LIGHTS OUT

One humid night and day in New York without electrical power is nothing compared to the months in US-occupied Baghdad. Yet both at home and abroad, Bush administration policies favor and protect shadowy business elites in the energy industries. It is not surprising that privatization and deregulation should result in blackouts of energy and that human rights and the rule of law would disappear into the darkness as well.

Who profits from such corruption? After power companies donated $16 million for the Republican campaign of 2000, seven times the sum they gave Democrats, President Bush has continued to promote policies of federal deregulation of electricity. Clinton’s attempt at reform was rolled back. California Gov. Gray Davis stood up to many of the Texas oil barons—well now he faces “termination” and recall. (for Greg Palast’s intriguing discussion of these issues, see http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/081603B.shtml). For so many in business these days, business as usual is amoral “all about the bottom line”.

The surprising arrest of Mr. Hemant Lakhani as an arms dealer (reported from the politicized war on terror angles in most US media, including the assertion that he praised Bin Laden) gives one the sense that once again our law enforcement has selected an easy “fall guy”. Interestingly he was not once referred to by his faith (he is a religious Hindu) in any articles. If he had been a Muslim that would certainly be mentioned over and over.

ABC News and other media have reported serious questions about whether this was a set-up, not a sting, and there is information that Mr Lakhani was a whistleblower in another case and may have had enemies. One would have to ask yourself, would this have occurred at all without the government?" said Gerald Lefcourt, a criminal defense attorney; “"I would have hoped the United States is thwarting real terrorism and not something manufactured because here all they're doing is stopping something they created," In any case he and his apparent confederates Mr Yehuda Abraham and Mr. Moinuddeen Ahmed Hameed will have to work things out in court. After all, arms dealing is a serious issue, right?

I guess that depends. This week in the New York Times Magazine, Peter Landeman has written a long and interesting profile of perhaps the biggest major arms merchant, Mr. Victor Bout, and the lawlessness in Kiev and Moldova that supports the illegal trading of weapons around the world – possibly even the spread of nuclear material. It is shocking how the current administration will not touch him, despite his links to organized crime and various dictators, despite his hugely destructive dealings in the Congo, Liberia and other war-zones. Of course one strategy would be to monitor him, but this means he continues to destabilize the world. Why has nothing been done? Why did Condeleeza Rice institute a “hands-off” policy?
Of course it is not only the US government that quietly values its friends in low places. Others (including Muslims) gamble with anarchy. As we read this paper, the situation in Iraq continues to spiral out of control, and apparently jihadis and other volunteers are entering the country to work with the resistance movement. The oil pipeline from Iraq to Turkey has been blown up, and a mortar attack on Abu Ghraib prison has left at least six Iraqi detainees dead and 59 other Iraqis wounded. It is not clear if former detainees, foreign agitators or agents provocateurs were to blame.

The Iraqi Governing Council member Samir Shakir Mahmoud Sumaidy condemned the attack: "Attacking prisoners is just unexplainable and completely incomprehensible," he said. "The only deduction I have is that these attackers have lost their way. They have no strategy. They just want to create mayhem, create chaos.”(John Tierney article, NYT 8/17/03; http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/17/magazine/17BOUT.html ).
It is certainly regrettable that Muslim volunteers would be known for such destructive work. Why don’t they come to help develop a strong Iraq once more? Did destabilization benefit anyone in Afghanistan but the warlords, who have now increased their production of opium, etc., over 20 times greater than it was before the Taliban fell? War is a great criminal ecosystem. People become desperate and demoralized. "This is democracy, but what kind of democracy?" said Iraqi Hamed Hameed, yards from where minutes earlier armed youths had been fighting over prostitutes down a dirty, narrow street (Porn, Drugs, Weapons Hit Baghdad Streets, by Andrew England, AP)

In addition, US soldiers in a helicopter forced down a flag at a mosque in Sadr City. American officials assert that troops opened fire killing a grenade-launcher during the demonstration that followed, The US army has also admitted that it recently killed long-time Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana, 41, a Palestinian who was filming outside Abu Ghraib prison when he was shot. Dana's death brings to at least 17 the number of journalists who have died in Iraq since war began. Previous investigations into such killings have not been satisfactory.

The occupying forces will face resistance— but must it be so destabilizing? In Palestine too society requires a semblance of order and control to help build trust. A pseudo-Maoist commitment to destabilizing society through terror will just maintain the cycle of violence and retribution. Governments, criminals and would-be governments manipulate alienated young people into acts of sabotage.

"Let's be clear -- their wars are for profit and empire and they need millions of kids to go off and do their dirty work for them. Will you and your friends get suckered into doing it, or will you join the movement to stop the madness?" NION focuses their concern on imperialist excess, much less on the abuses of revolutionary movements. Their Youth program would benefit by increased contact with young Muslims. See http://www.nycyouth@notinourname.net/). Not In Our Name Project Youth are starting a campaign to Stop The Military Recruiters from expanding their outreach in schools.

Also the Brooklyn Bridges organization (of which I am a board member) is seeking to involve student groups in it September 4th training and discussion program for community activists. Please contact Mitra Rastegar, Project Organizer for Brooklyn Bridges at 212/353-0987. I hope all students will set a good example for their parents insha’Allah with renewed commitment and service to the community at this time of crisis and instability.