Will Vatican’s talks with Islamic scholars succeed?

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

Pope Benedict XVI has responded to the invitation of Islamic scholars for dialogue. He plans to meet Islamic scholars in the spring. MSNBC quotes the head of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, as remarking that the meeting will have a tripartite strategy. Tolerance, inculturation issues and pro-life activities will be stressed. All this has to be contextualized in the light of Pope Benedict’s past comments on the Islam. He had angered Muslims by quoting medieval sources which condemned the violence in Islam. The main stream media in it characteristic way presents all this inter-faith talks in such a simple manner that it seems that all conflicts can and will be resolved after round-table talks. In fact, history proves otherwise. Long ago, St. Francis of Assisi had met a Moslem Sultan. Though the latter was deeply impressed by the sanctity of the Saint, yet he did not start liking Christianity any the more for it. Often unfortunately such meetings only buttress differences. The post Vatican II Church has a very definite agenda for evangelisation. And the present Pope is a stickler for continuity and tradition. For him the Catholic Church represents the Body of Christ, albeit mystical Body. He will never budge from this dogma. The Islamic scholars on the other hand consider the Holy Quran as coming down from Heaven and in fact, an extension of Allah Himself. So the Quran’s message cannot be compromised. They too have their own agendas of evangelisation. Then there are the grassroots problems; we have the fundamentalists of both Faiths. The Islamic Jihadis will want to subvert and foil every attempt by religious leaders to compromise. In fact, this meeting will not yield anything substantial. As it were, both parties are under invisible compulsion to sit down for talks. But their ideologies are so hardened and formed that the depth of the conference could only be in the pleasantries. Then should we not have peace-seeking inter-religious dialogues? Of course, inter-faith dialogues are important but they should never be held as knee-jerk responses to diplomatic crises. This conference is being held as a crisis management exercise by both the Vatican and the Muslims. They may not now realise it, the outcome of such meetings will determine the real living conditions of the people of both Faiths. The Middle East Peace process may become a victim of such rashly held talks. Via & Image: MSNBC

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Ladenism is creeping into the minds of US Muslims

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

The US faces a new and covert threat which emanates from within the country. The ‘danger persons’ are the Muslim citizens of the country. They have been living in the country for years, even perhaps for generations. They are normal and law abiding American citizens. But Osama bin Laden’s poisonous version of Islam is beginning to affect them. Let us take two examples. Reza Taheri-azar, 22, a graduate of University of North Carolina and an Iranian jimmigrant, drove a sport utility vehicle into a crowded pedestrian zone. He struck nine people but, fortunately, none were severely injured. Later he told the police that he wanted to kill non-Muslims because he hated what the US was doing to Muslim countries the world over. Yaser Abdel Said, 50, A Texan taxi driver of Egyptian origin shot and killed his two teenaged daughters only he disapproved of their seemingly un-Islamic ways; they had non-Muslim boyfriends. This so called honour killing is actually a new phenomenon called “Sudden Jihad Syndrome.” These developments are bad news for the US and may prove even more harmful than 9/11 in the future. I mean there are so many US citizens who follow Islam and they might all become potential threats to national security. Laden’s jihadist ideology is spreading gradually even amongst some African-Americans. The case of Kevin James shows that these mini-terror outfits are home-grown with no support from Al Qaeda. These outfits are spawned only by Laden’s preaching. What is disturbing is that mainstream American media is hesitating to report this new phenomenon, perhaps because it does not want to get labeled as anti-Islamic. But merely turning a blind eye to this growing threat (admittedly minor now) is not going to shoo it away. The evil has to be nipped in the bud. How? There are no easy answers. The only way would be that the rational and liberal Muslims scholars, Imams and people stand up and be counted. They should spread the real message of Islam, which is of love for all and peaceful co-existence. That would be the best deterrent to the spread of jihadism. Image credits 1 2

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Taliban and Afghan government in tug-of-war

