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A Photographic Journal of Life
in an Afghan Refugee Camp
By Judith Mann
November 9, 2001
Michael
Colby
Schoolgirl
Gets Booted
for Anti-war Views
November 8, 2001
Mokhiber/Weissman
The
Cipro Rip-Off
Mitchel Cohen
The Smear Campaign
Against Nancy Oden
Steve
Perry
American
Roulette
November 7, 2001
Bahour/Dahan
Placebo Peace
Plan
Tom Turnipseed
Bush
Gives Billions
to His Oil Buddies
Cockburn/St. Clair
Greens, Airports
and
National ID Cards
Dr. Susan
Block
Ayatollah
Asscroft
Brian J. Foley
Bombing Campaign
Not "Self-Defense" Under International Law
November 6, 2001
Mark Scaramella
Where's
That Red Cross Money Going
C.G. Estabrook
Our Torturers
Sheperd
Bliss
Scott
Nearing on War
Rep. Ron Paul
Underwriting
the Taliban
Tariq
Ali
The
General Who
Came to Dinner
Evan Ravitz
Stop the War
Through
Direct Democracy
Steve
Perry
Hunger
in Afghanistan
November 5, 2001
Patrick Cockburn
Living
in the Minefields
David Price
Terror
and Indigenous People
November 3, 2001
Declan McCullagh
Nancy Oden Interview
Daniel
Wolff
The
Memphis Blues Again
Mark Weisbrot
War on Civilians
Dave Marsh
How
the RIAA (and the FBI) Cheat Musicians
Robert Jensen
Speaking
Out Against
War on Campus
November 2, 2001
CounterPunch
Wire
Green
Party Leader Detained at Maine Airport; Prevented from Boarding
Any Plane
Alexander Cockburn
FBI Eyes
Torture
November 1, 2001
Dean Baker
Dying
for Patents
Sami Amarah
US Attempts
to Recruit
Russian Vets of Afghan War
Molly Secours
Where
Are the Voices of Reason? Let the Women
Be Heard
William Blum
Unleashing the
CIA
October 31, 2001
Tom Turnipseed
Terrorize
the Poor,
Subsidize the Rich
Chris Clarke
Thank God
for Berkeley
Steve
Perry
The
Silent Genocide
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War Diary
CIA's Assassination Plan a History of
Torture in US Prisons
bin Laden and Bush
Business Connections
Aisha Ikramuddin on the Hidden Hype
of US Food Bombs
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Jiang Zemin Tells Bush:
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and Jeffrey St. Clair
The Memphis Blues Again:
Six Decades of Memphis Music Photographs
Photos by Ernest Withers
Text by Daniel Wolff
The New Intifada:
Resisting Israel's Apartheid
Edited by Roane Carey
A Pocket Guide to
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November
9, 2001
Q and A on the War
An Interview With Tariq
Ali
By La Jornada
Q.: How
would you characterize the current conflict? Is it a "clash
of civilizations", a "New Holy War", a national
liberation struggle, a conflict between the Arab oil elite
and the dollar elite, or none of the above?
Tariq Ali:
None of the above. It is a crude war of revenge. A powerful animal
temporarily blinded, by a bee sting, lashes out in a crazy
way. This is exactly what is happening. The United States and
Blair, their military confederate in Britain, had no clear idea
of what they were doing. They assumed that the Taliban would
crumble within a week or two. They were wrong. They hoped that
Pakistan, which had created the Taliban, might be able to split
them, but instead the Taliban split the Pakistan Army. Two Generals
had to be sacked by Gen. Musharraf. The former King of Afghanistan
continues to cool his heels in Rome. The Northern Alliance can't
take Kabul without US ground troops. If these are sent there
will be losses. Ultimately of course the West could capture the
cities, cut the Taliban supply lines and seal them off from Pakistan.
Difficult, but not impossible. However it can't be done without
troops. Perhaps the US could throw German, Italian and British
soldiers on the ground while they continue to fight from the
air. Then the Europeans could take the casualties. Whatever happens
the end-result will be more chaos, not less. More terrorism,
not less. Meanwhile the United States continues to B52 the poorest
country in the world. There are already heavy civilian casualties.
