How to Rebuild a War-Torn Nation

By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM

When trying to rebuild a war-torn nation, focus first on security, not economic development. Then make a few highly visible improvements, like free health care for small children or restoring regular electricity. Also, hire female police officers.

These are among the recommendations in a new report from the World Bank that assesses the best strategies for donor nations seeking to improve conditions in countries mired in self-perpetuating cycles of violence.

The bank, which underwrites development projects, tries each year to focus attention on a particular aspect of international development. In recent years, it has moved from a longtime focus on big-ticket projects to grapple with broader issues, like climate change, and to embrace incremental solutions.

This year’s topic is the debilitating impact of violence on economic activity.

High levels of violence, political or criminal, are much more destructive than natural disasters. The report found that criminal violence in Guatemala cut economic activity in 2005 by more than twice as much as the damage caused by Hurricane Stan.

“People in fragile and conflict-affected states are more than twice as likely to be undernourished as those in other developing countries, more than three times as likely to be unable to send their children to school, twice as likely to see their children die before age 5, and more than twice as likely to lack clean water,” the report says.

The report’s specific and sometimes surprising prescriptions are based on a study of nations that have made progress toward stability and prosperity, including Chile, Colombia, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

First, an impressive caution: “It takes a generation.”

The World Bank reports that no nation has made significant and sustainable progress toward reducing corruption in less than 14 years, and that on average it took successful nations 27 years. Reducing the role of the military in politics? No less than 10 years, 17 years on average.

Second, it emphasizes the importance of first establishing the legitimacy of a new political system by making quick progress in a few visible and tangible areas, rather than the standard tendency to announce a long list of goals.

“At the end of 6 or 12 months people look back and say, ‘What has the government done?’ and they really want to look back and see that there are two or three things that have changed,” said Sarah Cliffe, a principal author of the report.

In South Africa after apartheid, the government focused on providing health care for pregnant women and children under the age of 5. In Liberia, the government promised to restore electricity in Monrovia, the capital city, within one year.

The report also touches repeatedly on the value of gender equity and female involvement in political decision-making, including law enforcement. In Nicaragua, for example, it says that increased hiring of women as police officers produced a crackdown on sexual violence. In Liberia, the report says that the creation of all-female units that worked alongside the local police helped to restore public confidence.

Two final suggestions are pointed at donor nations. The report says that assistance for troubled nations too often jumps and plunges, which is not healthy. It says that donors instead should commit to providing steady, reliable, long-term funding. Issues of corruption, inefficiency or ineffectiveness should be dealt with through changes in management or focus, rather than reductions in aid, the report says.

A chart from the World Bank shows the volatility in aid to four countries from year to year. Humanitarian aid and debt relief, excluded from the statistics, would increase the volatility, it said.

It also suggests the use of a radical new method for judging the effectiveness of rebuilding efforts: asking people in the recipient nations. The World Bank sees such polling as a way to demonstrate incremental progress even as it seeks to shift investment toward long-term plans that may not yield tangible results as quickly.

India’s Smaller Micro-Lenders Likely to Fail

By: Yoolim Lee and George Smith Alexander

A quarter of Indian microfinance companies may fail after a clampdown last month in their biggest market pared debt payments and curtailed bank financing, said N. Srinivasan, who consults on the industry for the World Bank.

India’s micro-lending has expanded at an average annual rate of 62 percent over the past five years in terms of the number of customers, and 88 percent in terms of credit, according to Micro-Credit Ratings International Ltd., a Gurgaon, India-based ratings agency for the industry.

As many as 60 to 70 of the nation’s 260 microfinance institutions are likely to collapse in coming months as banks halt lending to them to curb risks, Srinivasan said in an interview Nov. 19 in New Delhi. That would have a “devastating effect” on the poorest borrowers in remote regions, he said.

Lending and collections by micro-lenders have ground to a near halt in southern Andhra Pradesh state after the local government introduced new rules in mid-October aimed at protecting borrowers. A slump in microfinance loans may trigger a chain reaction of defaults by borrowers with multiple debts, Srinivasan said.

“Multiple loans help people manage money, like juggling balls,” he said, adding that every poor household in Andhra Pradesh has 9.6 microfinance-loan accounts on average. “What’s happening is that right in the middle of it, you remove a ball. Suddenly there is no ball to throw.”

Andhra Pradesh, the largest market for most micro-lenders, on Oct. 15 capped interest rates that companies can charge and ordered them to collect payments monthly rather than weekly. It also barred them from using coercive measures to force borrowers to repay debt.

Straining Capital

The move led to a slump in micro-lenders’ cash flows, strained capital levels and spooked banks, which account for most of their funding needs. Microfinance companies are seeking 10 billion rupees ($221 million) from banks for a liquidity fund, Vijay Mahajan, head of a lobbying group that represents about 44 micro-lenders, said Nov. 16 in New Delhi.

The new rules sent shares of SKS Microfinance Ltd., the largest such lender in the nation, plummeting 47 percent before Chairman Vikram Akula said on Nov. 19 that the firm had received bank funding and didn’t have a cash shortage. The comments helped shares of SKS, more than a quarter of whose loans are in Andhra Pradesh, rally 5.4 percent that day.

Rival Share Microfin Ltd., backed by New Zealand billionaire Christopher Chandler, plans to delay an initial public offering until customers restart payments and state and central governments deal with the current upheaval. Banks need to regain confidence in the companies’ operations, M. Udaia Kumar, its managing director, said in a Nov. 18 interview.

‘Trickle-Down Effect’

“Even if a single MFI defaults, it might have a trickle- down effect on the entire sector,” he said. “Institutions with stronger net worth have a possibility of survival for a period of time.”

Share Microfin, based in Andhra Pradesh’s capital of Hyderabad, had planned to raise 10 billion rupees in early 2011.

Microfinance, which focuses on loans in poor areas largely shut out from traditional banking services, gained prominence globally when Muhammad Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his role in founding Bangladesh’s Grameen Bank. India, where banking services are available in about 5 percent of cities and towns, is the largest market for such credits.

India’s micro-lending has expanded at an average annual rate of 62 percent over the past five years in terms of number of customers, and 88 percent in terms of credit, according to Micro-Credit Ratings International Ltd., a Gurgaon, India-based ratings agency for the industry.

