Homeland security begins abroad<\/p>\n
ND Batra, The Statesman, Asia News Network, Calcutta<\/p>\n
When a bomb explodes in Jakarta, Americans feel threatened and
\nrightly so, which means Indonesia needs more help and greater
\nU.S. presence. Homeland security, not neo-imperialism, is driving
\nthe U.S. diplomacy and is pushing Americans into everyone's face.<\/p>\n
Knowing the truth about the nature and quality of pre-Iraq war
\nintelligence has become less important than pacifying Iraq and
\ncontrolling other international trouble spots. Even the mounting
\ndeficit budget does not bother much when it comes to spending on
\ndomestic security. The U.S. did not wink a bit in paying US$30
\nmillion to the Iraqi informer who squealed about the whereabouts
\nof Saddam Hussain's sons Uday and Qusay.<\/p>\n
First, protect homeland security: That's the cold calculus of
\nU.S. diplomacy today.<\/p>\n
Instead of shrinking in mortal fear into its proverbial
\nfortress after Sept. 11 and leaving the world alone, as al-Qaeda
\nleadership might have fondly (mis) calculated, the U.S. has
\nexpanded its frontiers to cover the whole world. When India said
\nno to sending troops to Iraq, the Bush Administration thought it
\nwas the beginning of further negotiations. The louder the no, the
\ngreater the possibility of it turning into yes, well, that is the
\nfirst lesson of international diplomacy; or salesmanship.<\/p>\n
That brings us to the Saudi connection with the Sept. 11
\nhorrific attacks, about which the recently released Congress
\nreport indicates that Saudi official money channeled through
\nIslamic charities might have helped finance al-Qaeda's
\ndecentralized terrorist network in the U.S.<\/p>\n
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal came to the U.S.
\nto express his outrage over the presumed complicity of his
\nkingdom and urged President George Bush to declassify 28-page
\nchapter of the 900-page Congressional report about Sept. 11
\nattacks and the U.S. intelligence failures. Bush declined to
\noblige the Saudi prince because declassification \"would reveal
\nsources and methods that would make it harder for us to win the
\nwar on terror.<\/p>\n
It would help the enemy if they knew our sources and methods.\"
\nTrue, hidden allegations are much harder to refute. The Saudi
\ngovernment should cooperate with the U.S. wherever the truth
\nleads. That would re-establish the U.S. faith in the Saudi
\nKingdom. Genuine transformation is needed in the Saudi Kingdom.
\nPublic relations petro-dollars won't help change the public
\nopinion in the U.S. and elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Senator Bob Graham, member of the Congressional committee that
\ninvestigated Sept. 11 intelligence failures and a contender for
\nthe Democratic ticket for the 2004 presidential race, says that a
\n\"foreign government provided direct support through officials and
\nagents of the government to some of the Sept. 11 hijackers.\" If
\nthe Saudi officials were involved, then it amounts to state
\nsupported terrorism against the U.S.<\/p>\n
If the Saudis could do this to the U.S., their friend and
\nally, imagine what they could and might be doing to other
\ncountries such as India or Indonesia, where there is a large
\nMuslim population and domestic security is lax. Recently The Wall
\nStreet Journal editorialized, \"Saudi Arabian money is sabotaging
\nIndonesia's future stability and prosperity, and unless the
\nWahabis are stopped the war on terror in Southeast Asia will be
\nhard to win.\"<\/p>\n
Where does the power and influence of the Saudis come from?
\nSaudi Arabia holds 25 percent of the world oil reserves on which
\nthe U.S. and the industrialized world depends, and that seems to
\nbe the apparent reason for the U.S. treating the Saudis with kid
\ngloves. But even if alternative sources of oil, Russia and Iraq,
\nfor example, were available, would the U.S. invade Saudi Arabia
\nif it were to continue to be a terrorists' nest?<\/p>\n
This is the most unlikely scenario because oil is not the only
\nconcern. Saudi Arabia controls Islam's two most holy sites, Mecca
\nand Medina, and the Muslim world would be outraged if their
\nsanctity were compromised. Saudi Arabia has to be treated
\ndifferently from Saddam Hussain's Iraq or Kim Jong-iI's North
\nKorea, even if it were in the same league, as most Americans
\nbelieve.<\/p>\n
Again North Korea has to be treated differently from Pakistan,
\nwhich in terms of nuclear threat is far more dangerous than Kim
\nJong-iI's nuclear rattling. But for the time being Pakistan has
\nbeen brought under control through economic incentives, debt
\nrelief, loans and grants, and the diplomatic support given to
\nGen. Musharraf's semi-authoritarian rule.<\/p>\n
In the ultimate analysis, U.S. domestic security concerns, not
\ntrade, economic colonization or world domination, are driving its
\ninternational diplomacy. But eventually world domination through
\nsurrogates, proxies and UN fig leaves might become an indirect
\nconsequence of the U.S. obsession with its homeland security and
\nhow ironic! One might say, thanks to al-Qaeda.<\/p>\n
The writer is professor of communications, Norwich University,
\nVermont.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/homeland-security-begins-abroad-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}