The death of Osama bin Laden - before and after*****
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
F R Chowdhury
Osama bin Laden was born in a rich Saudi family who made their fortune in the days of construction boom in Saudi Arabia. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan brought a sudden change in his life. He left Saudi Arabia and went to Afghanistan to fight the Russians. As part of their global policy, the United States supported all those who opposed the Soviet occupation. Osama and his followers were financially and militarily supported by the United States through Pakistan. The Russians were finally defeated and they left. Osama came into prominence. That is why there are many who think that Osama was a creation of the United States. Osama is credited with the establishment of "Al-Qaeda," a para-military force opposed to western dominance. Another organisation "Taliban" was also engaged in establishing so-called pure Islamic rule. They both had lot of common factors and they worked together. The worst thing they did - was to brain-wash young people to become suicide bombers. Their fight against western domination spread far beyond Afghanistan. Their target was not always military personnel or establishments. They attacked and killed indiscriminately lot of innocent people in places like Kenya, Tanzania, Indonesia, Spain and the United Kingdom. The worst was the attack on the United States with hi-jacked aircraft in 2001 commonly known as 911. This was the turning point. It is not certain if Osama was involved in planning all of them, but he provided full support and encouragement. Pakistan quietly supported the Al-Qaeda movement perhaps with the hope that one day in any future encounter with India over Kashmir; this irregular force may play a vital role. The incident of 911 changed everything. President Bush called upon all nations to support the American war against terrorism by saying, "You are either with us or against us." This was a turning point for Pakistan, which had to join hands with the United States. So, Pakistan and its military establishments became legitimate targets for Al-Qaeda. Since then Pakistan has been fighting terrorism within its own territory. Till this day more than 3,500 Pakistani troops, including many senior officers sacrificed their lives. No other country made so much sacrifice to fight terrorism. Pakistan cooperated with the United States and even handed over terrorists caught in Pakistan to the United States including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of 911 attack. On May 2, 2011 morning, I was driving on way to my office in Bahrain when I heard the 04:00 GMT BBC news. It broadcast the news of the death of Osama bin Laden. I heard how the US President Barrack Obama addressed the nation to give the news. I will now discuss about some of the words and phrases used by the US president. Firstly, instead of saying "under my direction or guidance" he should have referred to his approval and instruction. The president is the supreme commander of US forces, and such an operation in a third country cannot take place without his approval. He can at best give some instructions such as to avoid civilian casualties, etc. Surely, the president does not provide detailed guidance or direction. There are professionally qualified people to do that. The president said that a fire-fight took place and they killed him. He could have said that a fire-fight took place in which Osama was killed. What the president said implied that the mission was to kill Osama. That is wrong. Even if Mr Obama is the president of the whole world, he cannot order to shoot a person without trial. He also said that justice was done. The question is how? Justice cannot be delivered without fair trial. The matter became worse when US authorities confirmed that Osama was unarmed. The shocking revelation from the daughter of Osama that the US forces shot her father after catching him alive raises many more questions. It is stated that Osama was given a sea burial after observing Islamic rites and rituals. This was also wrong. In Islam sea burial is only permissible when a person dies at sea where land burial is not possible. As an officer on a pilgrim ship, I have performed such sea burials quite a number of times. The body is washed and wrapped in white unstitched cloth. Then the prayer is held. Finally, with the body in a box is lowered gently almost to water-level, engines are stopped; flag lowered to half-mast and then the lid of the box is gently opened (by pulling a string) to release the body attached to a heavy sinker. Then again we recited dua and offered munajat. This is what we did with pilgrims who died at sea. The American action without informing Pakistan does not show any respect to a friendly sovereign and independent state. Instead the CIA chief is supposed to have said that the purpose of the mission could have been compromised, if Pakistan was informed. It was against all diplomatic etiquette to make such utterances about a friendly state. This was a slap on the face of Pakistan for cooperating closely for the last ten years and sacrificing thousands of lives. Osama was a man who forsook wealth and luxury for what he believed to be right. He led a simple life mostly in caves. But he will definitely be remembered as one who dared to defy the mighty United States. However, Osama will be more remembered for all the wrong reasons - the creation of Al-Qaeda, his concept of misguided jihad and killing of thousands of innocent people through his global anti-terrorism net-work. His death brings us a step closer to winning the war against terrorism. I hope the forces against terrorism will unite and cooperate with each other until terrorism is finally defeated. Let us refrain from utterances not conducive to our common goals. Instead the world community should try to solve the paramount problems of Palestine and Kashmir. The writer is Maritime Adviser based in Bahrain, and can be reached at e-mail: fazlu.chowdhury@btinternet.com
