Crisis in Iraq

A sense of triumph was in the air during the downfall of Saddam Hussein’s regime in Iraq in 2003. I still vividly remember watching on T.V. the faces of many Iraqis rejoicing over the toppling of Saddam’s statue, hoping for freedom, safety and peace. Little did they know that 3 years down the road, they would still be struggling to cease the violence.

Nothing much has been achieved ever since by the US-led coalition, and if anything, humanitarian situation is worsening, as revealed by the Red Cross latest report.

"The suffering that Iraqi men, women and children are enduring today is unbearable and unacceptable," said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "We are not seeing a stabilising effect yet," from the launch of U.S.-led coalition forces in Baghdad, he said.

That echoes a report by the Oxford Research Group think tank, which said UK and US policy towards Iraq had "spawned new terror in the region".

There is a lesson for the US to be learnt from these findings – the disastrous situation is a clarion call for the US to withdraw its troops from Iraq. The US needs ensure that the lives of ordinary people are spared. The US has failed in achieving “freedom” for Iraqis as freedom doesn’t mean one worrying about their life every second. Freedom doesn’t mean one confined to one’s home when going out becomes a question of life and death. The troops should leave as they haven’t succeeded in crushing the voilence, but have instead made things worse.

What the US has left Iraqis with is not a hope for freedom, security or peace, but a sense of trepidation. They were perhaps better off under Sadam’s regime!

Playing Cricket or Politics (Photo:Flickr)

A Bangladeshi friend, consoling me over India’s knock out from the World Cup, said to me, “Hey, don’t be mad. The Pakis are gone as well.” His comment made me wonder if the elimination of Pakistan (our arch rival, as most Indians would say!) from the tournament was really going to do the magic for me and make me think any less about the disasters of our team? More than that, has the dirty politics preyed upon our minds?

Almost 60 years after the independence, relations between India and Pakistan still remain hostile. The issues regarding the most debated region, Kashmir, still remain unresolved. The Pakistanis argue that Kashmir should have become part of Pakistan at the time of partition due to its Muslim-oriented population. India claims Kashmir to be their part because of the Instrument of Accession signed by Maharaja Hari Singh in October 1947. The dispute on the territory has caused two of the three India-Pakistan wars: the first in 1947, the second in 1965.

Due to this historical anonymity, governments of both nations have continuously blamed each other for any terrorist attacks in their respective countries, making the other one look like the culprit. Many patriotic Bollywood, commenly referred to as "Hindi cinema," often shows Pakistan playing “the villain,” promoting terrorism in our country and killing our people.

Absorbing everything we are fed with bodes well for the politicians, who have built their careers on the rhetoric surrounding the Kashmir issue and nationalism. We allow them to play with our unquestionable nationalistic sentiment and before we know it, it is reflected even in cricket. Of course, it is a different story when there is a battle between India and Pakistan on the cricket pitch, but we can not even bear the thought of our neighbor-country winning against another far-stretched country simply because we are out.

I hope that our cricket team isn’t going to use my friend’s rationale in making themselves feel good, but rather going to take their ouster from the World Cup as an opportunity to reflect on their weaknesses and do something about their performances in the future.

I also hope that we question these politicians, who are good at blaming others for all their policy failures, and not doing much to resolve the issue itself. All we need is peace and not a political agenda that provokes our nationalistic sentiment.

Past is Past (Photo:Flickr)

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe earlier this month said there is “no evidence” that women were forced to become sex slaves by the Japanese army during World War II.

It is indeed embarrassing when the premier of a nation makes such ignorant remarks, while his government in the past has recognized its atrocities and apologized for running brothels for its Imperial army troops. Not only that, the government also set up a special fund in 1995 to compensate women affected during the WWII.

An estimated 200,000 women from Asia – mostly Korean and Chinese - were forced to work as sex slaves during the WWII.



Some in the government probably realize that Abe`s comments were not appropriate considering the strained relations Japan has with its neighboring countries. Therefore, a Japanese Cabinet spokesman appeared later to play down Abe's comments by saying the premier stood by an apology made by the government in 1993 for the use of so-called "comfort women".

While my advice to Abe would be to be consistent with the government’s stance and to embrace the truth, I would also like to advise China and South Korea to move on.

I am not trying to ignore the gravity of the problem, but I would stress that while the new generation should know how ruthless the Japanese were during the war, they should not be paying a price for it.

Germany committed ghastly crimes during the WWII and killed millions of Jews, but they don’t apologize anymore. Past is past, and while we should embrace and accept it, without denying it, we should also learn to move on and not dwell on it.

Who Should be Blamed? (Photo:Neha Kumar)

They don't take the responsibility for their actions, but rather blame it on Muslims, multiculturism. They justify their actions in the name of peace, while they are clearly the ones waging a war, spending billions on nuclear weapons.

They blamed Saddam Hussein for the death of hundreds, while they never talk about the consequences of their deeds in Iraq, or even Afghanistan.

These were the voices I heard from about 60,000 protestors, who flocked at Trafalgar Square on February 24 to protest for Stop the War. A place that usually attracts thousands of tourists everyday was filled with anti-war sentiment - calling for a peaceful world.

Despite strong opposition from the public, Tony Blair has sent more troops to Afghanistan. Britain has recently announced their plans send more than 1,000 troops in the country.

The UK prime minister will soon unveil a plan in the next week budget to fund the new reinforcements to Iraq and Afghanistan by perhaps cutting spending in more needed areas like education and health. The BBC earlier reported that between £15bn and £20bn would be spent on new submarines to carry the Trident missiles, despite a large rebellion from within the Labour party.

Democracy has failed most Britons as their voices remain muted. We elect a Prime Minister in a hope that things would change for better, but what really changes is the degree of betrayal, and nothing else.

The government is in denial of its failures, its deeds and its consequences in this world. They blame Muslims and multiculturism when they themselves are the real war mongers and criminals.