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

Just when the impossible task of finding a solution to the Afghan situation was thought to have been discovered, a tug-of-war has struck upsetting optimism. The Afghan government has given the green signal for the peace talks with the Taliban rebels to go ahead, but it is the Taliban who appear to be backtracking with their string of self-invested demands. The Taliban have demanded the complete withdrawal of all foreign troops from the nation say that only then will they come to the table to discuss any peace deals. At the centre of tug-of-war is the massive unit of 50,000 foreign troops that is still stationed in the country monitoring the rising tension in Afghanistan, that is gradually clmbing up the economy chart under President Hamid Karzai. Out of those 50,000 foreign troops, 24,000 are Americans and this factor also enrages Taliban who see the Bush administration as its prime enemy. But the complete pullout of the foreign force deployed in Afghanistan would severely cripple the nation’s security since Afghanistan’s own security forces are not quite capable of standing up on their own feet at the moment. So no surprise then, that Mr. Karzai has refused to concede to the Taliban’s demands of the pullout of troops. The President has also demonstrated his assertion in declining to meet the Taliban’s demands for a new constitution and the strict imposition of Islamic law in the country. Mr. Karzai knows that imposition of an Islamic Law would mean inclination towards a hard-core Islamic State and that would hamper international relations with the US. But the Talibanis remain adamant on their demands and the deadlock over the peace deal appears to be without a key. The Taliban insurgency in the nation has increased in the last several months with the spread of the terrorist activities from the south of the country to the previously safer regions. Karzai is already finding it tough to handle the Talibans even with the presence of the international military troops and he knows that without that support, the nation would become a free rule for the insurgents. And that’s why he denies to grant their demands; which implies that the stalemate is not going to end in the immediate future. Image Source: China Daily Source: USA Today

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Battle against al-Qa’eda, a lost cause without tribal leaders

Posted on January 27, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

It’s been forever acknowledged that Pakistan is a haven for al-Qaeda and for the hatching of its plans. The local religious schools and the Taliban have augmented the stronghold that Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network has over several parts of the South Asian nation. Pressure from the US on General Musharraf to do something truly fast is multiplying and the only means for restoration of pride and honour for the Pakistani President seems to the local tribal chiefs in key areas of his State. President Pervez Musharraf’s popularity is worsening day by day. His domestic policies have already been labeled as a farce and his international relations too have come under close scrutiny. His failure to curb the rising Taliban insurgency in his nation has also raised concern over his leadership and now there’s a serious danger that the Pakistan leader’s rule may be about to burst. Pakistan’s remote enclaves have been identified as the main areas wherein al-Qaeda operate and train its members. And it is in these areas that the Pakistani President need to focus his energy. Local tribal chiefs control such areas and without their help, access to these far removed and often isolated regions is well near impossible. It is through these tribal chiefs that the military army can tap into the dens of al-Qaeda. However, Pakistani army still have to convince these local chiefs to commit themselves to the cause of eradicating al-Qaeda presence from the country. But persuading these disinterested local chiefs is going to be anything but easy. They really lack any good incentive to make a pact with a government, whom many Pakistanis see as a puppet being played on by US President George W Bush. Last September, the Pakistani army agreed to suspend its operations in the Tribal Areas in return for promises that al-Qaeda suspects would be handed over but it has been far from successful. Of the seven Tribal regions, North Waziristan and Bajaur are the most sensitive and critical ones but President Musharraf has been unable to thread his way into either of the regions. Strategists believe that he should do this quick or else his declining popularity could seen him fall off the tightrope that he is walking on. Two recent events have illustrated how vulnerable the Pakistani President is. Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden has once more asked for the overthrow of the Pakistan President and this has helped flare up tension to an even greater degree in the country. Also, the former prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, has raised her voice against the military government and is trying to promote herself. Though, she is increasingly gathering popularity among the Pakistan people, but she has little control over the army. Whether she will ultimately reestablish her authority in the country would be decided only by the failure of President Musharraf to control Taliban and al-Qaeda inrgency in the nation. Image Source: US Vet Source: The Telegraph, UK BBC

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Drugs to avoid going to war – UK soldiers’ new tactics