Osama bin Laden was born in a rich Saudi family who made their fortune in the days of construction boom in Saudi Arabia. The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan brought a sudden change in his life. He left Saudi Arabia and went to Afghanistan to fight the Russians. As part of their global policy, the United States supported all those who opposed the Soviet occupation. Osama and his followers were financially and militarily supported by the United States through Pakistan. The Russians were finally defeated and they left. Osama came into prominence. That is why there are many who think that Osama was a creation of the United States. Osama is credited with the establishment of "Al-Qaeda," a para-military force opposed to western dominance. Another organisation "Taliban" was also engaged in establishing so-called pure Islamic rule. They both had lot of common factors and they worked together. The worst thing they did - was to brain-wash young people to become suicide bombers. Their fight against western domination spread far beyond Afghanistan. Their target was not always military personnel or establishments. They attacked and killed indiscriminately lot of innocent people in places like Kenya, Tanzania, Indonesia, Spain and the United Kingdom. The worst was the attack on the United States with hi-jacked aircraft in 2001 commonly known as 911. This was the turning point. It is not certain if Osama was involved in planning all of them, but he provided full support and encouragement. Pakistan quietly supported the Al-Qaeda movement perhaps with the hope that one day in any future encounter with India over Kashmir; this irregular force may play a vital role. The incident of 911 changed everything. President Bush called upon all nations to support the American war against terrorism by saying, "You are either with us or against us." This was a turning point for Pakistan, which had to join hands with the United States. So, Pakistan and its military establishments became legitimate targets for Al-Qaeda. Since then Pakistan has been fighting terrorism within its own territory. Till this day more than 3,500 Pakistani troops, including many senior officers sacrificed their lives. No other country made so much sacrifice to fight terrorism. Pakistan cooperated with the United States and even handed over terrorists caught in Pakistan to the United States including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the confessed mastermind of 911 attack. On May 2, 2011 morning, I was driving on way to my office in Bahrain when I heard the 04:00 GMT BBC news. It broadcast the news of the death of Osama bin Laden. I heard how the US President Barrack Obama addressed the nation to give the news. I will now discuss about some of the words and phrases used by the US president. Firstly, instead of saying "under my direction or guidance" he should have referred to his approval and instruction. The president is the supreme commander of US forces, and such an operation in a third country cannot take place without his approval. He can at best give some instructions such as to avoid civilian casualties, etc. Surely, the president does not provide detailed guidance or direction. There are professionally qualified people to do that. The president said that a fire-fight took place and they killed him. He could have said that a fire-fight took place in which Osama was killed. What the president said implied that the mission was to kill Osama. That is wrong. Even if Mr Obama is the president of the whole world, he cannot order to shoot a person without trial. He also said that justice was done. The question is how? Justice cannot be delivered without fair trial. The matter became worse when US authorities confirmed that Osama was unarmed. The shocking revelation from the daughter of Osama that the US forces shot her father after catching him alive raises many more questions. It is stated that Osama was given a sea burial after observing Islamic rites and rituals. This was also wrong. In Islam sea burial is only permissible when a person dies at sea where land burial is not possible. As an officer on a pilgrim ship, I have performed such sea burials quite a number of times. The body is washed and wrapped in white unstitched cloth. Then the prayer is held. Finally, with the body in a box is lowered gently almost to water-level, engines are stopped; flag lowered to half-mast and then the lid of the box is gently opened (by pulling a string) to release the body attached to a heavy sinker. Then again we recited dua and offered munajat. This is what we did with pilgrims who died at sea. The American action without informing Pakistan does not show any respect to a friendly sovereign and independent state. Instead the CIA chief is supposed to have said that the purpose of the mission could have been compromised, if Pakistan was informed. It was against all diplomatic etiquette to make such utterances about a friendly state. This was a slap on the face of Pakistan for cooperating closely for the last ten years and sacrificing thousands of lives. Osama was a man who forsook wealth and luxury for what he believed to be right. He led a simple life mostly in caves. But he will definitely be remembered as one who dared to defy the mighty United States. However, Osama will be more remembered for all the wrong reasons - the creation of Al-Qaeda, his concept of misguided jihad and killing of thousands of innocent people through his global anti-terrorism net-work. His death brings us a step closer to winning the war against terrorism. I hope the forces against terrorism will unite and cooperate with each other until terrorism is finally defeated. Let us refrain from utterances not conducive to our common goals. Instead the world community should try to solve the paramount problems of Palestine and Kashmir. The writer is Maritime Adviser based in Bahrain, and can be reached at e-mail: fazlu.chowdhury@btinternet.com