THE VIOLENCE
--------------------
BY S V SASTRY.
IN THE ABOVE PHOTOS FROM LEFT YOU CAN SEE VIOLENCE AT WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK, AND WAR AT IRAQ)
================
1. THE UNLAWFUL VIOLENCE
-------------------------
Terrorism is a term used to describe unlawful violence or other unlawful acts committed or threatened against civilians, by groups or persons for political or ideological goals and it targets non-combatants. It is a sort of psychological and unconventional warfare to force political change, destabilizing an existing regime, or motivating a designated population to join an uprising, in the hope of disrupting status-quo, expressing a grievance or drawing attention to a cause. This differs from "Resistance Movement" which is organized by civilians against an invader in an occupied territory.

In November 2004, a UN Panel described terrorism as any act intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians and non-combatants, with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing an act.

In this form of psychological and often lethal war, the target is the public morale, by spreading fear and panic. Through indiscriminate and random attacks, few person attempt to change the political agenda of the targeted population and state, outweighing other national, social and economic objectives. The resultant shock is aimed to disrupt normal functioning and numb the thinking of policy makers into committing or adopting irrational responses, leading to total confusion.

2. Different forms of Violence:
-------------------------------
Terrorism is not a new phenomenon- only the form is now assuming enormous dimension. In the past, there were marauders and crusaders, and till recently, they were localized, confined to a country. We had separatists, freedom fighters, revolutionary groups, vigilante, militants, guerrillas, jehadis, mujahideens and Fedayeens. Some examples are: Nationalists IRA, liberation Tigers Of Tamil Eel um(LTTE), and ETA (Basque separatists of Spain etc. Anarchists like the Shining Path of Peru, ULFA of Assam, Janjaweeds of Sudan, and the Red Brigade of Italy. Religious Extremists binding together through religion- though devoid of religious goals, like Al Qaeda, Harqat ul Mujahideen, Hezbollah of Lebanon, Hamas and Fatah groups of Palestine, Palestine Liberation Force, Hizbul Mujahideen (Pakistan and Kashmir), Jaish-e-Toiba, Babbar Khalsa, and Khalistan Liberation Front etc.

3.Rise of Fundamentalists
---------------------------
The main reasons, among others, are:

(i). They believe that the Western influence is polluting the minds of its people and keeping them from following the true path of Islam. There is strong resentment against American and Western attitudes, insensitive to local ethos, local traditions and local culture.

(ii). They want America and Western powers to stay away and out of Middle Eastern affairs, and their support of Israel. The four big status issues on the Palestine problem sine 1979 have been:

The fate of Palestinian refugees who fled or were driven out of Israel.
The status of Jerusalem
The borders of Palestinian state
Dismantlement of Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
(iii) They want to set up a fundamentalist government., like the erstwhile Taliban of Afghanistan.

4. The mindset.
---------------
Their mindset is to purge Saudi Arabia and the rest of middle-eastern region of all foreigners and foreign influences. They are not focused on the relationship between themselves and God and on the values and cultural norms of the religious community. They are more a political phenomenon. The idea is ultimately to energize and mobilize the masses, to rise up against their own corrupt rulers. Most of the rulers of the Arab world are authoritarians and totalitarian. Almost all the Arab rulers are illegitimate themselves. Having come to power by force, They have no credibility as carriers of moderate and progressive. There is no accountability of the rulers. There is only obedience to the rulers and prayers for their long life.

4. Frustration and anger among the young.
-----------------------------------------

The young Muslims have been raised to believe that Islam is the most perfect and complete expression of God’s monotheistic message and that the Prophet Mohammed is God’s last and most perfect messenger. Because of closed societies, the backwardness of Arab region in innovations, scientific papers and spirit of free enterprise is so marked as to lead to frustration and rage. Instead of viewing the state of affairs as caused by their closed societies and anti-globalization, they blame their authoritarian rulers, who in turn discourage honest debate and use their captive media to blame all others e.g., America, Israel and the legacy of western colonialism.

As analysed by Thomas Friedman in "The World is Flat", they want the perfection of the seventh century and yet dominate the 21st century. This is the ideal setting wherein young , thus grow alienated with outside world and gravitate to a local prayer group to find warmth and solidarity.

