The Pistachio Rewards

Recently in a NY Times op-ed article, Thomas Friedman argued that the US should not increase the reward for Osama's capture from $25 million to $50 million. He argued that the US should remove this reward and the one on Zarqawi's death and signal their insignificance to the world by offering pistachios for their capture. If he seriously thinks that these rewards are for the benefit of the world in general and Arabs in particular, he is either incredibly naive and stupid or he chooses to look the other way inspite of knowing the facts. These rewards are for the benefit of the American public just as Colin Powell's 'presentation' to the UN Security Council was. It was not for the countries of the world. Any country with even a single industry within it's borders would have informed him that the CIA's contention that the aluminium tubes were manufactured to very tight tolerances was wrong (as the US Dept of Energy did inform the administration). That performance was for the consumption of American public.

The Bush administration needs Osama bin Laden more than any muslim in the world. He is their bogeyman. If he is captured or killed the US will have to go through the long process of training, arming and funding another Islamic terrorist to push their imperialist foreign policy forward. Why am I so suspicious of US intentions you might ask? After all they just conducted an election in Iraq which will most probably throw up a Islamic government. The reason for this suspicion (and I am sure many people in the world share it) is the amazing coincidence that all US efforts at 'liberation' and 'democratization' are aimed at oil-rich countries with governments inimical to the US. It for example does not try to democratize Nigeria whose brutal military dictatorship has a very good 'working relationship' with Chevron. It does not try anything in Saudi Arabia, a country who supplied around 70% of the 9/11 perpetrators. It does nothing against Pakistan whose military and scientific community sold nuclear materials and equipments the way one sells AK-47s in gun-shops in the US....across the counter. And it seems to be positively scared of taking any action against North Korea who incidentally, actually have WMDs and the missiles to deliver them from Anchorage to San Diego. This apparently selective application of freedom and democracy around the world raises questions about the sincerity of US intentions.

If Mr. Friedman sincerely believes that the insurgency in Iraq is the work of a few disgruntled Baathists and foreign terrorists, I think he is depending only on US media for his news. He should read some foreign media. He will then come to know that more Iraqi civilians have been killed in arbitrary US air and artillery attacks than at the hands of insurgents. He will come to know of studies that indicate that of the average 2700 daily attacks by the insurgents in Iraq only 6 can be traced back to Zarqawi. He will come to know that the famous pulling down of Saddam's statue in Baghdad was a stage managed theatrical production. The US soldiers had to negotiate with Moqtada al-Sadr for the loan of a few Shia public who were then captured on camera cheering while the US soldiers pulling down the statue were hidden. If he thinks that the Shias of Iraq will feel any friendship toward the US he is wrong. They are wise enough to know the real intentions of the US and clever enough to take advantage of them.

I had argued previously that Osama bin Laden is Dubya's best friend and I still stand by this statement. He is the bogey which allows the government to spread fear and panic among US public and keep them subdued and quiet. Make no mistake Mr. Friedman, the single biggest disaster the Bush government could imagine today is the capture or death of Osama bin Laden.