July 20, 2007

Hug with a Thug

Earlier this month, President Bush delivered yet another clear message about the kind of ‘war on terrorism’ his Administration is waging, in the warm manner in which he and his father, Bush Sr., lavishly hosted Russian President, Vladimir Putin, at the Bush family seaside-summer home at Kennebunkport, Maine – the first time a visiting leader has been so honored.
Once – to make common cause with the devout Christian fundamentalist, George Bush – ex-FSB intelligence chief Putin even carried a crucifix to a meeting with Bush.
But Putin may well find the cross of his past record a bit too heavy to carry.
Alexander Litvinenko, a Russian dissenter, died November 23, 2006, in a London hospital after being poisoned with polonium 210, a rare and highly radioactive substance found mainly in Russia. His death has been described as a case of nuclear terrorism. Litvinenko himself was convinced that his poisoning was Moscow-inspired. Litvinenko was a vocal critic of Putin’s oppressive policies in Chechnya. Shortly before his death, Litvinenko informed his family that he had embraced Islam, and directed that he be buried accordingly. His funeral prayers were held at London Central Mosque.
According to the Guardian newspaper of December 2, 2006, British officials said that only a state institution would have had access to polonium-210. Also, ABC News of January 26 reported that British investigators have concluded, based on forensic evidence and intelligence reports, that Litvinenko’s murder was a “`state-sponsored` assassination”.
Contrast the muted response now and then imagine what would be the reaction in Western capitals if a Muslim state were similarly implicated.
The Chechen connection forged Litvinenko’s ties with Anna Politkovskaya, the daring Russian investigative journalist and leading human rights activist who had exposed the Kremlin-directed reign of terror in the Muslim republic of Chechnya. Anna had depicted and documented the brutalities inflicted on the innocents on Chechnya through her book, “A Small Corner of Hell: Despatches From Chechnya.” On October 7, 2006, Anna was gunned down outside her apartment in Moscow. In response to a question of who was guilty of Anna’s death, Litvinenko replied, “I can directly answer you: it is Mr. Putin, the President of the Russian Federation.”
Human Rights Watch called on Bush to pressure Putin because, according to the organization, “rampant human rights abuses in Chechnya, torture by government forces, including pro-Moscow Chechen forces under the leadership of Ramzan Kadyrov is widespread and systematic. Enforced disappearances continue.”
In a conflict started by Putin, over 80,000 Chechens, mainly civilians, reportedly have been slain, according to the Washington Post of March 3, 2007. President Bush, while ranting about the ‘Axis of Evil’, has few qualms about embracing the head of what Ronald Reagan once infamously characterized as the “Evil Empire”.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture publicly reported in March 2007 that Russia continues to ignore its findings and recommendations concerning unlawful detentions and torture of detainees by law enforcement and security forces in Chechnya.
The United Nations Committee Against Torture, on February 6, 2007, said that the situation in the Chechen Republic is marked by “numerous, ongoing and consistent allegations that abductions and enforced disappearances.” According to Amnesty International, in its report of May 23, during the conflict in Chechnya “lives have been devastated by violations such as torture, including rape, arbitrary detention and looting of their homes. Many thousands have fled, and live as internally displaced people outside Chechnya. … In a small republic … it seems that everyone knows someone who has been forcibly disappeared or abducted, and many families have had more than one member go missing.”
All of the above has been done with impunity in frontal view of the international community.
Bush – described by Presidential-hopeful Senator Joe Biden as “brain-dead” – has turned a blind eye to Putin’s role in Chechen killings in exchange for Russian support on the ‘global war on terror’.
Meanwhile, the supine OIC -- lacking ability and authority -- has not responded either, preferring instead to slumber on.
The underlying double standard and the incapacity of the more fortunate to articulate the aims and aspirations of the less fortunate is the engine driving and inflaming global unrest.
While the Muslim elites are over-careful in not offending overseas powers, the overseas powers have not been so sensitive in not offending Muslim sensitivities.
Bush has demonstrated that by his hug with a thug.