5. 1991 Gulf War.
------------------
This followed the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq and its threatening posture over Saudi oil fields. At that time, Iraq had nearly $90 billion in debt after the 8 years war with Iran, which ended in 1988. Saddam blamed Kuwait and UAE of hurting Iraq’s economy by busting the oil quotas set by OPEC, thus driving oil prices down and Iraq’s income reduced. Kuwait in addition had siphoned off $2.5 billion in oil from the Ramaillah fields, which the two countries shared. In addition, Saddam covetously eyed the two Kuwaiti islands of Warba and Bubian which would give him access to the Gulf.

We are all aware that the UN Resolution mandated only the liberation of Kuwait and that was swiftly achieved. The US stuck to this mandate and ended the Gulf War. Often the senior Bush is blamed for not finishing the task fully. In retrospect, he and his advisers, principally Colin Powell, stand out as more mature and wise. Their main reasons for ending the war in accordance with the UN mandate were:

(i). Pursuing Saddam into Iraq in order to finish him and his capabilities, would project the US as an occupying army.

(ii). At the end of the war, Iraq’s army was totally decimated, with its airfields and scud launch capabilities totally destroyed.

(iii) The imposition of ‘No-Fly’ zones, coupled with border tightening imposed severe restrictions on Iraq’s aggressive intentions, if any left.

(iv). More importantly, much as US despised Saddam, it had little desire to shatter his country. For the previous decade, it was Iran and not Iraq which was the bigger threat in the Persian Gulf. They wanted Iraq to continue as a threat and counter- weight to Iran. Saddam was still able to maintain internal order and fend off a hostile Iran. The US wanted an Iraq still standing, with Saddam overthrown by Iraq’s internal forces.

(v). Saudi Arabia did not want a Shiite region in the south breaking off Iraq. The Turks did not want the Kurdish regime in the north splitting off Iraq. So, dismemberment of Iraq was not in the interests of any.

6. Negative impact of 1991 Gulf War.
------------------------------------
The negative impact was the continued large presence of US military and contractors in Saudi Arabia. This, coupled with the earlier invasion of Afghanistan by the Soviets, alienated the fundamentalists and the result was the emergence of Al Qaeda and the hatred for USA and of western values becoming the main plank of the newly born terrorists, culminating in the destruction of the twin towers of the World Trade Center. The normally tranquil nation was shocked and horrified and with its shores threatened for the first time, suddenly felt vulnerable.

7. Iraq War of 2003.
--------------------
The purported rationale:
-----------------------
The new administration got obsessed with Iraq’s rogue role in fomenting attacks on US and US interests. We are all aware of Iraq being branded in the Axis of Evil along with Iran and North Korea.
Iraq was developing and in possession of Weapons of Mass Destruction and capabilities for chemical warfare.
The Saudi interests had to be protected in the name of liberating Iraqi people and propagating the American values of democracy etc –an obvious anachronism.
The oil interests of America had to be protected and secured.
Above all, the mass emotional reaction and shock after 9/11 could be capitalized, to finish the the unfinished task left by his father, with superior and invincible military at the President’s command.
In short, President Bush wanted the Iraq War to define his presidency. This, despite all evidence to the contrary regarding WMDs etc. A parallel can be found in history with the unwarranted and unprovoked annexation of Sind by the British in late 19Th century, when Allenborough was the Governor-General of British India and Sir Charles Napier his Commander-in Chief. A famous historian commented that Napier wanted war and made the story- Allenborough wanted Sind and believed the story. Even though Islamic terrorism of this magnitude did not exist till the latest war, President Bush now sees Iraq war as a central front of war on terror.

The Iraq War, the intervention in Afghanistan and the US involvement in the Muslim world has encouraged a perception that the US has entered into a war against Islam itself.

8. Course of the War.
---------------------
We all know the events that have followed the declaration of ‘Mission Accomplished’ soon after the war commenced. As suspected, Iraqi army did not offer any meaningful resistance because the Palace Guards and military had melted into the civilians, with all the weapons and ammunition. There is now large scale sectarian violence, with Saudi Arabia providing crucial support to Sunnis, and Iran backing and supporting the Shiites. Iraq now is in the state of virtual civil war and is a failed state. The post-invasion plans for establishing a stable civilian government and of massive reconstruction program, have been ineffective for want of effective administrative machinery and policing. It is now perceived that US is no longer capable of militarily defeating insurgency.

