International Terrorism 

strikes hard

Patron Lt Gen (Retd) SARDAR FS LODI describes the horrific atrocity in the US.

On September 11, 2001 a new and vicious chapter was added in the ever-increasing history of world terrorism. On this tragic day the two 110 story tall towers of the World Trade Centre at New York were destroyed and the Pentagon building in Washington attacked and partially demolished. These shocking attacks were undertaken by hijacking civilian commercial jetliners and flying them into the targeted buildings. The resultant killing of innocent civilians, men women and children has been unprecedented in its ferocity and the desire to kill and destroy. This major terrorist attack on the United States has been condemned in the strongest terms by all nations. Most of them have offered assistance in searching for and arresting the perpetrators of this terrible crime so that they can be brought to justice and punished.

This is the first time that large commercial jetliners with passengers and crew on board after being hijacked have been turned into weapons of mass destruction and flown into buildings with devastating results. The agony of the passengers and crew can only be imagined and pieced together by the few telephone messages emanating from the hijacked aircraft. But the hijackers seem to have been oblivious to the pain and agony they were about to inflict, on such a large scale. The buildings they slammed into had thousands of people working there, 50,000 at the two towers and 25,000 at the Pentagon. One can only gauge and shudder at the amount of destruction that was planned by the senseless killers and their accomplices.

Terrorism is a crime against humanity and must be recognized as such and dealt with accordingly. It recognizes no boundaries and frontiers and its destructive power is increasing whatever the reasons. It targets innocent civilians and passersby so to say, who are caught in its crossfire and suffer unnecessary death and destruction. This faceless but ever lurking danger has now to be dealt with collectively by all nations for the safety of all, irrespective of caste and creed or other distinctions. The world has to be rid of this scourge which has brought untold suffering in its wake. It is akin to piracy of yore, which was eventually eradicated by the collective action taken by all seafaring nations.

In their hour of grief the United States government has declared war against international terrorism and is forming an international coalition to fight this menace. The major suspect is being named as Osama bin Laden a former Saudi national, now living in Afghanistan. Military action is planned against him and the Taliban regime in Afghanistan who are hosts to Osama and refused to hand him over in the past, when he was suspected to have master-minded the attack on the US embassy in Kenya. At present the United States has proof of Osama’s involvement. The Taliban have again refused to hand him over and have now declared that he has disappeared somewhere in the hills and they are not aware of his whereabouts. This is an attitude, which would hardly be acceptable to the world community in its present mood.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan is not recognized by the world. Only three countries, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the UAE had diplomatic relations with Kabul. After the destruction caused in the United States which is being traced to Afghanistan the UAE and Saudi Arabia have broken off diplomatic relations with Afghanistan. Pakistan on the other hand has withdrawn its diplomatic staff from all four locations in Afghanistan, Kabul, Jalalabad, Kandahar and Herat. This has been done as a precaution and a safety measure for the employees of the diplomatic missions in case of military action.

The Taliban regime in Afghanistan is castigated around the world for its extreme attitudes and norms, which are not in conformity with acceptable behaviour and conduct of governments in international law and civilized societies. Their attitude with their own people, particularly women, is not in consonance with the religious, moral and social laws acceptable in Muslim and non-Muslim societies around the world. What is more discouraging is the fact that the Taliban regime, enforce their norms and brand of religious convictions with ruthless use of force, which is causing untold suffering to the people. There is hardly any public support to the present regime, which uses the gun to suppress dissent in any form. Foreign news coverage has shown vividly the situation inside Afghanistan.

Pakistan has condemned terrorism in all its forms and has agreed to provide "unstinted" support to the United States in its search for the perpetrators of the heinous crimes committed in New York and Washington on September 11. The President of Pakistan has consulted a large number of opinion makers in the country including politicians and religious leaders. By and large the leaders supported the government decision to condemn terrorism and provide all support to the United States. There were a few dissenting voices who based their opinion no doubt on emotions and party considerations which are certainly not compatible with national interests or the facts on the ground. By supporting the World community Pakistan has joined the path of sanity and reason in forging ahead towards a peaceful world governed by the civilized norms of justice and the law.

The United States has requested for Pakistan's assistance at present in three fields, these are cooperation in intelligence sharing particularly with regard to Afghanistan and the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. Secondly, permission to use Pakistan air space, presumably for flying military aircraft over Pakistan territory on their way to and return from Afghanistan. The third requirement is to provide logistic support, which means non-military administrative support presumably for their forces and their military or  non-military operations inside Afghanistan. At present Pakistan is in a somewhat precarious and unenviable position. It is against terrorism in all its forms and joins the world community in condemning it and working with the United States to eradicate it. Yet Afghanistan is a friendly country with strong links between the two peoples.

