December 23, 2002 keralamonitor.com Gulf Monitor (column by our editor)

Armed and Ready for the War. Bush Deperately needs a War to boost US Military Industrial Complex I am ready (Click for details)  Dubai - Some of the leading western oil companies have sent a red alert to their business associates and representatives in the Gulf region that there might be problems in delivering oil products during the second week of January 2002. According to informed business and diplomatic sources, leading oil companies are not taking any business commitment demanding delivery during and after that period. They are also asked to charge more price for delivery in the future. "We are told not to take any future business commitment to deliver our lubricants at the current market price. We are also asked not to enter into any deal at the current price," said an associate of the French Oil Company Total with a wide presence in the Gulf. Oil companies, especially with offshore operations, marine and shipping companies and insurance companies are the first to get war alert from their headquarters based on feedback received from diplomatic and military sources . "It appears that the US has already made its secret plans to stage a war on Iraq and has been exerting pressure on the GCC countries to follow suit. Oil companies, which act as a cartel, take a uniform policy during such crisis periods. Petroleum Multinational Companies like the BP, Shell and Occidental are also learned to be alerting their customers about the possibility of a war. "The strike on Iraq will start in the second week of January 2003 because the US does not want to start it during the Christmas and New Year. Once these celebrations are over, the US military will launch a full scale military attack against Iraq," says informed sources. American forces around Iraq have been continuing war preparations. About 20,000 American forces, mainly Navy, are abord two US war ships. About 3,500 US marines are said to be conducting military exercise off Kenya. The US Aircraft Carrier s Abraham Lincon, George Washington and their eight helicopter carriers are ready for a strike, say reports. Each carrier has about 800 aircraft. US forces in the Gulf countries, Djiboti, Diego Garica and Turkey are also ready for a strike. Some countries and bases surrounding Iraq are part of the military campaign against the Iraqi people. (Click for details) US Wants A War At Any Cost. Another US objective in waging a war in Iraq is to increase the military budgets of regional governments, some of which are totally dependent on Uncle Sam for military and strategic survival. The US wants the Gulf countries to invest billions, if not trillions of dollars in a Missile Defence Plan similar to the one that the Bush Administration is planning. President Bush is making a mockery of the international community and the United Nations by justifying his aggression against Iraq in the name of "preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. "In fact the US is trying to sell weapons of mass destruction using the bogey of Iraq threat. The only MAD country which is making the maximum weapons of mass destruction is none other than the US. The main country which sells and spreads weapons of mass destruction is none other than the US. There are reports suggesting that the US intelligence agencies like the CIA used to nurture terrorist organisation and paraochial mercenary forces to incite tension in various peaceful regions in the world. What was the CIA doing in Afghanistan (training the Mujahideen and even the very same Osama Bin Laden), Latin America (training contra forces to overthrow the Sandinista Government of Daniel Ortega, in Nicaragua, a small Central American country, which posed a "security threat" to the Uncle Sam? What was their role in Angola, Ethiopia and Horn of Africa? Futile Efforts to secure Security It is futile to believe that the US will get permanent security by investing billions and trillions in creating new Weapons of Mass Destruction. The September 11 attacks and the subsequent terrorist attacks against the US and Western targets clearly indicate that the modern day terrorists cannot be tackled with technologically superior weapons like missiles, unmanned aircraft or Stealth Bombers. If an average American or Britsh citizen cannot work or move fearlessly within and outside their country, what security can such high-tech weapons ensure? In fact, despite the chivalry and courage shown by their governments, the US and British citizens are too scared to move freely. In various Gulf countries, the US and American commercial interests are vulnerable to subotage. Military Industrial Complex. The hawkish Jewish business lobby, which controls the multibillion military industrial complexes in the US, is keen to have a regional war that will increase demand for Western Weapons of Mass destruction. Once the bogey of Russian expansionism and Communism is gone, the US has been trying to find alternative "scapegoats like Saddam Hussain and Usama Bin Laden. The US has been training and nurturing many terrorist organizations. The mission of British and American imperialists is to bring the entire world under their colonial and neocolonial control. In the Middle East, the two Western countries have been maintaining their colonial interests through various subtle means. The US arguements to start an all out war against Iraq is nothing but a continuation of its expansionism which started with the notorious Manroe Doctrine of the 18th and 19th Centuries. The US Government used to send its marine forces to overthrow any Latin American Governments which opposed its commercial intersts. Even when some group of plantation workers started a strike in a US controlled farm, the US president would send red alert to his mariners. What the Bush Administration is looking for in the Middle East is nothing but control over the huge oil and gas reserves. They also want a major chunk of the petro dollars recycled to the US economy by selling "unwanted" Weapons of Mass Destruction to the Gulf countries by creating new bogies. The US economy has been facing a recessionary phase. Whenever the American econmy faced a crisis period, increased military budget was a method used to revive the Military Industrial Complex which is largely integrated to the US civilian economy. Much of the demand for even some leading civilian companies come from the military industrial complex. So creating a war is in the US economic interests. The Bush family's involvementin the oil industry is only a known secret. Loss for Regional Countries Regional governments have made their own guestimates about the potential economic loss from a military conflict in the Gulf. Take some of the leading Gulf countries like Oman and the UAE which are investing several million dollars (billion in the case of UAE) creating tourist destinations, resorts and other infrastructure. If there is a military conflict and increased terrorist presence precipitated by the strong anti-American