A recent BBC survey of the effects of the Reconstruction efforts highlights the following;
64% of families believe hat the economic situation is very bad, up from 31% in 2005.
88% described availability of electricity as very bad, up from65% in 2004.
69% described availability of clean water as very bad, up from 8% in 2004. Latest reports indicate that most of Baghdad is without water for the last one week.
88% feel that availability of fuel for cooking and vehicles as very bad.
60% described the reconstruction efforts as ineffective and 10% described it as non-existent.
In a nutshell, except eliminating Saddam Hussein, there have been no notable achievements and there is now a humanitarian crisis ,with civilians without protection.
9.Wrong Battlefield.
--------------------
There is now urgent need for US to get off the wrong battlefield. Today America once respected, admired and even loved is seen as arrogant, uncaring and insensitive. Obsessed with terrorism, it has stopped listening to rest of the world. The global aim should be to have resilience and for America to regain its confidence. It should move beyond Iraq and allow the sects and tribes there to level off and play themselves out. It should reduce its exposure to the current civil war and restrict troops to core missions i.e., training the civilian police, reconstruction and humanitarian aid etc. It should rethink on sanctions,and the strategy to isolate, ignore and chastise. It should see how China , Vietnam and Libya have shifted course through meaningful dialogue, purposeful propaganda and non- provocative stance.

America has always been open, welcoming and tolerant and that is its strength. It has more productive workers, thanks to immigration. It has more core competitive advantage. It is bound to bounce back and acceptance of ground realities of a failed war should not be seen as face saving. It has courage and wisdom to move ahead as in the past after Vietnam war, Watergate scandal , cold war postures of erstwhile Soviet Union, and withdrawal from Somalia.

10. What should be the focus of counter-Violence policy.
--------------------------------------------------------
It should focus on resolving the underlying issues, instead of only military option. There is urgent need to resolve the Palestine- Israel issue. While on the one hand the urgency is perceived, on the other lot of money is being pumped into Israel and Saudi Arabia as arms aid. The latest US proposal is to give $ 30 billion aid to Israel, $ 20 billion to Saudi Arabia, and $ 13 billion to Egypt. It is seen as a buy back by USA of Arab nations for what it has done in Iraq. US has already set records for global arms sales, which has more than doubled since the end of the Cold War. No doubt it is perceived as a money game
The attitude towards state sponsors of violence should be more determined with effective diplomatic, economic and financial sanctions. Pakistan and Bangladesh are a case in point, calling for such responses.
There is need to stress on Socio- political tools, instead of only military options.
11.Positive aspects of India’s policy.
--------------------------------------
Majority of Indian Muslims, who are numerically the biggest group compared to these three countries, have stayed out of this ideology.
Most of these theocratic Muslim majority states are themselves facing sectarian violence, have slow economic growth and are seen as near failing states.
India enjoys a stable democracy, has one of the highest growth rate of around 9%, achieved without curbing freedoms or using army or military rule or resorting to air strikes or actions causing heavy collateral civilian damages. India’s strategic response to terrorism has been a delicate blend of hard and soft powers of the state, with a policy of conflict avoidance and conflict resolution. The high tolerance of the Indian society has been the greatest national strength..The secular constitution provides real opportunity for economic advancement of any community that can offer talent. This is amply seen in politics, services, armed forces and commercial enterprise, where everyone with talent is allowed to flourish.

(iv) The cornerstone of India’s policy has been to delink Islam from terrorism and treat terrorists as a class, devoid of any religious identity(v) It is treated as essentially a problem of policing and criminal administration, instead of a military problem. The terrorist acts are governed by civil and criminal laws, answerable to judicial and administrative authorities.(vi). There has been tremendous effort on strengthening intelligence apparatus and border management.

(vii). It has been largely successful in neutralizing collaborative networks like

gun-running, funding and providing shelter etc.
12. Conclusions.
----------------
Let us hope that the authoritarian societies like Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, where the closed societies give rise to frustrations and angry protests in this age of globalisation, will in due course become more open and tolerant on the lines of the more pluralistic and democratic societies as in India and Turkey, with more opportunity to its people to flourish and prosper so that the masses realize the futility of militancy and terrorism.
( Writer is a deep thinker and very much analytical regarding the root causes of all sort of violence. )
******************************