Moneylenders

A shortage of microfinance funding may force borrowers to turn to moneylenders, said Dipak Gupta, executive director of Mumbai-based Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd. These unauthorized lenders operate outside the formal credit-delivery system and charge usurious interest rates.

“Money has stopped and a borrower is used to getting that money and circulating it,” he said. “If you don’t create an alternate system or don’t allow the system to rotate, he will go back to the moneylender.”

SKS, whose stakeholders include George Soros, has received 3.67 billion rupees from eight lenders including Axis Bank Ltd. in the past two weeks, Chief Financial Officer Dilli Raj said on Nov. 19 from Hyderabad, where the company is based.

Axis, India’s fourth-largest lender by market value, is awaiting a report by a committee set up by the central bank last month to review concerns about the microfinance industry, CFO Somnath Sengupta said.

The report, due in January, “will be the guiding principles for lending to the sector,” he said in an interview on Nov. 19. “We will continue to be prudent. There is no reason to panic.”

Axis’s loans outstanding to microfinance companies account for about 1 percent of the total, he said.

Still, the industry is bracing for consolidation, said Mahajan, who is also chairman of Hyderabad-based microfinance company Basix Group.

“We could see casualties among small microfinance institutions,” he said.

WB to help rehabilitate Balochistan agriculture, livestock

By Muhammad Ejaz Khan

QUETTA: The World Bank (WB) has pledged to extend financial and technical assistance for rehabilitation of agriculture and livestock sectors affected badly in the flood-hit areas of Balochistan.

Officials of the Balochistan government told The News on Sunday that the Country Director of the WB, Rachid Benmessoud, assured this assistance, in a meeting with Chief Minister Balochistan, Nawab Muhammad Aslam Raisani, in Islamabad.

It was decided in the meeting that a representative of the World Bank would visit Balochistan soon to review its requirements. It was also decided to hold constant coordination between the Bank’s authorities and the provincial irrigation department, while the Bank would also extend cooperation to the provincial government to provide free-of-cost the fertilizers, seeds and agriculture appliances.

WB country director assured the chief minister that the Bank would work together with the concerned department for an immediate rehabilitation of the canal system affected due to the raging floods in Balochistan. The chief minister had sought the WB’s cooperation in this regard.

He assured to extend wholehearted cooperation to the provincial government to meet its requirements in various sectors. WB country director said that a special session would be arranged for Balochistan in the forthcoming meeting of the Pakistan Development Forum to be held in Islamabad in November this year. The friendly countries and international donors’ agencies would attend the Forum, he said.

The participants of the Forum would be apprised about the losses caused due to the floods in Balochistan with the aim to seek their cooperation to compensate them. WB country director also announced to extend the final date for execution of the WB-funded projects meant for uplift of education sector in the province.

The chief minister thanked on the assurance made by the WB for the financial and technical assistance for reconstruction and rehabilitation of the infrastructure, besides the relief of the affected people.

He said that Pakistan was facing the natural calamity in the form of raging floods in addition to fighting the war against terrorism so substantial resources are needed to succeed in both the fronts.

Raisani also urged the international community and the donor agencies to come forward for extending wholehearted support to Pakistan. During the meeting, the matters pertained to the relief activities in the flood-affected areas besides their rehabilitation as well as the financial and technical assistance for reactivating the basic infrastructure and the modalities in this regard were discussed.

Apprising the WB mission about the losses caused due to the floods as well as the ongoing activities for relief and rehabilitation of the flood-affectees, the chief minister said that rehabilitation of the flood-affectees after their rescue and relief was the biggest challenge for the government, for which a comprehensive strategy has been evolved. However, the government requires huge resources, he maintained.

He noted that the 14 districts of Balochistan were affected in the floods with most of the losses occurred in Naseerabad division, where thousands of the people were rendered homeless and the basic infrastructure was also severely damaged.

US vows to shore up international support for flood-hit Pakistan

WASHINGTON, The United States is working to shore up international support for Pakistan’s staggering task to rebuild millions of lives and livelihoods in the face of unprecedented flooding catastrophe, senior American officials, associated with aid effort, said. Dan Feldman, Deputy Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan and Mark Ward, Acting Director of USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance, said Washington remained optimistic about the much-needed international help towards multi-billion dollars rebuilding and rehabilitation phases.

For its part, the United States – which has now committed 250 million dollars to the immediate relief and early recovery effort – will continue to do whatever it can to assist the South Asian nation in meeting massive recovery demands ahead, the officials said.

“We are doing as much as we can to encourage countries to not only meet the obligations of already pledged money – particularly Tokyo pledges – but also to pledge on top of that (for) what the needs may be,” Feldman said at a roundtable with Washington-based Pakistani journalists.

The monsoon floods, first hitting Pakistan’s northern regions in late July have now finally begun receding in the upper parts, having affected more than 20 million people, exposed displaced communities to waterborne diseases and washed away growth prospects in 23 per cent of the country’s total land under cultivation.

The Asian Development Bank and World Bank are carrying out a damage and needs assessment as the colossal humanitarian tragedy continues to unfold in the southern Sindh province as floodwater courses its way to Arabian sea. The sweeping water has severely afflicted houses and farmlands in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, southern Punjab and parts of Balochistan.

Pakistani officials estimate cumulative losses to the calamity could be as high as 50 billion dollars.

The U.S. will ask major countries to commit more assistance at a series of international events as well as at bilateral forums, officials said.

Feldman felt some of the commitments made by donors at Tokyo Friends of Pakistan meeting a couple of years ago – and which have not been delivered as yet could be used to aid immediate flood recovery effort but added “certainly in our bilateral conversations, we are encouraging countries to give on top of the Tokyo pledge.”

Mark Ward said the U.S. and Pakistan certainly are going to need the international community for a long time in the reconstruction phase as has been the case with rebuilding in northern parts of the country shattered by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake in 2005.

“We are pretty confident that when we get this assessment from the World Bank and the Asias Development Bank and see what the specific needs are and have these international conferences to put these figures in front of the international community, when they see the size of it and when they see how long we are going to need the help, we are going to get support,” the USAID official said.