and anti-British sentiment, all these investments will be useless because their target is international tourists from the western world. Will any tourists visit a military or terrorist hot spot? The only use for such five star resorts and hotels will be to US mariners and military personnel present in the region. One private sector tourism project did not get any new investors and the government had to take up that share. Another Gulf country was planning to construct a major Trade Zone with the help of an American company. However, the company decided to withdraw saying that the region is not a stable place to invest. Now a number of multinational companies which were expected to start operations from the Free Trade Zone are reluctant to invest in the risky region because they fear the region will be militarily unstable. All the gas and electricity pipelines erected to the Free Zone area may lie idle if the project fails and multinational companies do not invest. So who will benefit from a military conflict in the region? The US has now started exerting new pressure on the regional governments by playing the so called "democracy" card. All of a sudden, the US has become too concerned about democracy in the region. It may be recalled that the two "greatest democracies" in the world have committed the maximum number of aggression and war against sovering independent countries in the name of "democracy". The attack on Iraq and the support to the Iraqi dissident groups is the latest mission -- Save Democracy for the sake of American economy and the Military Industrial Complex. (editor, keralamonitor.com) Send your comments to editor@keralamonitor.com Mass Arrest of Muslim and Jewish Immigrants in America The INS [U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service] in Los Angeles, California and in other states, detained hundreds of Middle-Eastern Muslim and Jewish men and boys yesterday. These are the people who came forward to the INS' call to register. And their hands were handcuffed with a thank you note. Is it the anticipated Christmas gift from the Santa? More Creating a Secure America...Or Leaving Another History of Shame? by ALI MOAYEDIAN The news is pouring in. Hundreds of select foreign nationals who have complied with the new INS [U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service] regulations and reported for registration and fingerprinting to INS offices have been promptly arrested and placed in detention. While some have been released on bails of $1,000 to $15,000, the fate of many others is unclear. Even the number of arrested is a big question mark. By some estimates, there has been over 700 arrests in Los Angeles area alone. But INS is refusing to report the number of detainees, and most families are keeping quiet about the arrest of their loved ones, fearing reprisals if they speak up. I spoke to one detainee in Los Angeles area who had witnessed many people in handcuffs and shackles, including a 70-year-old man! There are many horror stories going around, and unfortunately most seem to be true. This is truly nauseating! I remember about five years ago I was reading a book for my son. It was about the Japanese-Americans internment in the U.S.. I was explaining to him how mistakes were made and that later the [U.S.] government apologized for them, and I was wondering what he feels about this? Little did I know that a few years down the road our government was going to make the same mistakes again, and that this time immigrants from my homeland Iran will also be affected! Most of the arrested people have been living in the U.S. for many years now. They have families, jobs (with work authorizations), and are hard-working and peaceful people. Their only "crimes" are being born in the "wrong" countries and being out of status, that is not having a current visa. But this is nothing new. This has been a tolerated and accepted practice by INS to allow people who have applied for permanent residency to stay in the U.S. until they receive an interview date from INS and receive their permanent residency (green card). And these people have naturally been in regular contact with INS and have been here with the full knowledge of INS. These people in a way were given a virtual amnesty until their case is processed by INS. Now INS is suddenly doing a 180 turn and reversing the old practice. There are two problems with this. First, only nationals of certain countries, mostly Islamic ones, have been subjected to the new regulations. This will naturally taint the new regulations as racist and discriminatory. Second, the regulations cover foreign national from these countries present in the U.S., including those who have previously been given the virtual amnesty. Once again, this will taint the new regulations as unjust and inhuman.Since the INS has allowed these people to stay in the U.S. and to build families, the United States is now obligated to protect these families rather than doing something that will ruin them. Like many other rules, this rule must not be applied retroactively because it will unfairly affect people following past accepted rules and practices. Lives of thousands of innocent people will be affected if these new regulations are applied retroactively. And there will be waves of fear and hatred in the immigrant communities. It's ironic that the very fear of persecution that many people in these communities have witnessed and experienced in their own homeland is now coming back to them, but this time in the country they viewed as "free" and "just" and where they chose to make a new life. This travesty of justice is being directly driven by the highest authorities in the Justice Department. John Ashcroft should be personally held accountable for heading these efforts that could ruin the lives of innocent families, by some estimates numbering over 10,000. This and other similar actions will not lead us to a more secure America. They would rather lead to another disgraceful past left for generations to come who will have to bear the shame and the guilt, just as our generation has been doing in the case of Japanese-Americans. [Ali Moayedian is an Iranian-American who lives in San Francisco Bay Area, California, U.S.A. He may be reached at ads@best.com ] INTERNET-WEB LINKS: RACIST INS DISCRIMINATES AGAINST MUSLIMS, ARABS http://groups.yahoo.com/group/InfoTimes/message/1523 FBI MUST ARREST AND PROSECUTE JOHN ASHCROFT FOR CRIMES AGAINST INNOCENT IMMIGRANTS IN THE USA. "This travesty of justice is being directly driven by the highest authorities in the Justice Department. John Ashcroft should be personally held accountable for heading these efforts that could ruin the lives of innocent families, by some estimates numbering over 10,000. This and other similar actions will not lead us to a more secure America. They would rather lead to another disgraceful past left for generations to come who will have to bear the shame and the guilt, just as our generation has been doing in the case of Japanese-Americans."