Q.:
What would you say is at stake in this war? What is the center
of the dispute: access to gas and water in the Middle East, establishment
of hegemony in the Islamic world, assuring a permanent U.S. presence
in the region, or none of the above?
Tariq Ali:
I really don't believe that this war was begun for economic gain.
We, on the left, are always quick to look for the economic reasons
and usually we're right, but not this time. I think the war
was basically a response to domestic pressure after the events
of September 11. There were choices to be made. The US could
have decided to treat this for what it was: a criminal act and
not an act of war. They chose war. Obviously they will use it
to strengthen and assert US global hegemony on all three fronts:
political, military and economic, but first they have to get
out of the situation they're in.
Q.:
How would you explain the emergence of Islamic fundamentalism,
or what other authors have called "political Islam"?
Tariq Ali:
The seeds of Islamism were sown by the United States during the
Cold War. From the 50s to the 90s of the last century they supported
the bulwark of religion against the Communist enemy. When the
Cold War ended the groups they had supported began to get restless.
They're funding and, in some cases, arms supplies had been cut
off. Then came the Gulf War or the Second Oil War as I call it.
Most of the Islamists chose this moment to break definitively
with the West and garbed themselves in nationalist clothes. All
over the world there is a big vacuum. In the Arab world this
vacuum is the loss of both radical nationalism and communism.
The Islamists consciously chose to fill the vacuum. In Algeria,
Egypt and Pakistan, a number of important ex-Maoist leaders converted
to Islam. From Mao to Allah was not as big a jump as you might
think! The people denied secular openings began to respond. The
West doesn't like to think about this seriously, but Osama has
become a cult figure and not just in the Muslim world. When people
feel disempowered, bitter, and angry and when traditional politicians
are interchangeable in the sense that they are all in the service
of market fundamentalism, then a sensational deed like September
11 has a very big impact.
Q.:
How would you assess the risk that the current conflict could
destabilize Pakistan? Could this situation lead to a greater
presence of radical Islam in that country's secret service and
military forces?
Tariq Ali:
Yes. In Pakistan the religious fundamentalism was state-sponsored.
It started in a big way during the years of the Zia dictatorship
(1977-89). Its aim was to marginalize secular politics and destroy
all radical alternatives. But this also made the fundamentalists
very unpopular. In three general elections that followed the
death of Zia, the religious parties got under 4 percent of the
vote....less than they get in Israel. Rejected by the people
they decided to infiltrate the state apparatus. Their exact
strength is unquantifiable at the moment, but they have cells
in the Army and at every level. They are clever. They will not
strike till they are sure of victory. The events in Afghanistan
are playing into their hands.
Q.: What
consequences do you predict of the current conflict?
What scenarios do you see for the future?
Tariq Ali:
As I said above, the West could take Afghanistan and hand it
over to people they favor. I don't believe in the 'invincibility'
of Afghanistan. The main reason the Russians were defeated was
because the religious groups, not to mention Osama and his gang,
were backed to the hilt by the United States. Pakistan was the
proxy they used to ensure the defeat of Moscow. Without US weaponry,
money, food, bribes the Russians could have held on. So if Pakistan
is persuaded to cut off the Taliban they could be isolated and
defeated militarily. But what then? Since the West organized
the defeat of all secular forces in the country, there is very
little left in the way of a democratic base of any sort. So
there will be continuos trouble. Who will police the new state?
Pakistan? Iran? India? Russia? All of them? Or a semi-permanent
NATO-protectorate with Turkish troops? To pose these questions
is to show that the US is really in a no-win situation. And
the cassus belli of this war, Osama Bin Laden? Where is he?
Will he be found? If not what will they do? I think the war
is reaching a critical point. The snow will start falling on
the Pamir mountains very soon, making ground war virtually impossible.
Then what? Tactical nuclear weapons? The US population and Blair
might support their use, but I think it would split the EU and
enrage the rest of the world. Meanwhile we observe and analyze.
CP
Tariq Ali,
a frequent CounterPunch contributor, is the author of The
Stone Woman.
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