Regarding the September 19 meeting, being hosted by the UN Secretary General on Pakistan flood situation, the U.S. officials said it is a follow on the Aug 18 UN General Assembly’s special meeting, when the world community expressed its support for Pakistan.

“We will use the opportunity to see what we have done over the last month and wehere, we will see this process is going. There is also hope that we will get the initial broad outlines of what needs may be coming up (for flood recovery) as well as laying a framework for how the international community will work over the coming months to address that,” Feldman said.
The review and fresh input at the Sept 19 moot will help sketch out what can be done in a series of upcoming multilateral meetings including a mid-October Friends of Pakistan meeting in Brussels, officials said.

More than 700 million dollars pledged by the world community in response to UN appeal last month, are meant only for providing relief to flood victims in the first 90 days and experts and international aid organizations have warned that much more is needed in new aid – not just recycling of existing pledges – in the months ahead.

Naked US doublespeak

JALEES HAZIR

To the drone attacks and the illegal activities of US diplomats, our friend and ally has decided to add the insulting screening of Pakistani citizens at its airports. This is yet another step that underlines the naked US double-speak on Pakistan. More troublesome, however, has been the government’s acceptance of such shoddy treatment so far and that too with thanks. Apparently, the government’s subservient attitude is beginning to change. The coming days will tell us how real this newfound sense of dignity is and how far it goes?

Addressing Parliament last week, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani finally articulated in no uncertain terms the feeling of being short-changed at the hands of the United States. He said that his government was not interested in US aid at the cost of Pakistan’s dignity and sovereignty. The Parliament’s Committee on National Security has also recommended a review of the government’s slavish US policy. Given the sensitivity of a large majority of Pakistanis regarding the role of the US in their country, it is important that the government translates these words into action and come up with a policy that elevates Pakistan from the status of being a client state.

Obviously, the US administration views things differently. The day after the prime minister’s address, the US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke is reported to have expressed his undiplomatic anger in a meeting with the Pakistani politicians in Islamabad, complaining that they did not appreciate the American government for all the wonderful things it was doing for the development of their country. He was not happy that the politicians belonging to various political parties had chosen to criticise the US for the drone attacks and a number of other issues. The envoy did not give any assurance regarding the concerns expressed by the people’s representatives and in fact bluntly told them that the drone attacks would continue, the strip-searches would continue and a free-trade pact would not be possible. The message was that the politicians should not make any noises about these matters since the US administration was giving dollars for development.

When the Kerry-Lugar Bill was being debated in the country, in the media as well as Parliament, those opposing the bill had actually pointed at this cost of accepting the meagre money. Even if one were not to get into a discussion on how foreign aid actually disrupts rather than aid the development of a country, or the conditionalities attached, this simple aspect of accepting aid from the US should have been enough to reject it. After all, the donor would want something in return. And given the bloated arrogance of the US and its dangerous designs in the region, our government should have realised that it would be expected to pay a heavy price by accepting the dubious US aid. Holbrooke’s recent assertion says it better than anything else.

The logic is that since the US is giving us some million dollars, we should all shut up and not complain about innocent Pakistani citizens being killed by drone strikes that are remote-controlled from Langley, Virginia. Since the US will help us dig some tube wells, we should allow Americans to go around freely in our cities and countryside, armed with illegal weapons and riding cars with fake number plates. Since the US has promised to finance electricity generation in Pakistan using some of the dirtiest technologies for producing electricity from coal, being fast discarded the world over, we should accept it as our master and dance to its every jarring tune. Clearly, this is bad logic.

Some friends absolve the so-called sole superpower of any wrongdoing and say that we should be taking our government to task for all that is wrong. After all, they say, the US would do what is in its national interest. It is the Pakistan government that should be watching out for the interests of its citizens, and our wrath should be reserved for those calling the shots in the smelly corridors of power in Islamabad. They do have a point there, but things are not so simple.

It is true that ultimately it is the Pakistan government that is responsible for what goes on in Pakistan and for defining our foreign policy. It is also obvious that if you tie up the management of the country’s econ-omy with dole coming from US-controlled international financial institutions, and your country’s development to what the US throws in, you leave little room for an independent policy in any other domain. It is a matter of grave concern and an indicator of the poverty of vision on part of the much-hailed and much-saved democratic government that it decided to go down a road that is now well known for taking you to hell.

The IMF and World Bank are famous for peddling recipes for disasters that trap those they claim to help in debilitating debt. They destroy indigenous economies with their crafty jargon-laden economic spells and craft worthless pieces that fit into their scheme of a global sweat-house. It is difficult to believe that those running the government were not aware of what happens when you allow these dubious institutions to run your economy. Similarly, how the US uses its aid money to further its dirty corporate-driven global agenda is no secret either. If today Pakistanis are being asked to cough up more and more for utilities and tolerate the lawlessness perpetrated by the US on its territory, it is because of the choices that our government made and it should be taken to task for it.

Still, it does not absolve the US of its menacing role not only in Pakistan but all over the world. One has to be blind, deaf and dumb not to see it rampaging the globe in its hunger for capturing more and more resources, starting wars and subverting governments abroad and hypnotising its citizens with its clever doublespeak and falsehood.

The writer is a freelance columnist.

India – Pakistan’s water war

Sultan M Hali

Water in Pakistan’s rivers has touched perilously low levels. The reason for it is not just lack of rains. India is controlling the water flow of rivers that flow from India into Pakistan, especially the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum rivers that pass through India’s Jammu & Kashmir state.

Pakistan has raised objections to Indian water projects, but a World Bank-appointed neutral expert rejected most of the Pakistani objections, especially with regard to the Baglihar Dam on Chenab River, while also advising India to make some changes to the dam’s height. Pakistani commentators, pressure groups and religious leaders are convinced that India is controlling the river waters to strangulate Pakistani agriculture, which could affect Pakistani exports and increase its dependency on food imports. Pakistani commentators fear future war with India may break out over water disputes. There is a realization in Pakistan that the 1960 Indus Water Treaty that establishes legal framework for use of river waters has been to the advantage of India. However, Pakistani authorities are raising the issue of water sharing between the two nuclear neighbours.

