Only Politics

Peter Lehr of St Andrews University puts everything in perspective when he declares that the UK or her Allies should not negotiate with the Al Qaeda for there is nothing to compromise about. He is direct when he says that the UK needs oil from the Arab nations and thus, the need for continuing Israeli goodwill. The Al Qaeda on the other hand would drive a hard bargain before selling Arab oil and also would demand the breaking up of Israel. While the latter proposition is inhumane, the former oil related issue is much to the point. Why should the Arabs sell oil to the UK for less money? Lehr’s outburst comes in the wake of Jonathan Powell’s call to the UK government to hold talks with terrorist groups in war-ravaged territories. Powell was the chief of staff in Tony Blair’s government. He is now readying himself for the publication of his book Great Hatred, Little Room. The book will be serialized in the UK Guardian. The social-scientific academia has been fast to seize on the comment. Self-proclaimed terrorism experts have divided terrorists into two wider groups: one group has world-wide multi-national business agendas and the other type has local interests and are more of the nature of rebels with somewhat legitimate interests. The first group includes most prominently the Al Qaeda. The second group has Hamas and he Kahsmiri militants in it. The logic is that with the former there can be no conceivable dialogue. With the latter, there may be possible some sort of common talks. This the Western experts impute to the intrinsic nature of terrorist organizations. But the truth is otherwise. There is no dialogue possible with the Al Qaeda because they hit out at the hearts of Western civilization. They do not confine their attacks to the Third World. On the other hand they carry out terrorist attacks in white-lands. The latter class of militants is perceived as more malleable simply because the white man is not hurt directly by their activities. If the Pakistani militants hurt India, no white man is disturbed. Thus this new policy of having discussions with selective groups of terrorists is blatantly Euro-centric. Terrorists everywhere are blood-thirsty and beyond normal human ethics. They have sunk so low that no dialogue is possible any longer. And sine they do not hesitate to shed blood as they will, it will be dishonoring the memories of the innocent if anyone gives in an inch to terrorist demands. Powell is just naïve publicity conscious when he proposes such absurd measures to sort out the terrorist menace.