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

British forces are being confronted by a new enemy in the form of drugs. Startling revelations from within the army, navy and Royal Air Force (RAF)have opened up a debate regarding the British army’s drugs prevention policies. According to latest figures fifteen British soldiers a week are being thrown out of the army taking dangerous drugs such as heroine, cannabis, ecstasy, etc. Various factors including the British Defense Ministry’s zero tolerance policy against drug offenders are having adverse effects on the situation. With so many soldiers getting caught through regular drugs tests, it is a clear sign that the army is suffering from decreasing morale and severe work pressure. According to many experts the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have played major roles in increasing the drug culture within the battle-fatigued soldiers who take drugs to escape from the memories of the bloody battles. Furthermore medical experts and army psychologists have pointed to the fact of persistent drug culture among youths of some of the inner city areas of Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester from where most of the army recruits come from. To some this is a typical problem of the British society more than an army’s. It has been revealed in some of the leading British newspapers that the returning soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan are indulging themselves in drug abuses regularly. Moreover, to prove the reluctance to go to war within the British army, many soldiers are deliberately taking drugs to get themselves caught so that they might not have to go to Iraq or Afghanistan. Some have cast grave doubts over the Ministry of Defense’s zero tolerance policy regarding drugs abuses and the subsequent compulsory expulsion. According to those experts the zero tolerance policy is illogical given the fact that most of the drugs use is situational and recreational and it reflects the social trend as a whole. Compulsory discharge or expulsion should be treated as a last resort. Proper rehabilitation measures for the offenders should be encouraged by the army before taking any drastic action. With such a staggering rate of expulsions in which around thousand soldiers had been discharged from their duties due to drugs abuses last year and the figure on the rise year by year, the Royal British Army is set to face the strain in the coming days. Image Link: [1], [2], [3], [4],[5] Source Link: BBC

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Darfur peace process still in the balance

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

The Darfur peace talk still hangs in the balance. The four-year conflict in western Sudan still remains to be solved and with the rising strength of the insurgents, the incumbent task of excavating any solution from anywhere is proving to be a herculean job. The African Union is lost in digging out any solution and so is the United Nations. To make matters worse, both these bodies are at loggerheads and threading a path through the crisis is looking more and more like a failed objective. The Sudanese government has been proved incapable of coming up with any ideas of solving the four year conflict between the Janjaweed militias and rebel groups (the Sudan Liberation Movement and Justice and Equality Movement); instead of welcoming the AU and the UN, it is resisting the deployment of more troops. In a high level meeting convened by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the African Union Chairman Alpha Oumar Konare on Friday, Sudan refused to allow non-African troops into the troubled far western region and insist that there are enough AU forces to be deployed in the region. Senior dignities from at least 26 countries were at the meeting but Sudan’s objections meant that all had to return home scratching their heads. More than 26,000 AU and UN troops are due to be deployed in Darfur by early next year in an attempt to bring an end to the four-year conflict. Sudan agreed to this deal on the condition that the troops should be predominately African. But now it’s been revealed that all African troops do not meet the required standards to tackle the violence in Darfur and this means that armed forces from outside the continent have to be imported. And this is what Sudan is strongly in disfavour of. The reason for this disinclination to embrace UN forces by Sudan is anyone’s guess. Possibly the Sudanese government doesn’t want its region to be infiltrated by the United Nations. It’s been reported that the Sudanese government provides money and assistance to the Janjaweed militia and has also helped the militia during attacks on the opposition rebel tribes. The Sudanese government knows that with UN forces in the region, the cat will come out of the bag and this is exactly what it fears. UN peacekeeping forces already deployed in the volatile region had had to confront a plethora of problems, including attacks on them and limited access to land and water. The UN itself is dissatisfied with the treatment that its peacekeeping forces get from the Sudanese government and just ahead of the meeting, two World Vision aid workers were shot in the head, and a third was shot in the shoulder on Thursday during a carjacking incident in southern Darfur. The Libya peace talks on the Darfur crisis is going to be held in October this year but with the solution about the deployment of troops still to be resolved, it’s hard to imagine any positive result erupting out of that discussion. Under such hostile conditions, it’s hard to see any light at the end of the tunnel. Image Source: IRW Source: BBC, Washington Post

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Kidnapped Italians freed in Afghanistan