The Indus Water Treaty sets out the legal framework for the sharing of the waters of six rivers: the Indus and its five tributaries. All six rivers – Indus, Chenab, Jhelum, Sutlej, Beas, and Ravi – flow through northern India into Pakistan. Under the pact, the waters of three rivers – the Indus, the Chenab and the Jhelum-are to be used by Pakistan, while India has rights to the waters of the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi before these three enter Pakistani territory. The Chenab is the key tributary, as it carries the waters of the rest four rivers into the Indus. The complicated origins of the Indus river system plays a key role in the water debates, as the rivers originate in and pass through a number of countries. According to the Indus Water Treaty, the following three rivers are for use by Pakistan:

The Indus River originates in Chinese-controlled Tibet and flows through Jammu & Kashmir. The Chenab originates in India’s Himachal Pradesh state, travels through Jammu & Kashmir. The Jhelum rises in Jammu & Kashmir and flows into Pakistan, finally joining Chenab. The Treaty affords India use of the following three rivers:

The Sutlej originates in Tibet, flows through Himachal Pradesh and Punjab before joining the Chenab. The Beas and the Ravi originate in Himachal Pradesh state and flow into Pakistan, emptying into the Chenab. Taking into account the flow of the rivers, the importance of the Chenab and the Indus becomes clear. The Chenab combines the waters of four rivers, the Jhelum, the Sutlej, the Beas and the Ravi, to form a single water system which then joins the Indus in Pakistan. The Indus River is considered to be the lifeline of Pakistani economy and livestock. Pakistani concern regarding the water from the rivers started in the 1990s after India began constructing a hydroelectric power project on the Chenab River in the Doda district of Jammu & Kashmir. Since the Chenab is the key tributary of the Indus, Pakistani policymakers, religious and political parties, and political commentators feared that India could exert control over the waters. Such control could be used to injure the Pakistani economy and livestock, or could be used to cause floods in Pakistan by the release of water during times of war.In early 2009, it was estimated that Pakistan is on the brink of a water disaster, as the availability of water in Pakistan has been declining over the past few decades, from 5,000 cubic meters per capita 60 years ago to 1,200 cubic meters per capita in 2009. By 2020, the availability of water is estimated to fall to about 800 cubic meters per capita.

Pakistan is also estimated to be losing 13 million cusecs [approximately 368,119 cubic meters/second] of water every year from its rivers into the sea, as it does not have enough reservoirs or dams to store water.

During the past two years, the debate in Pakistan about the Indian water projects in Jammu & Kashmir has gained a bitter momentum, as Pakistani leaders have begun to describe India as their eternal enemy and accuse India of trying to suffocate the Pakistani economy. The construction of the Baglihar Dam Baglihar dam has also raised Pakistan’s defense security concerns. A number of canals, drains and artificial distributaries used for irrigation purposes are crucial during times of war. The strategic importance of the Indian water projects in Kashmir is significant because the projects could wreak havoc… if the said dams were to collapse or malfunction.

It is feared that if India continues to take Pakistan’s share of water it could turn Pakistan into another desert. On the other hand, Indian influence in Afghanistan is growing, causing alarms in Pakistan that India will gain control over the water from two Afghan rivers that flow into the Pakistan border regions, where water shortages could inflame local insurgencies. Indian investment in Afghanistan has doubled since 2006, to $1.2 billion, and up to 35 percent of that is going into canals for local irrigation, as well as hydroelectric dams that will supply power to Iran and Turkmenistan, India’s gateways to Central Asia and the Gulf. India has used water as a weapon against Pakistan before. The fear now is that India will use the Afghan dams to deny Pakistan’s border regions the water they need to sustain their farms and hydropower projects.

The sad part is that successive Pakistani governments have failed to take cognizance of the impending water crisis and have not addressed the construction of dams, resulting in water shortage as well as acute energy deficiency. The current dispensation in the government is also neither taking up the cudgels against India for ensuring that it gets fair and equitable share of water nor tackling the looming water shortage by educating the people into the discipline of water rationing and frugal use of the scare resource thus contributing to the ominous disaster.

AMERICANS MUST ASK; WHO IS BREEDING TERRORISM?

The World’s Worst Terrorists Based In Washington

by Pakalert

The above-captioned article was written by John Pilger in the daily The Yumiuri Shimbun, of Japan, dated 30th August, 1998. He says “In recent years Muslims have been the greatest sufferers from state terrorism.” The excerpts of his above-mentioned article are as below.

“By knowingly killing innocent people, for political ends, President Clinton is a terrorist. By supporting his actions, the Prime Minister and the Defense Secretary, of Britain, are accomplices. The dictionary meaning of terrorism allows no other interpretation; the rest is willful obfuscation, or propaganda. What matters now is our informed reaction.

In 1986, there was an ‘evil’ Colonel Gaddafi, whose country President Reagan bombed from bases in Britain, killing mostly women and children, including Gaddafi’s 16- month-old daughter.

In 1990, there was the ‘evil’ General Noriega, said to be a dangerous drug trafficker, whose capture by US Marines required a full-scale invasion of his country and the death by bombing of at least 2,000 Panamanians, mostly the poorest of the poor in their barrios. Noriega and drugs had precious little to do with it. The aim was to put Panama, its canal and its US base under direct American sovereignty, managed by other Noriegas.

I the same year, there was ‘the truly evil’ Saddam Hussein, another one of Bush’s and Reagan’s old pals, whose regime they had armed and backed (along with Margaret Thatcher, who sent most of her cabinet to Baghdad as supplicants of arms salesmen). Saddam’s use of American and British weapons in his attack on the “evil” Mullas in Iran in 1980 was perfectly acceptable. A million people died in that ‘forgotten’ war; and the Americans and British arms industries never looked back. Then Saddam Hussein attacked the wrong country, Kuwait, which was effectively an Anglo-American oil protectorate. “An uppity bastard” as one (US) State Department briefer described him more in sorrow than anger. Punishing Saddam Hussein cost as many as 200,000 Iraqi lives, according to a study by the Medical Educational Trust. These were ordinary Iraqis who died during and immediately after a period of military and economic carnage whose true scale has never been appreciated outside the Middle East.

