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Thursday, June 08, 2006
Between Zarqawi's Death and BJP's cash - Terrorism Lessons for India The Zarqawi killing while being a symbolic political victory for Bush and the new Iraqi Government has a deeper lesson for India on our strategy to counter terrorism. To better appreciate it is important to put into perspective Zarqawi's role in Iraq. While the ongoing violence in Iraq has many hues to it, Zarqawi's brand of violence had a distinct color to it. Zarqawi was not necessarily restricting his activities to acts of violence against American symbols but was in fact quite ruthless in taking innocent civilian lives with his violence. While the most graphic of his acts of violence where videotape, what made him particularly distinct were the bomb attacks on Jordanian Hotels which killed many Arabs including a wedding party. While there maybe many doctrines in defining what is and what is not Terrorism, it is important to understand clearly that Zarqawi was no Sunni insurgent resisting American occupation, but he was clearly a very violent man, motivated by a very violent ideology with no discernible political goals, but for a passion for violence and fear that did not distinguish American from Arab. Zarqawi was everyman's terrorist. There in lies the first important lesson from the Zarqawi episode for India. Often Public Debate on Terrorism in India is muddled by confused left of center voices with their intellectually and morally bankrupt arguments of one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter. Dubious as these formulations maybe, it is important to recognize that just as Zarqawi, in the Indian context as well there are those who's violent acts are motivated by a very violent ideology with no discernible or tangible political goals. These elements have a deep motivation and passion for violence and fear that does not distinguish Hindu from Muslim in India. It is these elements that bombed the bazaars of New Delhi and Benares, attacked IISC Bangalore and more recently have expanded their zone of operation to Maharashtra. Our strategy for terrorism must recognize this fundamental character of this brand of terrorism and reflect intellectual and moral clarity in our response to this variety of terrorism. When in response to acts such as these we hear repeated assertions from the Government that our faith in the peace process in Kashmir is firm, it reflects a mindset that is according a moral sanction and credibility to this brand of terrorism by ascribing a political goal to it when none exists. It has been our experience that those in Jammu & Kashmir with the explicit political goal of secession from India have long practiced terrorism as an instrument to frustrate the will of the State and the People expecting both to wilt and eventually cave into their demands. In response to this brand of terrorism the two pronged approach of military resistance and political engagement is a demonstration of our firm intentions to frustrate and isolate the secessionists into giving up violence and returning to the path of political dialogue. However this defensive two-pronged approach is not the answer to the Zarqawi brand of terrorism which is motivated by sheer violence and fear mongering with no discernible political goals. The second lesson emerging from the Zarqawi episode is the strategic response to this brand of terrorism. An offensive strategy that hunts down and kills the key figureheads of this brand of terrorism while taking the battle into their safe havens and instills the fear of god in them is the way to go. Morally confused prescriptions of going into the root cause of terrorism and seeking to link Gujarat riots with these acts of terrors is the worst kind of pusillanimity that a nation can demonstrate. Left of Center editorials from media outlets like the Hindustan Times and The Hindu have time again been guilty of according a non existent political cause and a dubious moral sanction by taking this line of reason. Counter Terrorism Strategy in India needs a moral compass that guides it in devising the right offensive tactics to eliminate this new brand of Islamic Terrorism from its roots by taking the battle to its source. Leftist attitudes must not be allowed to cloud our judgement on the morality and righteousness of these offensive tactics. The BJP must teach its hot-heads that public debate on terrorism must be elevated to a far more serious level if the BJP's claim to being the Party best suited to protect our Nations Strategic Interests and Security ought to be taken seriously. -- OffStumped For All Things Right of Center, Bringing a Right of Centre Reality Check to Indian Politics, News Media Reporting and Opinion through Blogs and Podcasts. -- Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by Yossarin at 9:40 PM |
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