This year the US government again succeeded in getting its resolution criticizing human rights situation in Cuba passed at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. But closer to home there is an unending human rights horror that the Bush administration has been responsible for. All in the name of “war on terrorism.”
Before it is too late the Bush administration must acknowledge the sober fact that its so-called “war on terror” has generated a string of psychological, physical, legal and intellectual horrors — both at home and abroad. There is both the atrocities committed against prisoners at Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib and in Afghan prisons, reports of incidents of offensive behavior of US soldiers in Iraq, the increasing insecurity of American Muslims, the unrelenting feeling of “us” versus “them” that simplistically but dangerously divides the world into “terrorists” and “nonterrorists.” Many political activists, and advocacy groups within the US and abroad are critical of the Bush administration’s approach toward counterterrorism and advocate a wiser approach in dealing with the security threats that the US faces and in ensuring that human rights and citizenship rights are not undermined in dealing with terrorism. Still the practices of the US administration dominate all else.
The Bush administration has to take responsibility for much that has caused these horrors.
Recently a string of reports in the American press illustrate the point. The Newsweek magazine reported the desecration of the Holy Qur’an by American guards at the prison at Guantanamo Bay. Since the message to the law enforcing agencies dealing with suspects, not even convicts, is these men have no rights and torture them the way you want, such a shocking incident should come as no surprise. This is clearly part of the torture and humiliation unleashed systematically on men held at the prison. This report of desecrating the Holy Qur’an clearly indicates the fall-out of thoughtless anti-terrorism policy that essentially dehumanizes the “other.” If the “other” is the sworn enemy he will be dehumanized. Accordingly all that which is dear to the “other” must be destroyed and defiled. We Muslims should rightly be outraged and call for an immediate stop to such abhorrent actions by a US law-enforcing agency.
However the real casualty of such a policy that promotes hate, intolerance and division will be the US state and society. The tactics employed by the US against terrorism may have helped it nab some terrorists, destroyed the support systems put together by some groups promoting terrorism. It has however won the Bush administration few friends. The American way of pursuing security has become the divisive and the intolerant way. It generates alienation.
Many of the suspects captured since 9/11 still have to be tried. Many including Paul Wolfowitz want them to be tried to “remind the world of the evil motives of America’s enemies and deflate the loud protests of human rights groups.” The US Supreme Court in June and a federal judge in November ruled military tribunals unconstitutional. In case criticism of military courts holds, the administration may turn to the newly empowered Intelligence Surveillance Courts.
Emotionally, politically and geographically unconnected to the Iraq context and indeed to much of the primary context set for its war on terrorism — the Middle East — the US has allowed itself to initially opt for a zero sum game. The “us versus them” attitude has justified all these dangerously divisive and inhuman methods of pursuing and punishing the real and the imagined “other”. At the popular level abroad the US appears to be losing its case that it had after the 9/11 tragedy.
At home too its critics grow. In a CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released last week, 57 percent of respondents said Iraq hadn’t been worth the war. With the end of the Iraq engagement not in sight the US support may further dwindle.
The unmistakable lesson from human experience is that only human depravity grows under the shadow of sheer hate.
At home this mindset of the “other”, the legitimacy to destroy and humiliate the other and to bend all principles to teach a lesson to the other would prevail. At the popular level it would worsen the divide between the American Muslims and the non-Muslims. It would undermine the efforts of many Muslims and non-Muslims trying to bridge this divide. Abroad it would intensify the resentment against the Americans, undermine their security and intensify the perception that the Americans are after the Muslims. US’ endgame remains unclear. Meanwhile inhumanity is perpetuated. And not without a cost to its perpetrators.