Posted on January 26, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

Two Italian soldiers and their translator who were kidnapped on Saturday were freed by ISAF, the NATO-led force in Afghanistan. They were kidnapped in the western province of Herat and taken to neighbouring Farah province. ISAF said the Italian-led rescue mission early on Monday gave rise to a fire fight resulting in the killing of all the kidnappers who were said to be eight or nine in number. They were freed in the increasingly violence-prone province of Farah in western Afghanistan.It said both Italians and their translator were wounded in the operation. One of the Italians is said to be seriously injured. An ISAF spokesman said it was not known what had happened to their other Afghan colleague, the driver. The identity of the kidnappers is not clear. The Taliban have denied involvement. Also in Farah province, two Spanish soldiers and their Iranian translator were killed in a roadside bomb attack, according to the Spanish government. Source : BBC

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Hardline Shiite cleric oncourse to dictate future Iraqi politics

Posted on January 25, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

Moqtada Al Sadr, the popular Shiite cleric and leader of one of the most feared Iraqi Shia extremist groups, the Mahdi army, is oncourse to become even more influential in Iraqi politics. With reports coming in from inside Iraq that the radical cleric is on his way to attaining the title of Ayatollah which then would make him even more popular among the majority Shias across the country. But the news would not be welcomed by Americans, liberal Iraqis and ofcourse Sunnis. With Britain set to hand over Basra province to Iraqi hands in the coming days and the US planning to scale down its presence from the country, there is every chance that Iraq is again embroiled in a bitter power struggle with Al Sadr with his Mahdi army at the forefront. At this particular moment Al Sadr’s political motives can hardly be judged given his rare public appearance but one thing is for sure that as the son of a former top Shiite leader, Moqtada Al Sadr is a homegrown Iraqi nationalist who has openly pitted himself against the Iranian born foremost Iraqi leader Ayatollah Ali Al Sistani and emphasises on native-grown Shiite religious practices with no links to Iran. But this does not mean that Al Sadr is an anti-Iranian just like the Americans. Infact over the last couple of years the fire-brand anti-American cleric has visited Iran number of times which is a clear hint of a rapprochment between Tehran and Al-Sadr over future Iraqi polics and anti-American sentiments. Al Sadr, in his early 30s, commands great influence among poor jobless Shiite Muslim youths. The Mahdi leader’s opponents believe him to be an impatient radical Muslim who desperately wants to dominate Iraq’s oil-rich south by force. What concerns most is the fact that Al Sadr enjoys a lot of support within the Shia-dominated Iraqi government and was instrumental in putting prime minister Nouri Al Maliki into power. There is every chance that to appease the radical cleric, the government would allow Al Sadr to enter mainstream political process which would be another dangerous step for the sole reason that Sunnis and Kurds would not tolerate the outspoken Moqtada Al Sadr in any given democratic Iraqi government. The Kurds and the Sunnis fear that Al Sadr is desperate to turn Iraq into an Islamic fundamentalist country with deadly ramifications for the minority.

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Darfur peace talks fails to break the deadlock

Posted on January 25, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

The Darfur conflict in western Sudan is a highly complex one. On paper it might appear just another armed conflict between two armed groups but the story runs deeper than the opening line would suggest. The clash between the Sudanese military and the militia group Janjaweed on one side and a variety of rebel groups, notably the Sudan Liberation Movement and the Justice and Equality Movement, on the other was conceived way back in 2003. But four years down the line, the controversy and misery have only piled up. In these four years, several peace measures and round-table talks have been held but the deadlock has yet to be broken. The UN, the USA and the African Union have all failed to dig out any solution and talks of sanctions and depolyment of more troops in the troubled region have been common. The crux of the matter is that neither parties involved in the conflict are ready to accede defeat or lay down arms. This demeanor was exemplified by the rebels leader Khalil Ibrahim on Tuesday when he refused to give up fighting until a peace deal has been finally agreed by all the parties. Ibrahim’s Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) has been the main perpetrator in the recent clashes against the army in Darfur and his disinclination to accept defeat illustrates the toughness and resoluteness of these Darfur rebels. He wants resistance to continue and succumbing to the heavy international pressure would be an indication of the end of that resistance. A recent military alliance between JEM and Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) have made this unity faction the biggest threat in Darfur, a threat that has invited talks of sanctions from the US. Yet, the rebels are obstinate on their stance to give up arms only after a proper and acceptable peace deal has been struck. Experts estimate that some 200,000 people have lost their lives in the volatile region of Darfur since 2003 as an aftermath of this conflict. Several of those killed are foreign aid workers who are made easy targets by the rebels and the militia. So much so that on Monday British aid agency Oxfam threaten to pull out all its aid workers from the region should the security measures in the region be not tightened. But in the face of the Sudanese government’s lack of self-assertion and its reluctance to let the UN deploy non-African troops in Darfur, security looks to remain as slack as it is at the moment. Image Source: Blood Water Mission Source: Reuters

