Ones that did not make it

Ok so the following letters did not make it to the newapapers (sigh) ...

September 16, 2004
Ideas 2004 Exhibition Karachi

Editor-
The other day, while on my brief visit to Karachi, I noticed several blocked roads and a host of law enforcement agents positioned every few yards on Share-e-Faisal and brandishing assault weapons. Well it turned out that they
were there due to so called 'Ideas 2004 Arms for Peace' exhibition currently being held in Karachi. If the title itself is not an oxymoron than what is? It made me wonder a few things- 'Defense of what?' Do we really need more
weapons in this country?' What is so glorified about the savagery of killing machines anyway?'

Perhaps the prevailing answer would be that we need the weapons to defend Pakistan against India.

Does anyone notice the inherently flawed logic of strengthening the physical borders while the inner core is crumbling at an ever-growing rate due to political instability, rampant corruption, feudalism, nepotism, lawlessness and unemployment?

Or do we need the weapons to defend our so called religious freedom (for which this country was formed) against foreign aggression -i.e. the freedom to bomb mosques and other places of worship, persecute religious minorities
and kill other citizens in the name of God.

Ever since its inception, Pakistan is caught in a vicious and never ending arms race while in the name of 'Defense' social welfare has been put on the back burner. Over the years Pakistan has accumulated a foreign debt of about
40 billion dollars. Debt repayment, defense spending and general administrative expenditures consume 80% of Pakistan’s annual budget. Only 20% is available for development of the social sector.

What if only a small percentage of these billions of dollars were spent on social programs instead of buying war machines?

The masses are not only uneducated but also illiterate -a situation that in turn creates fertile breeding grounds for intolerance (religious, cultural and racial). Millions of citizens are without basic human services such as food, shelter, healthcare and education. It is a shame that the only sources of pride for Pakistan are matching India 1-for-1 on missile launches and beating India in a meaningless Cricket match. Amassing more weapons and
glorifying wars can only further deteriorate the existing situation.

Is this the Pakistan that Jinnah had envisioned?

All of this plays well in the hands of the ruling elite (or Army). By creating an environment of 'threat' they rationalize their dictatorship and outrageous arms spending while the general public due to the 'fear' of the fabricated threat goes along with the ailing fiscal policy. It is also in the rulers' best interest to keep the 'pot boiling but not let it over
spill' at the borders in order for the headlines news to be about the growing tensions with India and hence providing the justification for buying more weapons.

Instead of 'Ideas 2004', this exhibition needs to be renamed to something more appropriate such as '2004 ideas to murder civilians' or '2004 ideas to cut social programs' or '2004 ideas to squander public money on buying
bombs'.

August 18 2004
Why do they hate us?

Editor-
August 20^th marks the 6^th year anniversary of destruction of Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan by US cruise missiles. Acting on faulty intelligence reports the Clinton administration claimed that Al-Shifa was producing the precursor chemicals that would allow the production of VX nerve agent and that it was funded by Bin Ladin. It claimed that the key evidence justifying its destruction of the Al-Shifa plant was in a soil sample of a precursor chemical (O-ethylmethyl-phosphonothioic acid, or EMPTA) in the making of the VX nerve gas obtained months before the attack. US claims were immediately challenged by independent sources. Alfred Frey, a chemical weapons expert working for the UN and who was also a UN Iraqi weapons inspector, said that EMPTA was not conclusive scientific evidence of involvement in producing nerve gas. He stated: ‘That would tell me I found this product (the compound) and no more’. Till this day Sudan is reeling from the effects of the destruction of Al-Shifa that produced 60% of its drugs including antibiotics, malaria tablets, drugs for diabetes, ulcers and tuberculosis. This action in Sudan might well have made it more difficult to prevent the attacks of 9/11. Just before the Al-Shifa attack took place, Sudan had detained two men who were suspected of involvement in bombing of US embassies in East Africa. It had offered cooperation with the US in convicting the men. But this offer was rejected by Washington. After the bombing, Sudan "angrily released" the two suspects, who were later found to be Bin Laden operatives.

In light of events like these and not to mention US terror attacks in Vietnam, Nicaragua, El Salvador etc, people still ask the question ‘Why do they hate us?’

June 30 2004
On Reagan's Legacy

Editor-
Last Saturday while driving down HWY101 Petaluma corridor, I noticed several US flags that were still at half mast. I guess these folks are still mourning Regan's death. It made me think of his legacy as I see it -the Contras and cocaine. During 1981-1990, US involvement in Nicaragua resulted in at least 13,000 civilian deaths. Following the fall of the Somoza regime, which had been backed for decades by the US, the CIA formed and armed the covert army known as the "Contras" from the remains of Somoza's National Guard. Assisted by covert U.S. air power, this proxy army inflicted considerable death and destruction across the Nicaraguan countryside. It was an all-out war, aiming to destroy the progressive social and economic programs of the government, burning down schools and medical clinics, raping, torturing, mining harbors, bombing and strafing. These were Ronald Reagan's "freedom fighters."

Reagan is known as the 'Just Say No' president for his campaign against recreational drugs in America and a strong policy of international drug eradication. Under Reagan’s policy, at a time when Americans were being presented with strong anti-drug propaganda, the CIA was in fact an accomplice to a large narcotics smuggling ring in the United States. It was in fact Reagan’s policies that led to the cooperation between the CIA and the Contras. While Nancy Reagan was saying no to drugs in White house lawn, inside the oval house Regan's administration was making deals with the drug cartels.

In 1988 Regan sent 20,000 US troops to invade Panama which resulted in thousands of Panamanian deaths before capturing a CIA employee of 30 odd years, Manuel Noriega. He was brought to Florida to stand trial for drug trafficking charges. Of all the charges brought only one took place after 1984, and the US government had known he was involved in the drug trade since 1972.

Viva American amnesia.