Security, America and the way ahead for India

There seems to be a general consensus that what America did in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks made Americans safer, and whether you agree with George Bush’s handling of the situation and his broader policies, his actions have ushered in a period of relative peace in America and Americans.

I disagree with this view. Lets look at some facts:

(i) America has never been faced with terrorism on the same scale that Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka and Nepal have had to deal with. The last foreign attack on American soil before the 9/11 attacks were the 1993 attacks on the World Trade Center which killed 6 people. So the argument that America has been a safer becuase of policies enacted by the Bush Government are not true. It was and is relatively much safer than India and Pakistan.

(ii) America shares its borders with Canada and Mexico – 2 friendly neighbours, whereas India shares it borders with China – with whom India went to war with in 1962 and Pakistan – with whom India went to war with in 1947, 1965, 1971 and 1999 – clearly not friendly neighbours. Furthermore, America’s borders are secured by 2 large oceans – the Atlantic and the Pacific, whereas India shares a large part of its borders with Pakistan and China. A terrorist cannot use a small fishing vessel and decide to attack America. Thus, due to geography and neighbours, as opposed to Bush’s policies, America is a lot more isolated than India, hence safer.

(iii) America might be safer, but Americans across the world are clearly not. After 9/11, America might not have been attacked, but Americans across the world have been. Below is a list of attacks on Americans on foreign soil after 9/11:

1. 2002 – Attack outside the American embassy in Karachi, Pakistan which left 12 people dead.
2. 2003 – Suicide attack on housing compounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which killed 8 Americans
3. 2004 – Attack on  the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.
4. 2004 – Terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks.
5. 2004 – Terrorists storm the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 5 consulate employees.
6. 2005 – Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57.
7. 2006 – Attack by four gunman on the American embassy foiled in Damascus, Syria.
8. 2007 – The U.S. embassy is fired on by an anti-tank missile causing damage but no deaths in Athens, Greece
9. 2007 – Al Qaeda terrorists detonate two car bombs near Algeria’s Constitutional Council and the United Nations offices killing more than 60 people, including 11 United Nations staff members in Algeria
10. 2007 – A car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians in Yemen.
11. 2008 – The recent terror attacks in Mumbai, India resulting in 5 American deaths.

(iv) India has the issue of Kashmir to deal with. There is nothing territorially comparable to Kashmir that America has to deal with. The fact that America does not have significant land disputes to contend with automatically makes it a safer place.

For all of the reasons listed above, I do not believe that Bush’s actions post 9/11 are the reasons that America has not had to deal with a national terrorist tragedy with the same frequency that India has had to deal with. In FY 2009, America is slated to spend $515.4 billion on its defence budget, whereas India in FY 2009 plans to spend $26.4 billion. The disparity in resources is plainly evident.

The rhetoric in India which says that Indian foreign policy should mirror that of America’s in terms of how to deal with terrorism is completely baseless. People who argue along these lines must please consider the various differences between the 2 countries outlined above and realize that following America’s anti-terror policy is not the solution – it might have played a small role in stopping terrorism in America, but has definitely increased anti-American sentiment across the world hence making Americans the targets of an increasing number of terror attacks.

Do we in India really want to make India safer and at the same time making Indians more prone to terror?

Irresponsible, callous and stupid

The aftermath of the Bombay massacre has been both – encouraging and discouraging. A lot of very prominent Mumbaikars (read Simi Garewal Abu Azmi) etc insist that the way forward is by not voting and by not paying taxes. These assertions are irresonsible, callous and to be very honest incredibly stupid.

On the one hand, everyone complains of not having better leaders and on the other they insist that we get rid of the very system – if given  chance – that will produce leaders amongst us. Can they please explain why they feel that not voting is going to help?

Another popular idea doing the rounds is dont pay taxes. Simi Garewal defended this on television by saying if 10 people do not pay taxes – they will get caught, but if everyone does not – what can the authorities do? Once again, how is that going to solve the problem?? People complain that the policemen and other forces tasked with maintaning law and order in the country are understaffed, have shoddy World War II equipment and harp on the fact that we need to better equipped police personnel. How in Gods name are they going to be able to achieve all of these things if we suddenly decide that we dont want to pay taxes.

Public personalities, due to the amount of airtime they get, have to realize that they have a large role to play in shaping public opinion. They have a resposibility towards society that they must fulfill . Making statements,such as those discussed above, in anger and frustration not only serves to distract people from what really needs to be done, but also irrepairibly harms the polictical system which is already in shambles. Strengthening our institutions is the way forward and for this we need change.

This is what The Movement is.

Join us.