"Americans are not more worthy than other human beings. Our nation ought not have its way at the expense of other nations. The existence of evil elsewhere doesn't justify committing evil ourselves."--Donella Meadows (The Global Citizen, 1990)

When I reflect to the escalating violence in the Middle East and in Central Asia I reconfirm my opposition to the international war against terrorism waged by the United States. We know very well that terrorism is in the end one manifestation of abject poverty of entire populations depraved of their basic freedom and depraved of their sense of social identity and dignity. Therefore, the war against terrorism must be combated on two fronts, the opportunity to enhance our democracies from the tyranny of the Free Market, and the opportunity to progressively reduce the military expenditures of the United States and every other country. Economic development is not dissociated from the cultural and historical conditions of people and as a consequence local economic development must be sustained with the assistance of local governments along with as much as possible local enterprises, local people and local resources. We must get away from the economic fundamentalism of the Free Market as a source of freedom. We require governmental policies to deter or eliminate the current practices for making money by ever greater corporate mergers and by taking over the resources of poor countries.

Terrorism must be considered a crime in every country in the same way murder is considered a crime in every country. As long as terrorism is considered to be an enemy of the United States while this same terrorism is considered to be martyrdom in another country, there will never be a sustainable peace. We cannot wage a successful war against terrorism, if terrorism is ill defined, if terrorism is not a crime for every people and for every country. The United States is waging a war against terrorism in Afghanistan with a supposed international coalition and it is still pondering if to wage another war against terrorism in Iraq, in Somalia or Sudan or in some other targeted countries. In the meantime, the Bush Administration is saying that the war against terrorism is going to last for years and years, and in the meantime, and I say today, Pakistan and India, two coalition partners of the United States, are on the brink of an all out war with the potential use of nuclear bombs and this is because of acts of terrorism among these two countries. And again, we have the problem of defining what is terrorism. I repeat, we must define what terrorism is, and after that we must work with the international community to make terrorism a crime for any people and for any country.

We cannot wage a war against terrorism unilaterally and without the participation of the international community. Every country, including the United States, must work within the international community to fight together the crime of terrorism, and every country must work within the international community to reduce the proliferation of arms across the world. The present intention of the United States to attack Iraq along with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's unilateral philosophy of "the mission determines the coalition. And the coalition must not be permitted to determine the mission" are perilous indications of an abusive American foreign policy which if continued will trigger more violence and more wars.

Note: The Taleban will be no pushover, by Major General (retd) Ashok K Mehta, October 8, 200. This article includes Bush's quote "I'm not gonna fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt" http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/oct/08ashok.htm