The old fashioned colonial massacre was called the Gulf War. The dead included thousands of Kurdish and Shia people who were Saddam’s bitter opponents and whom Bush had called upon to rise up against their oppressor. Long after it was over New York Newsday revealed, from official sources, that three brigades of the US 1st Mechanized Infantry Division – “The Big Red One” had used snow ploughs mounted on tanks to bury alive Iraqis conscripts in more than seventy miles of trenches. A brigade commander said, “For all I know we have killed thousands”. This is a war crime.

The following year, Bush attacked Somalia in what was called a “humanitarian intervention”. He was in the midst of his re-election campaign. Bush said the marines were doing “God’s work saving thousands of innocents”. Like this moralizing over the Gulf war, this was generally accepted by the British media, with honorable exceptions.

American television crews were waiting as the Marines landed in a beautiful African pre-dawn: “prime time” at home. From the Somalian side there was perpetual darkness; “chaos” and “tribalism” and “warlords”. When the American warlords had completed their adventure in Somalia and taken the media home with them, the story died, as we say. According to CIA estimates, the Marines had left between 7,000 and 10,000 Somalis dead. This was not news.

Soon after he was elected in 1992, Clinton attacked Baghdad with 23 Cruise missiles which destroyed a residential area, killing, once again mostly women and children, including Iraq’s most distinguished artist, Leila al-attar. Interviewed on his way to church with his wife, Clinton said, “I feel quite good about this, and I think the American people feel quite good about it.” The pretext for attack was an Iraqi “plot” to kill George Bush on a visit to Kuwait. There was no hard evidence and the plot story widely regarded as fake.

In 1996, Clinton attacked Iraq again, this time insisting that he was “defending” Kurds against Saddam Hussein, who must pay the price”. Once again thousands of civilians, mostly innocent women and children paid the price.

In earlier 1998, Clinton very nearly attacked Iraq again. Virtually the same footage of missiles looking sleek against the dawn light, courtesy of the Pentagon, appeared on British television. What stopped him..?.

Like spontaneous combustion, public opinion all over the world raised its voice. The cameras have also shown glimpses of Iraq’s silent holocaust, the consequences of the imposition of “economic sanctions” by the United States and Britain (under the usual UN flag of convenience) against the Iraqi civilian population.

Tony Blair said he wept for the children who were killed in Omagh by the terrorist act; but he was silent on the children who died in Iraq as a result of one of the most enduring terrorist acts of the late 20th century, conducted largely by his government and its principal ally, the USA. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization, both UN agencies, more than half a million children have died as a direct result of sanctions. Other sources put the figure at over a million which could be more authentic as compared to of UN organizations which could more likely be biased. Baby food and enriched powdered milk were blockaded along with vital hospital equipments.”

What an irony of fate that Iraqi people whose country was the 2nd biggest oil producing country in the world, had been invaded by US on false pretexts, to rob off their oil and genocide of millions of Muslim Iraqi people, mostly women and children, who were slaughtered by indiscriminate bombing by US Air Force and dozens of cruise missiles by US Naval aircraft carriers. The only fault of theirs was that they belonged, to the 2nd biggest oil producing country in the world. Their one million children died of starvation because of non-availability of baby food, milk powder; ordinary medicines, not to speak of life-saving drugs and hospital equipments. Could there be a bigger terrorism of 20th and 21st centuries committed by USA and its allies, than this, and yet these countries call themselves as the flag carriers of Human Rights..? shame on them.

And when “Oil for Food” programme was launched for Iraqi people by UN, of course with the ‘permission’ from USA, number of people including then UN Secretary General’s son, Indian ex foreign minister and many other notables of the world made millions of dollars in this biggest world-fame scam. The then UN Secretary General announced for a high-level enquiry into it which is s but the enquiry into, the ‘Report’ of which is still awaited or has been hushed-up. UNO is a totally biased against Muslims as well as the most corrupt organization in the world. Muslim countries should better say ‘goodbye’ to UNO and give a stealth spine to OIC to counter terrorism of USA and its allies effectively, as a Muslim Nations Organization.

As John Pilger came out with the facts and has criticized USA and its main ally, Britain, for state terrorism and genocide of Muslims, renowned American scholar, thinker and an intellectual superstar of the 20th century, a philosopher of languages and political campaigner of towering academic reputation, Dr. Noam Chomsky, has also declared “US a terrorist state and the US foreign policy is straight out of mafia”. By the way what does he mean of “mafia”…? He means the American Jews in White house, US administration, CIA, and the Pentagon. Dr. Chomsky also said, “United States did not seek authorization for launching air strikes on Afghanistan from the United Nations because the involvement of the world body could have limited its unilateral power to act.” He did not agree that the American people had supported US attacks on Afghanistan and accused US and Britain of abusing power in ‘war’.

In addition to the above statements, from John Pilger and Dr. Noam Chomsky, a British journalist, George Monblot has said, “US treats the rest of the world as its doormat”, in Guardian News Service. He further said, “Since Bush, Jr. came to office, the United States has torn up more international treaties and disregarded more UN conventions than the rest of the world has done in 20 years. It has scupper-ed the biological weapons convention while experimenting, illegally, on its own. It has permitted CIA hit squads to recommence covert operations of the kind which included, in the past, the assassination of foreign head of state. It has sabotaged the small arms treaty, undermined the international criminal court”.

After taking-over as the President of USA, George W. Bush has also been following the footprints not only of his father but of his predecessors, as well. He also attacked Iraq on illogical pleas as he changed the justification on attack on Iraq twice. At first, Iraq was named as potential target because it was “assisting Al-Qaida”. This turned out to be untrue. Then the US government claimed that Iraq had to be attacked because it could be developing weapons of mass destructions (WMDs), and was refusing to allow weapons inspectors to find out if this was so. Whereas, in fact Saddam Hussein had only a few lame Scud missiles. This allegations also proved to be untrue when Bush himself confessed that he acted on a false and unconfirmed report from CIA, but the damaged had been done as at least half-a-million innocent Iraqis had be massacred, so what…? Iraq had a few lame Scud missiles and nothing else whereas US, Britain, Israel have multiple types of WMDs in abundance but that can’t be questioned. This is terrorism of USA, Britain and Israel. Moreover, according to George Monblot, US have to remain on war with any country so that its war-ammunition factories keep on working, throughout the year. After Iraq it is Afghanistan and Pakistan, then its Iran or Sudan, and Yemen, on USA’s agenda of war.