Some of the requirements requested by the United States will be easy to meet but other requests likely to follow may not be totally compatible with national policies and even national honour in keeping with the country's sovereign status. But it must be appreciated that an unprecedented catastrophe has taken place in the United States where over 6,500 innocent civilians have been brutally murdered and large buildings and aircraft destroyed. The United States government has requested for our assistance in curbing this menace, and this request cannot be refused on moral, ethical and humanitarian grounds. Therefore, a bold and principled stand has been taken by the government of President General Musharraf and should be upheld by the people of Pakistan by adopting a combined stand in support of the government.

The Taliban government of Afghanistan has warned that any country in its neighbourhood (meaning Pakistan) which helps the United States will be considered an enemy. There are further threats that jehad will be declared against them. To back their words with action the Taliban are reported to have moved around 15,000 fighters close to the Pakistan border. It would be appropriate to explain to the government of Afghanistan that the United States is not targeting the people of that country but only the suspected terrorists who may be residing there and are responsible for the destruction caused recently in the United States. These terrorists may still be planning further strikes against other world targets and have to be physically prevented from doing so.

According to Jane's, the London based defence publication the Taliban have about 45,000 men under arms supported by 650 tanks and other armoured vehicles. The 45,000 fighters are armed with standard weapons, like the Soviet designed Klashnikov automatic rifles, heavier machine guns, rocket launchers, recoilless rifles and grenade launchers. Of the present holding, and estimated 250 tanks and armoured vehicles were captured from enemy forces in northern Afghanistan during the summer and autumn of 1998. The artillery consists of several hundred artillery pieces, and heavy mortars as well as truck-mounted multiple rocket launchers. The airforce has 250 aircraft including 10 Su-22 and five MiG ground attack fighters. There are also six Mi-8/17 transport helicopters and five Mi-35 "Hind" attack helicopters. For air defence the Taliban are reported to have about 60 portable Stinger surface-to-air missiles of US origin, and other light and heavy anti-aircraft guns.

Jane's also summarized the strength of the United Front Army, opposed to the Taliban in northern Afghanistan. It consists of 12,000 to 15,000 men under arms supported by 60 to 70 tanks and armoured vehicles, some light artillery and 30 fighter aircraft. Among the aircraft are 18 MiG 21s and 12 Su-22s. There are also six Mi-24 and two Mi-35 Hind attack helicopters.

The United States Armed Forces number 1,365,800 supported by another 28,620 Special Forces. 1,211,500 are in reserve of which 50,000 have been called up for active duty. There are 7,000 artillery pieces, 982 strategic missiles and 2,500 plus cruise missiles. It has 8,303 main battle tanks and 9,825 combat aircraft. There are 12 Aircraft Carriers 126 principal ships and 74 submarines. Of these two aircraft carrier groups USS Carl Wilson and USS Enterprise are stationed in or near the Gulf with 75 warplanes each. There are 15,000 troops in the Gulf, ashore and afloat. The carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt with 75 planes on board sailed from Virginia on the US East Coast towards the Mediterranean. These three carriers are accompained by battle groups totaling more than 20 warships, including cruisers and submarines capable of firing accurate cruise missiles with ranges of up to 1,600 km.

The carrier USS Kitty Hawk, which carries about 70 aircraft, left its home port near Tokyo along with its battle group and was heading towards the Indian Ocean. It is also reported that US warplanes have landed in the former Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. Uzbec military sources said that the US jets were stationed just outside the Uzbek capital Tashkent and were equipped with surveillance devices. It seems heavily armed. US attack helicopters are still stationed on a military base 40 km East of Tashkent, following a joint NATO-Uzbek military exercise in the region this month. Russia has its 201st army division based in Tajikistan along with 11,000 Russian border guards.

Owing to a previously planned military training exercise 20,000 British troops would be in Oman along with aircraft and ships including the small aircraft carrier HMS Ocean, a nuclear submarine and other surface ships. Oman's deputy chief of staff General Saud Al Habsi told reporters in Muscat that around 38,000 soldiers, more than 20,000 of them British will take part in the war games in central Oman code named "Swift Sword II". He said 114 fighter jets and 36 warships would participate in the two-week exercise, which Briton's defence ministry said would be the biggest deployment of British troops on exercise since the mid-1980s. It is not clear whether these troops and aircraft could be diverted for operations against Afghanistan if required.

A formidable force is being assembled within striking distance of Afghanistan. As the threat of the use of force against that country increases the people are streaming towards safety in Pakistan, which already has 2 million refugees, the present conflict may add another 2 million, causing an economic and human disaster for Pakistan. What shape the conflict will take is difficult to predict because of the terrain and lack of any infrastructure in the country, which was effectively destroyed by 10 years of Soviet occupation and another 10 years of civil war and Taliban rule.

What are the military options for the United States while their objectives remain to capture Osama bin Laden and to change the regime in Afghanistan into a broad based one including the northern provinces. It seems the best course of action would be to provide some military assistance to the northern alliance, improve intelligence inside Afghanistan and occupy a base inside the country preferably in Kandahar to launch operational missions to capture Osama. This would create the least collateral damage and hopefully win over the moderate elements in the country to form a base for a future political set up.