Articles

The hoax perpetrated by the West promising democracy to the people of Libya if they got rid of Colonel Muammar Qaddafi lies smouldering in the ruins of burned out homes, schools and hospitals. Libya is a country in the grip of armed militias answerable to no one. The government does not exist even in name.

The US military-industrial complex’s pursuit of Edward Snowden, the National Security-contractor turned whistleblower, has exposed the hollowness of US claims to being a society governed by the rule of law. Surveillance and espionage even at home are what America is all about.

Bradley Manning’s trial and conviction once again brings to the fore the criminal nature of the US State. Manning did the honourable thing by exposing US was killings of innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. He should have been rewarded for exposing these crimes; instead he has been sentenced to 35 years in jail.

It is unusual for military men to be tried for their crimes. General Pervez Musharraf is unlucky in this respect when he decided to return to Pakistan last March. Who advised him to do so? While on trial for the murder of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and possible charges of treason, his chances of being imprisoned much less hanged are considered very low.

The annual Quds Day rallies have become a global phenomenon. In North America, Toronto holds by far the largest rally anywhere. At the same time, the rally has also attracted some unsavoury characters, like the Zionist thugs that want to disrupt it. They have failed and will continue to fail in the future as well, insha’Allah.

Nelson Mandela has become an international icon principally because of his long struggle against apartheid. In post-apartheid South Africa, his legacy of resistance, however, has had mixed reaction without taking away anything from his personal charisma.

Yasmeen A Khan reviews Medea Benjamin’s book: Drone warfare: Killing by remote control and offers a chilling account of how drones have destroyed so many innocent lives.

Indian bureaucrats have submitted written statements in court confirming that the highly publicized terror attacks in India were in fact the handiwork of successive Indian governments. Early this year, a number of politicians blamed the former BJP government of orchestrating some terror attacks. Now the Congress Party has also been found to be involved.

The allegation of the use of chemical weapons in Syria has aroused the jingoistic instincts of American warmongers. Without waiting for proof or identifying the guilty party, there are preparations to attack Syria. Should it materialize, the chances of the entire region being set ablaze cannot be ruled out.

Muslim unity cannot be achieved through slogans. It requires practical steps, the first being each side showing respect to the other and being sensitive about what concerns them most.