due to obvious reasons. In politics, morality, if in conflict with national interest is always overlooked ofcourse to be considered next time. Is this right ? Theoretically - NO but practically - MAY BE. The foremost responsibility of a government is to serve and protect the citizens and in doing so, if the foreign policy serves that purpose then it's a fair game. Lately, everyone's been talking about the factors that breed Islamic extremism and I would like to know what those factors are. I can't find any rational explanation to extremism.
You are right Orion, military tribunal is the American judgment that fits the agenda in the short term just like the support of Bin Laden to stop the communist expansion. It might very well backfire in long term. Among other things, Noraid funded the IRA from Boston for over 20 years, US trained and armed Mujahideen to fight the Russians. Now should CIA and REGAN be tried in Russian military tribunals ???
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| arnico |
Posted
on 08-Dec-01 12:35 PM
Hey Paschim,
It is nice to see you back, participating in kurakani. But do note that your message went to a different thread than what you had intended.
Arnico.
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| _BP |
Posted
on 08-Dec-01 02:38 PM
People claiming that the US is a big bully by in large miss the big picture. The US is the most restrained superpower there is or was. In fact, right now it is the only superpower. It is not out to conquer the world. People claiming the US is racist and prejudiced etc are hypocritical because it in fact is the most tolerant society in the world period. Americans are much less xenophobic than any other culture, inlcuding our own. It does always try to further its own cause, but it tries to do so by building up the country it is trying to "take advantage" of. It tries to spread capitalism, which I think is a good thing. No other system has been proven by history to work as well. It is a society we should all strive to emulate, because it is a society constructed by people like us. It is easy to argue against this basic paradigm, but in the end, there is no other place I would rather live. The US gets into trouble when they support governments that are in power, but may not be popular in their own countries. But this really is a no win situation, because if the US opposed them, then there would still be violence. Go figure. If there was a simple solution, I am sure it would have been reached by now.
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