The Muslim states are always ‘suspected’ of making WMDs, by USA and its allies, whereas the blamers have stored numerous types of WMDs piled up in their respective countries, their ammunition factories running 24 hours preparing WMDs to be used on weaker Muslim civilians/countries with the only objective of genocide, of Muslims, and to have control on their natural resources as they are getting oil for free by printing dollars which is NOT backed by gold which means that it’s just a piece of printed paper.

Similarly, under the guise of “War-on-terror”, Bush Jr. invaded Afghanistan, in the name of “Crusade”, killing at least about a million innocent Afghan civilians in the process while unleashing the rain of cruise missiles, Daisy Cutter bombs, the Cave-busters and also experimented the Mother-of-all bombs on poor Afghan civilians, treating them as “collateral damage’ and afterward the files closed. Isn’t it biggest terrorism of the century…?

As a matter of fact the post WW-II generation of US leaders, specifically the Presidents, CIA and Pentagon chiefs, have developed the psyche of terrorism, in the name of “US Interests”, all around the world, compared to of pre-WW-II era. The majority of hawks, mostly Jews who crept into the important organizations, US administration, CIA, Pentagon, US Justice Dept, FBI, National and Homeland Security, the Police, as a planning and succeeded in their objectives of taking control of these important pillars of US government, and thus running the US government as they want. In other words the Jews are ruling the world that is why a vast difference could be observed between the psyches of the generations of US leaders of pre and the post WW-II generations, as said earlier, and this phenomenon occurred, after the birth of Israel, in 1948. As a matter of fact Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, is more active in USA than anywhere else in the world as it’s an anytime-life-threat to non-Jewish politicians of USA as the American Jews have spread in almost all the important domestic organizations of the US, like FBI, the Justice Dept; the Police, National/Homeland security, like cancer.

According to Hesham Tillawi’s (Ph.d.) Report, John F. Kennedy and his brother, “Bobby”, Robert Kennedy, who were against Israel’s nuclear development programme, were killed by Israel, in collaboration with some Jewish CIA agents, as proved by him. The documentary could be viewed on the video.

By virtue of being US citizens the Jews have also taken-over control of international financial and media communication. On the media front the Jews own 6 out of 9 international media organizations including all TV channels of USA, hence, they control the world media and give fabricated news of their interest only. They can not tolerate and let survive Muslims in these two fields, for example they couldn’t tolerate fast expansion and popularity of Al-Jazira TV network, therefore, by taking some bogus pleas they arranged (CIA) sponsored attack on the head office of Al-Jazira TV because this (Muslim) TV net-work used to telecast the news without any fabrication and used to give the true picture of events and the news which and was against the western (Jewish) media. Isn’t it terrorism…?

Then, on financial side, the western (Jewish) bankers and financial top guns, became afraid of the fast expansion and patronization, of BCCI, by Muslims states i.e. Gulf and the M.E. Therefore, foreseeing that all the Muslim wealth which they were using from decades may out-flow from their banks to this Islamic bank, BCCI, so, they leveled and framed false allegation of money laundering and malpractices in the money markets. Whereas, on the other, almost all the banks of Switzerland and Britain are openly involved in money laundering and other malpractices but these banks have never been pointed out for ‘crimes’, BCCI was punished. It’s a well known fact that Britain, Switzerland and Spain are the main hubs of money laundering. According to a survey only in London 50% of global money laundering is being done by the banks in London, having their head offices in US and Israel, so, where are those “Policemen of the world Financial markets” who got BCCI closed for money laundering and irregular banking practices..?. Isn’t it terrorism against Muslim countries by US…?

The Jews own world biggest banks and the financial institutions which lend to the third world countries on their terms and conditions. The big question is from where they got so much money to control finance of the world. The answer is simple; they made fool of the Sheikhdoms and sucked their wealth of oil by giving them paper-money, printing dollars, after de-linking with equivalent gold reserves, in 1970, so that they may print as much (paper) dollars as possible as the dollar had become the only currency in the world which was always in demand because the world finance controllers, the Jews, had put conditions on international trading, through US administration, that the payments of not only oil but also of all the business transactions, will be made in dollars, therefore, they printed dollars as much as they could as they were NOT supposed to keep equivalent reserves in gold, and sucked-in the whole worlds’ resources, particularly and, in fact, practically they started getting oil almost for free, against ‘paper money’. The Arab Sheikhs did not realize that the dollar they are getting against selling trillions of barrels of oil has no backing of gold reserves, that is how the Jews, in US administration made fool of these Arab Sheikhs and sucked their oil wealth sitting in US.

There is an open ended excuse of US administration, given by the ‘Hawks’, the American Jews, is to safeguard “US Interests” which, predominantly, is a big threat not only to the third world countries but to those EU countries, as well, which oppose US against its discriminatory policies. I have written in one of my previous articles that the US may even bomb a EU member country under the garb of “US Interests” as the ‘war-on-terror’ is going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan as, Obama has recently said, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan may attack USA. Is it really believable that tiny countries like Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan may attack US, in the presence of her bases in the whole of Europe, M.E and the Far East, plus the 9 roaming naval fleets equipped with all sorts of WMDs and even nukes …? These US bases in Britain and also in almost all European countries plus the year-round roaming USA’s 9 naval fleets, are there to terrorize the weak and the third world countries, specially the Muslim.

