War On Terror, A Hidden Agenda Of The Superpower.

The US-led war on terrorism in Afghanistan to eradicate the Al-Qaeda, was actually a hidden agenda for the world superpower to maintain hegemony, the War Crime conference was told here.

International Criminal Tribunal Judge for Afghanistan, Professor Niloufer Bhagwat claimed that Al-Qaeda dubbed as a terrorist group with an extensive terror network, was formed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States (US).

"War on terror has no enemy, the only enemy was the people of the territory seized," she told the three-day conference which started its preliminary proceedings of the war crime commission chaired by former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad Wednesday.

The war on terror was promoted by the superpower to seize the resources in Afghanistan and to shift the economic distress in the United States from its system which suffered trillion dollar of debts or deficits, she said.

Even though Afghanistan was not endowed with oil and gas, she said its strategic location provided the avenue for the US oil companies to build their pipeline without having to make inroads into Iran and former Soviet Union countries.

Another commodity that is being eyed by the US firms is drug business in Afghanistan as poppy, which extracts opium, is planted extensively in the country, she said.

Drug is the world's third biggest trade after oil and weapon, said Bhagwat.

In 1994, she said there were 71,470 ha of land in Afghanistan planted with poppy but after the Taliban regime seized power in the country, the poppy plantation hectarage declined to just 7,606 ha after the new government banned its cultivation.

However, after the Taliban was removed from power with the assistance of the US, poppy plantation mushroomed to 131,000 ha which caused a headache for the present government to curb crimes arising from the drug related activities, said Bhagwat. Then, the drug money from Afghanistan were sent back to the western financial system to be laundered, he said.

Bhagwat also said there was an irony to what happened in Afghanistan, especially why the United States used massive carpet bombing in the country, turning it into massive graveyards to eradicate the Taliban, which was not an organised military group.

Taliban was not the match for the US brute strength, but about hundred tonnes of depleted uranium ammunition being used, 1,288 cluster bombs dropped as well as the largest non-nuclear bomb, called the daisy cutter, she said.

The bombing also destroyed public infrastructure, like hospitals, roads, water treatment plants and causing grief and misery to the people of Afghanistan instead of specifically hitting the Taliban army. (Bernama)
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