Closure of "Gulag" Guantanamo

It is about time the US considered closing down the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The fact that this illegal detention centre has been in operation for 5 years is mind-boggling. To think that our civilization has succumbed to the media on such a level that we have accepted the idea of a detention centre where detainees exist without access to lawyers or fair trials while being subjected to torture is frightening to say the least. Were we living under Hitler all over again?

The incompetence of Muslim leaders all over the world will also not go unnoticed. Where were these leaders when their own citizens were being detained indefinitely and without charge? Why weren’t they speaking out in unison pressuring the United States to change its stance earlier? But then again, when have these political prostitutes stood up for anything let alone for their own people?

It is no secret that the US is even considering the closure just to save face after being exposed for torture at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and now allegedly at Haditha. It is however, unfortunate that we as a society could not bring about a change in thought based on justice much earlier.

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

Killing of Al-Zarqawi a valuable tool for Washington's PR machine

The death of Al-Zarqawi, whether real or fictitious, is a major step in gaining positive public opinion in what has been a bloody quagmire for the US in Iraq. The Pentagon’s PR department has been in over-drive trying to convince the people that the killing of Al-Zarqawi has been a major blow for the insurgency and a major victory in America’s “War on Terror.” Totally ignored is the alleged massacre of Iraqi civilians by US forces in Haditha, the impending civil war between Shiite and Sunni Muslims, and attacks launched not by Al-Qaida but by Ba’athist loyalists. In reality, the situation in Iraq is getting worse.

However, the exaggeration is not surprising. Bush’s rating is hovering just above the 30 per cent mark, the government is facing huge problems with immigration, and the economy continues to regress. What better way to deflect attention from domestic matters than to declare the killing of a “terrorist mastermind” and glorify its outcomes in time for the midterm elections? The killing of Al-Zarqawi may also begin to justify US presence in Iraq under the pretext of “making progress” while ignoring other factors.

It is of paramount importance to acknowledge and examine the political motives of any government, rather than just to take blind satisfaction in the news it provides.

copyright Aurangzeb Qureshi 2006

Police planted evidence: Terrorists’ arrest in Toronto was a sting operation

Police planted evidence: Terrorists’ arrest in Toronto was a sting operation

* No evidence suspects planned to attack US

By Khalid Hasan

WASHINGTON: The three tonnes of ammonium nitrate found with the Totonto terrorism suspects was planted by the police in an elaborate sting operation.

According to Toronto Star, “Sources say investigators who had learned of the group’s alleged plan to build a bomb were controlling the sale and transport of the massive amount of fertiliser, a key component in creating explosives. Once the deal was done, the RCMP-led anti-terrorism task force moved in for the arrests.” At the news conference held by the police, there was no mention of the sting operation. Among the intended targets of the group, one report said, was the Parliament in Ottawa and the headquarters of Canada’s premier spy agency.

The 12 adults charged are: Fahim Ahmad, 21; Jahmaal James, 23; Amin Mohamed Durrani, 19; and Steven Vikash Chand, 25, all of Toronto; Zakaria Amara, 20; Asad Ansari, 21; Shareef Abdelhaleen, 30; Ahmad Mustafa Ghany, 21; Saad Khalid, 19; and Qayyum Abdul Jamal, 43, all of Mississauga; and Mohammed Dirie, 22 and Yasin Abdi Mohamed, 24. Six of the 12 suspects lived in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga, four came from Toronto and two from the town of Kingston in Ontario. The last two are already in custody on a gun smuggling charge.

The police also arrested five youngsters but their identities or names have not bee made public. At a court hearing in Toronto on Saturday, all the suspects were produced and Canadian newspapers published photographs of head-to-toe, black burqa clad group of women said to belong to the one or more of the families of the men arrested. One whose face was visible looked like a Pakistani. Several of the men, photographed as they were being brought in police cars, were bearded.

The charges include participating in or contributing to the activity of a terrorist group, including training and recruitment; providing or making available property for terrorist purposes; and the commission of indictable offences, including firearms and explosives offences for the benefit of or in association with a terrorist group.

According to the Toronto Star report, “Anser Farooq, a lawyer who represents five of the accused, pointed at snipers on the roof of the courthouse and said, “This is ridiculous. They’ve got soldiers here with guns. This is going to completely change the atmosphere. I think the police cast their net far too wide,” he said.

According to the Globe and Mail, defence lawyer Rocco Galati, who was representing some of the suspects, protested the intense security measures at the court. Galati later scoffed at the allegations. “I’ve seen fertiliser for the last eight years,” he said.

Aly Hindy, a Toronto imam, said he knew several of the accused because they prayed at his mosque but said they were not terrorists. “The charges are to keep George Bush happy, that’s all,” he added sardonically. The Globe and Mail did not mention that all incriminating evidence had been planted on the suspects.

AP adds: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said there was no indication that the arrested were trying to plan an attack in the United States. “We certainly don’t believe that there’s any link to the United States, but obviously we will follow up,” said Rice. “I think we will get whatever information we need,” she said. “But it’s obviously a great success for the Canadians. They’re to be congratulated for it.”

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/print.asp?page=2006\06\05\story_5-6-2006_pg7_6

It is convenient that as soon as the Conservative Harper government comes to power, they suddenly find terrorists conspiring to attack the US. Canada continues to proudly sleep in the same bed as Uncle Sam and here I thought Harper and Bush were against gay marriage.