The US economic terrorism could also be vouched through its’ economic policies for the third world countries so that these countries may not be able to stand on their feet, ever, and keep begging before US, IMF or the World Bank. The book “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man”, written by John Perkins, a former respected member of the international banking community: John Perkins verifies it as he described “How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries out of Trillions. And how as a highly paid professional, he helped the U.S. cheat poor countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars by lending them more money than they could possibly repay and then take over their economies.” While giving an interview to Amy Goldman he disclosed, “I was initially recruited while I was in business school back in the late sixties by the National Security Agency, the nation’s largest and least understood spy organization; but ultimately I worked for private corporations. The first real economic hit man was back in the early 1950’s, Kermit Roosevelt, the grandson of Teddy, who overthrew of government of Iran, a democratically elected Mossadegh’s government, who was Time’s magazine person of the year; and he was so successful at doing this without any bloodshed-well, there was a little bloodshed, but no military intervention, just spending millions of dollars and replaced Mossadegh with the Shah of Iran. At that point, we understood that this idea of economic hit man was an extremely good one. We didn’t have to worry about the threat of war with Russia when we did it this way. The problem with that was that Roosevelt was a C.I.A. agent. He was a government employee. Had he been caught, we would have been in a lot of trouble. It would have been very embarrassing. So, at that point, the decision was made to use organizations like the C.I.A. and the N.S.A. to recruit potential economic hit men like me and then send us to work for private consulting companies, engineering firms, construction companies, so that if we were caught, there would be no connection with the government.”

Exactly, the same US/CIA has created “Blackwater”, the mercenary force to get USA achieve its’ (heinous) objectives against smaller and weaker states like Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan. In Pakistan the “Blackwater” is known as “Xe-Services”, hired by DynCorp through a Pakistani sub-agency, so that USA could not be blames of its’ direct involvement in “Blackwater” or Xe-Services’s activities of killing, abduction, bombing the crowded market through remote controlled car/truck bombings as had been done in Iraq and now going on in Pakistan.

Perkins further writes, “The book was to be dedicated to the presidents of two countries, men who had been his clients whom I respected and thought of as kindred spirits-Jaime Roldós, president of Ecuador, and Omar Torrijos, president of Panama. Both had just died in fiery crashes. Their deaths were not accidental. They were assassinated because they opposed that fraternity of corporate, government, and banking heads whose goal is global empire. We Economic Hit Men failed to bring Roldós and Torrijos around, and the other type of hit men, the CIA-sanctioned jackals who were always right behind us, stepped in.”

John Perkins goes on to write: “I was persuaded to stop writing that book. I started it four more times during the next twenty years. On each occasion, my decision to begin again was influenced by current world events: the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1980, the first Gulf War, Somalia, and the rise of Osama bin Laden. However, threats or bribes always convinced me to stop.” But now Perkins has finally published his story. The book is titled Confessions of an Economic Hit Man. John Perkins joins us now in our Firehouse studios.

USA has developed a complex of all types of ammunition producing factories, including WMDs, and in order to keep these factories working throughout the year she needs to use the ammunition, as briefly mentioned earlier. The British journalist George Monblot, of The Guardian News Service, writes, “The United States also possess a vast military-industrial complex which is in constant need of conflict in order to justify its’ staggeringly expensive existence. Perhaps more importantly than any of these factories, the hawks who control the White House, perceive that perpetual war results in the perpetual demand for their services. Therefore, the hawks know that they will win, whoever loses. In other words, if the US were not preparing to attack Iraq, it would be preparing to attack another nation. The US will go to war with that country because it needs a country with which to go to war.” He was totally justified in saying it as US took false pleas to attack Iraq and simultaneously also attacked Afghanistan, after finishing the ‘jobs’ of genocide of Muslims and continuously sucking in Iraqi oil for free. Isn’t it US terrorism…?

Now US eying to have control of worlds largest gold and copper reservoirs of Balochistan apart from vast gas, oil and rich mineral resources of Afghanistan, and that could only be achieved by denuclearizing Pakistan, first. Since India and Israel will be the prime beneficiaries so US/CIA also using their “investment” in the shape of supply of ammunition to militants, the TTP, US mercenary army, military training of Afghans gorillas in India, exactly as India trained 300,000 Mukti Bahinis, sent inside E. Pakistan, to attack (E. Pakistan) from 9 inside. Whereas, US is apparently ‘partner’ of it’s an old ally, Pakistan but stabbing in the back (of Pakistan) to achieve the desired objectives, which are as under, therefore, the hawks, the Jews, giving their total attention to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

* Denuclearize Pakistan, in order to provide security to Israel and India, USA’s two hands for terrorism in the third world.
* Take control of worlds’ largest gold and copper reservoirs, apart from other rich metals & minerals in Balochistan whereas Afghanistan is rich in having big reservoirs of precious stones, as well.
* Genocide of the world’s greatest warrior race, the Pashtuns, whom US have seen fighting with USSR, therefore, is afraid of and wants either to tame them or turn them into a very small tribe, and
* Prepare India as a Super power in the S.E to bring her at par and be a threat to China.

The hawks, the American Jews, in US administration, CIA and in Pentagon, just can not tolerate a Muslim country with Nukes so they are now after Pakistan and keeping the bogy of Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaida, alive under the slogan of “war-on-terror’, on. But they are also afraid of Pakistan’s nukes that is why they are reluctant to attack on Pakistan as Pakistan has the capability to attack Israel with all its might as Pakistan’s missile are capable to hit Israel to the extent of wiping it off from the map of the world. Pakistan army and the people are prepared of a backlash of nukes but they are in favor of to defend the country at all costs, come what may. Although India will also face thousands of casualties if there is s nuclear war in this region but the US is NOT concerned about casualties of any other nation/s except of Americans or Jews, in any war.

Another glaring example of US’s terrorism was Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, of Pakistan about whom Kissinger said in an interview to Oriana Falaci, who asked him, “which head of the state impressed him most..?” Kissinger paused for a moment and said, “Ali Bhutto of Pakistan, I used to think twice before talking to him”. In view of Indian hegemonies after she successfully detonated the first nuclear test in Oct;1974, Bhutto made lot of hue and cry before the world but no country spoke against India and rather no sanctions were applied on her, therefore, Bhutto also decided to go for nuclear telling the west clearly, “India has become a nuclear power and constantly threatening and terrorizing Pakistan, therefore, we also want to go for nuclear but for peaceful purposes as this is our right to use nuclear technology, to produce electricity, for medical treatments and to enhance agriculture output by enhancing yield, apart from meeting the balance of power in the region, which has been tilted towards India.”

