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This war is far from over
Posted on 2001-12-11 10:54:59 by dalliaa |
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 Even with the relative ease with which the Taliban lost control over Afghanistan, there is still a long way to go. The conundrum facing world leaders today, especially George W. Bush in calling for world security is to ensure that grass-root action takes place and not just cheap talk.
The collapse of the odious Taliban regime in Afghanistan is a highly welcome development. However, it is only one part of the so-called war against terrorism. At such moments, when fearful gloom and despondency risk being replaced by premature triumphalism, it is worth recalling the original aims of the war. Osama bin Laden remains free and the real work of winding up al-Qa'eda is only beginning.
More importantly, both Mr Bush and Mr Blair made a much wider claim for their offensive. This was a war against terrorism across the globe, at the end of which the world would be a safer place. The terrible events in the Middle East show that this is still a distant goal and may even have moved further away. They also highlight the dangers of deploying a rhetoric that appears to clarify, but is in reality dangerously vague.
At its worst, such rhetoric provides cover for attacks by other states on their enemies. Israel is now claiming to be fighting its own war against terrorism in response to the Hamas attacks of last week. A response to the atrocities is inevitable, but the Sharon government's decision to use the attacks as an excuse to attempt the fatal undermining of the Palestinian Authority is not. Mr Bush can hardly complain when he has used the same language to explain his response to 11 September. Indeed the US President now finds himself in the paradoxical position of being the only world leader capable of helping establish peace in the Middle East while at the same time being cited by Mr Sharon as a justification for going to war.
See Full Text of the Article from the Independent.
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