Freedom to torture

The recent verdict by an Italian court in a case involving the CIA’s illegal activities in Italy exposes the hypocrisy behind the West’s talk of freedom and human rights. Worse stories of human rights violations are coming from the CIA’s illegal detention centers around the world. Lots of people are waiting for their loved ones who are still in CIA custody without any charges against them. Pakistan is also a party to this crime. The Musharraf administration handed over thousands of people to the CIA without any legal proceedings and these people, mostly Pakistanis and Afghans, are in illegal detention centers around the world.

Now for the first time, an Italian judge has convicted 23 CIA agents of the abduction of an Egyptian imam. All of the Americans were tried in their absence with 22 sentenced to five years in jail and the Milan CIA station chief getting eight years in prison. Abu Omar was taken from a Milan street in an operation allegedly coordinated by the CIA and Italian secret agents. He was released after four years in prison without any charges and currently lives in Egypt.

Abu Omar told Human Rights Watch that he was hung up like a slaughtered sheep and given electric shocks all the time during his detention. He also said that he was brutally tortured and he could hear the screams of others who were tortured too.

Khawaja Umer Farooq, Jeddah, published 8 November 2009

Making a mess of everything

In his article “The Mess in Afghanistan”, pointing out the relevance of Rudyard Kipling to the crisis there and in Pakistan (Nov. 6), Ajaz Zaka Syed says: “Having spent most of his life in Her Majesty’s service in the Indian Subcontinent as a soldier and journalist, Kipling knew the red lines that were not to be crossed — ever”.

Kipling spent just 13 years of his life in India, the first six in Bombay where he was born, and a further seven between the ages of 16 and 23 mainly in Lahore where he worked as a journalist for “The Civil and Military Gazette”. Thereafter he never visited the country again. He was never in the army.

Syed also describes Kipling as “poet to the British Empire” and says that he “famously justified the Western colonization and European imperialism in the now infamous poem, ‘The white man’s burden’.” Has Syed ever read the poem? Has he ever read any Kipling? If he had, he would surely know that Kipling was not the imperialist he imagines. The poem he mentions ridicules imperialism and was written in response to the American Philippines war of 1899-1902. If a writer gets his basic facts wrong (and they could so easily have been checked), what credibility can be afforded his opinions?

Michael Grant, Riyadh, published 8 November 2009

Making a mess of everything - 2

I agree that America should get out of the Middle East. We have no business there, but unfortunately many of my country’s leaders are plainly blind and have no clue as to how to run a superpower effectively. America does not really fear Arabs/Muslims as we really don’t understand you. But that is of no consequence to the blame game.

Hatred is all over in your part of the world. At least it appears to be that way. How things can ever change in such a culture is the mystery question. Too bad you fellows cannot see that. But you must admit you don’t want to live in peace, correct? Blame the ‘white guy”, come on, that is really old isn’t it?

Michael Carley, USA, published 8 November 2009

Chicago politics

This refers to Amza’s letter about US President Barack Obama (Oct. 6).

Don’t feel bad. Obama’s greatest trait is taking everyone for a ride! But, if indeed you thought he would be any different, it was because you didn’t listen to what he was saying, or who his minister was or who his friends are. Welcome to the real world of Chicago politics.

Betty, By e-mail, published 8 November 2009

BNP and global warming

It amazes me how little Francis Andrew knows of the party he supports and how unwilling he is to research issues on his own. If any interested party would simply type in, “Nick Griffin global warming” in search engines, they would find that the first article to come up is from YouTube. It’s from June 8, 2009, and it’s a video of none other than BNP leader Nick Griffin proclaiming, “Global warming is a hoax”. Then, simply scroll down the same page and you will find reference after endless reference to the BNP’s denial of global warming.

Sharif Dua, Bangalore, India, published 8 November 2009

A child of invasion

I am not at all a supporter of people who kill innocent women and children. I agree with Masood Khan (Oct. 31) that the Taleban should be defeated. But first we have to answer the question about what gave birth to the Taleban in the first place and what sustains them in their current drive. The answer is simple: Invasion.

Why is America invading other countries and interfering in their internal affairs? Is 9/11 the reason? What is the proof? Till today nobody has furnished any concrete proof regarding Al-Qaeda’s involvement in the 9/11 attacks. Did Iraq have weapons of mass destruction? No. Still innocent women and children continue to be brutally murdered in Afghanistan, Iraq and now Pakistan. So the US invasion is the root of the problem. The Taleban’s threat will persist as long as occupation and death and destruction continue.

The US always says it is difficult to avoid civilian deaths in a war like this. So the simple solution is to stop the war and go home. In any case, the US will have to leave Iraq and Afghanistan in the same way they had to leave Vietnam. Can’t they do it without causing more bloodshed and more innocent deaths?

Abdunnassir Odungat, Dhahran, published 8 November 2009

What a match!

Once the famous English commentator of yesteryear, John Arlott said, “’Australianism’ means single-minded determination to win — to win with laws but if necessary at the last limit — within them. It means where the impossible is within the realm of what human body can do.

There are Australians who believe that they can do it — and who have succeeded often enough to make us wonder if anything is impossible to them. It means they have never lost a match — until the last run is scored or their last wicket is down.”

This is what we saw at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium at Hyderabad, in India on Thursday evening. I am referring to the 5th ODI played between India and Australia.

The winning margin of Australia over India was so small, only 3 runs, in this very high scoring match. However, India was not disgraced because it came so close to winning it, being helped by a majestic innings of 175 runs by the maestro, Sachin Tendulkar.

Rightfully, Sachin was selected as the “Man of the Match”. At the presentation ceremony he said, “I care about playing for India. It’s a passion and I have been absolutely honored to play for India so long.”

At the end the spectators got their money’s worth. What a match it was!

S.H. Moulana, Riyadh, published 8 November 2009