But the US hawks, the American Jews, did not want that a Muslim country to go for nuclear, therefore, they first tried to bribe him to not to go for nuclear but when they failed they threatened and terrorized him of dire consequences, through Henry Kissinger in a crucial meeting at Lahore on 15 August, in 1976. Bhutto remained adamant and Pakistan had almost succeeded in achieving the desired results of nuclear capability, Bhutto was overthrown by Chief of army, Gen. Ziaul Haq, on lame excuses but, as said, CIA bought a bunch of generals, including Ziaul Haq and also a religious political party which had strong street power, and got Bhutto overthrown in the mid night of 4th & 5th July, 1977. Bhutto was invited by US ambassador, on the evening of 4th July, 1977, the USA’s Independence Day party and at the midnight between 4th & 5th July,1977, the US ambassador told Bhutto that the “party is over”. Bhutto, being sharp enough, took the lead and went back to his residence and enquired if all is well but the ISI and the MI chiefs, had already bargained their loyalties, therefore, it was too late to do anything, as according to John Perkins, “the CIA-sanctioned jackals had stepped-in”..

As a matter of fact rampant terrorism flourished after the birth of Israel as USA, Britain, Australia, Canada and France have played a key role in making Israel a real terrorist state in the Middle East. Israel is an undeclared nuclear power with more than 150 nukes in her stocks, a permanent threat and a terror in the region, for Palestinians, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the tiny Gulf states. But, on the other, another Islamic state, Iran, is under heavy threats of attack from US, Israel and Britain for being accused of developing nukes, therefore this is an open terrorism of US and Britain that no Muslim country can become a nuclear power. Bhutto has written in his book, “If I am assassinated”, “Why is it so that Muslims, despite being the richest nation in the world, have no nuclear umbrella for their safety and security”, that is why he wanted to go for nuclear which the US and its’ allies did not like and they got him overthrew, by buying off a dozen top generals of Pakistan army in 1977, as said.

Likewise Israel, now USA preparing India to be practically a dominant regional super power and keep on terrorizing her neighbors, particularly Pakistan and Bangla Desh as Afghanistan is already in her lap, plus the Central Asian States, if required, moreover, USA also wants India to match China which is asking too much, I believe. But probably USA betting on a wrong horse as India, despite being a big country and having one of the largest armies in the world, won’t be able to deliver the desired results as the Hindus are NOT a warrior race, as compared to the Muslims of Pakistan and Afghanistan, therefore, even if Hindus are many times more in numbers, compared to Muslims of Pakistan and the Pashtuns tribes of Afghanistan, but they can’t stand before Muslims, which is a proven fact.

There are four evils states in the world i.e. USA, Britain, Israel and India, as these countries carrying on genocide of innocent Muslim civilians labeling them as ‘terrorists’, but in view of the ruthless slaughter of Muslims in Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan and now going on in Pakistan, the readers could very well imagine which are the real terrorist states in the world, US, Israel, India and Britain or Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the small weak and meager states..? What the US and its arch allies, Britain and Israel, have been doing since 1956 when Britain Israel and France attacked Egypt to take control of the Suez Canal. In 1967 Israel invaded Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Lebanon and extended her borders. Apparently that was only Israel’s war with Arabs but in fact the US army and USAF fully participated in it. An air bridge had been made between Washington and Tel Aviv of aircraft bringing in ammunition and the army personnel to Israel. Syria captured 20 USAF pilots and “presented” to the US ambassador.

Israel has become a real terrorist state not only for Palestinians but also for all Muslim states in the M.E and the Gulf. The massacre in Gaza, in 2008 of innocent men, women and children and particularly the way Israel killed innocent school children through the rain of white sulpheuric powder is a vital proof of it, whereas, US, Britain, Canada, Australia and other EU countries, the champions of Human Rights, are keeping quite on Israel’s terrorism as it is backed by US. Moreover, Israel’s terrorist activities, through Mossad, have been extended to Pakistan and Afghanistan, in collaboration with India, backed by US, Britain and other EU countries.

The US have labeled false and baseless allegations against the Muslims states, under the garb of “war-on-terror”, taking the plea of 9/11 about which former Italian President Francesco Cossiga, who revealed the existence of Operation Gladio, has told Italy’s oldest and most widely read newspaper that the 9-11 terrorist attacks were run by the CIA and Mossad, and that this was common knowledge among global intelligence agencies. The details of the proofs could be viewed by visiting this link. and this link.

“On September 10, 2001, the Army School of Advanced Military Studies issued a report written by elite US army officers, which was made public just prior to 9/11. The report gave the following description for the Mossad: “Wildcard. Ruthless and cunning. Has capability to target US forces and make it look like a Palestinian/Arab act.” [Washington Times, 9/10/01]

But US slaughtered millions of Muslims civilians by indiscriminate bombing through its’ forces, in Iraq and Afghanistan, under the wake of 9/11 and “war-on-terror”, and the killing, of civilians, declared as ‘collateral damage’, a new terminology to hush-up the killing of innocent civilians. Well, if it was so then the civilians killed in Twin Tower, on 9/11, could also be considered as ‘collateral damage’ because the US considers 9/11 affair as a ‘war’ against US and then why cases have been filed in the US courts against Saudis, blocking their 3.4 trillion dollars until decision of the cases. Then, likewise, should Iraqis, Afghans and Pakistanis killed in Drone attacks, also file cases against the US in their respective countries’ courts and also get the US assets, in these countries, be blocked, until decision of the cases.

The massacre of Muslims in Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan and now in Pakistan, apart from the massacre of Palestinian Muslims through mini USA, the Israel, is a glaring example of genocide of Muslims by USA through sheer terrorism, as rightly declared by the independent journalists, John Pilger, George Monblot and many others, including the living legend, thinker and scholar Noam Chomsky that USA is the world’s worst terrorist state, can’t be wrong.

The US Presidents and their accomplices can’t be tried at The Hague for War crimes or Crime against Humanity as the US cunningly did not sign The Hague protocols, because she knew that US will have to go for illegal wars, on reasons beyond logic. So what if they are not punished, in this world, for their crimes against humanity, but they will be tried by Allah on the day of judgment as it is very clearly written in Quraan, “the cruel will be dragged to the Hell with chains in their necks by fiercely looking angels. They will be thrown in the bottom of the hell for ever after”, and Quraan speaks the truth, believe it or not.