The war that never was

The much hyped 'war on terror' has failed to achieve its goal across the globe, and particularly in Afghanistan,u00a0 the alleged home and hideu2013out of Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Right after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, the US and its armed allies took the next flight out to Afghanistan in search of the man they suspected was responsible for it. Fine, you think he did it, go to the international court and sue him. Ask the UN to intervene and serve justice. But no, Uncle Sam, the self-proclaimed Big Daddy of the world, took his bazooka and aimed straight at the gas pipeline that was coming out of the European countries and into the Arabian Sea. Well, it served the purpose of 'attacking' Afghanistan. The agenda of bringing down the Taliban and Osama was a farce. If there are still any doubts, well, look around. The so-called 'vanquished' and 'erased' Taliban regime that was displaced by Dubya and his Man Friday, Hamid Karzai, have re-emerged as a strong force. From executing a former Pakistan Prime Minister (Benazir Bhutto) to usurping control in the Swat Valley, the Taliban are far from vanquished. In the last one year, beginning from the unabashed attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore (March 3), the Taliban have instilled fear back into the populace of the neighbouring country. Not only are civilians running for their lives, but even soldiers and police personnel are ducking for cover from the suicide bombers.

Last month, militants stormed the Pak army's headquarters and took 42 soldiers and civilians hostage. If the Taliban were erased by the US and its allied forces, how can they carry out such daring feats?

The point here is that the best army in the world, with the best equipment at its disposal, has failed to disband an army made of illiterate mercenaries. Now, doesn't that speak volumes of the commitment of the world's biggest super power?

Once the real purpose was served, the US moved on. And they moved on to a better and more fruitful war the war that gave them access to much needed crude oil. The first thing that Uncle Sam did on reaching Iraq was to take over the oil fields, under the guise of 'protecting' them from extremists. The only protection the oil fields needed was from a greedy Uncle Sam, and not from some alleged extremists.

Robbing crude oil from the Iraqi oil fields, Uncle Sam is now a happy man. And the world, well, the world has drowned into further mess.

Waleed Hussain is Chief Sub Editor, MiD DAY