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US eyes Africa in its global crusade

Posted on January 25, 2012 by admin | Permalink 0

The American Foreign policy in the recent past (say in the aftermath of 9/11) has been contradictory at times, and this is an obvious understatement. Most of all this contradiction has been highlighted in the debacle in the Middle East vis-a-vis the lofty American ideals of human rights. And the Worse is yet to come for the parts of the world that are yet untouched by the ubiquitous ‘war on terror’. What is being referred to, of course, is the Dark Continent-Africa. By militarizing its African policy, US is looking to stretch its global crusade against Islamic radicalism, and at the same time elevate its interests in this region to the same level as in the Middle East and Asia, U.S.A. plans to do this by establishing a new headquarters, somewhere in the Horn of Africa. AFRICOM – a strategic command center – will be much on the lines of CENTCOM in Florida and will integrate counterterrorism policy with a humanitarian program. U.S. is fast tracking its search for a potential location for this command center and more likely than not, it will be located in either of these nations- Ghana, Liberia, Tanzania or Ethiopia. Do these names ring a bell? Yes, you reasoned it out right, the dreaded human rights once again. It is not a mere coincidence that the American allies in Africa have poorest track records on humanitarian grounds. Ethiopia, for instance, has become a proxy for the Americans in the raging civil war in Somalia. But the race to establish a strategic command center was a natural progression from the expanding military footprint of the Americans in central and western Africa. Since 2001, the troop presence has expanded in this long-neglected nook of the world. As with any other US act these days, this one, too, is being sold as an effort to remove the breeding grounds of terror. Moreover, the US is trying to improve its intelligence network on potential terrorist activity and provide a presence that could be expanded or exploited should more direct action be needed. America may justify this, having learnt a lesson the hard way in 1990s, when bin Laden made Africa his home and targeted the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. More importantly perhaps, the Americans are looking to counter the growing influence that the Chinese are acquiring with their diplomatic and economic efforts in the region. The Chinese interests are primarily commercial, mainly concerned with the resources on offer, but at the same time one cannot ignore the fact that China is also looking to establish political and military foothold in the continent. Of course, the AFRICOM might actually turn out to be yet another US effort to quench its unending thirst for oil. As the clamor against the US exploitation of oil reserves in Iraq grows, are Americans merely moving on to the next pumping station? This question is yet another argument loaded against an increased American presence. The debacle in Middle East has seen serious questions being raised against the ability of the Americans to successfully intervene in the world affairs. Already, some African leaders and the European allies of US are against the idea of Africom since this would mean that the flow of arms would be more than the flow of aid in the weaker political states of Africa. Needless to say, this is a highly undesirable scenario and would further destabilize regions prone to civil wars. Also, in last year or so the US has intervened militarily in Somalia with no success whatsoever. It has only managed to worsen the already dire affairs, resulting into a worsened civil war. This reason alone could thwart any efforts to win allies I on this agenda. Washington has failed terribly in its efforts to rid the world of the menace of al-Qaeda. It has, however, managed to alienate several quarters quite successfully. Under such circumstances, it is difficult to see which nation, if any, would offer to bear the brunt and be the Africom base. Aid coupled with arms would be a difficult bait to refuse. Nevertheless, risking an Afghanistan-like situation is also a trade-off worth some serious consideration. The American-agenda these days comes in obscure packages. To decipher it with all the underlying meanings and messages is very tough. I would dismiss as yet another excursion of the Bush administration aimed at shaping the multi-polar world of today. Maybe it’s just a distraction for the world as the US tries to make an unobtrusive exit from the muddled affairs in Mid-East.

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