Obama:
Bomb Pakistan
The
moment reports came in that the Democratic
presidential candidate Barack Obama had
advocated air strikes on Pakistan the country
erupted in anger. All over the nation people
went wild expressing their disappointment,
and showing disdain for the United States.
No one could believe that after all that
Islamabad had done for America and its war
on terrorism Pakistan itself was considered
a fair game for bombing.
The Obama statement was so incredible to
the ears of the Pakistani decision-makers
that the National Assembly wasted no time
in issuing a strongly worded condemnation.
The heated debate that took place in that
body indicated the depth of despair felt
by the government in its relations with
the United States.
Having listened to the barrage of negative
statements for years from the US the general
public has become convinced that Washington
holds Pakistan in contempt. Everyone remembers
how Pakistan was used to fight communism
during the Cold War and once that struggle
was over the country was dumped like a sack
of garbage.
At the moment the American public is tired
of war. The last thing they want right now
is to drop bombs on yet another country.
The strong reactions to his negative comments
made Obama hurriedly back-peddle. However,
he did not retract his statement. In a number
of speeches he has praised Pakistan’s
efforts in fighting terrorism. This was
his way of clarifying what he meant by his
earlier statement.
Obama’s blunder in this regard lies
partly with the Pakistani-American community.
Despite their professed interest in politics
Pakistani-Americans have failed to reach
out to Obama to educate him concerning their
homeland. The community has not attempted
to rectify his mistake even as the Democratic
candidate has soft peddled his remark.
His rival, Hillary Clinton, characterized
Obama as naïve. However, she did not
say how she would deal with the situation
that was discussed about Pakistan.
In recent years the subject of bombing Muslims
has repeatedly come up. Some of the most
provocative statements have been heard on
the conservative talk shows. “Bomb
Muslims” is a topic of discussion
not only on the mass media that frequently
carry the likes of Michael Savage, Rush
Limbaugh or Bill O’Reilly but on many
others as well.
Several commentators have suggested bombing
the Muslim Holy sites. Among those Congressman
Tom Tancredo (R-CO) has gained particular
notoriety by advocating the bombing of Mecca
and Medina. In fact, he would even go a
step further and have those cities nuked.
It is very shameful that no Muslim personality
(either political or religious or academic)
has spoken out against these reprehensible
words on the global stage. Muslims ought
to develop an international podium for countering
the derogatory remarks made about them.
Qazi Ahmad Hussain’s condemnation,
if there was to be one, or that of some
other mullahs in Friday khutbah, simply
would not do the job.
The field of international communications
is a “terra incognita” for the
Muslims the world over and remains to be
mastered by them. Just look at the global
media. You’ll not find a single Muslim
journalist writing regularly for one of
the major newspapers of the world. There
is no one, anywhere, comparable to Tom Friedman
or Gwen Dwyer or Robert Fisk.
Because Muslims don’t strike back
with equal force at the irresponsible statements
made the world has come to accept that Muslims
are a fair game for ridicule. Therefore,
disparagement has become their lot.
