On September 11, 2001, my daughter Ritu and I were flying over the Atlantic Ocean. We had been out of London a little over two hours when I noticed the Air India plane taking a wide right turn. I asked the air hostess the reason for changing course. The cabin steward whispered in my ear, “Sir, we are returning to London. There have been explosions in New York. The John F Kennedy airport is closed, and so are many other airports. We are not announcing it to avoid panic.” So we were back at Heathrow airport amid some chaos and confusion. Dozens of flights had returned from the mid-Atlantic region. The airport authorities were, like the rest of us, surprised and not prepared to have thousands of passengers on their hands. It took us sometime to reach our hotel. Once we reached, we saw on TV the twin towers being reduced to rubble. I had lived in New York when these were being constructed.
Osama bin Laden’s death has been mourned by few; it has been welcomed by most. His removal raises several important questions. First, is Osamaism – Al Qaeda – dead? And second, what will be the US’ post-Osama programme in Afghanistan? Will the US continue to spend $10 billion every month on a war it cannot win?
Now to Pakistan. I am glad I am neither an American nor a Pakistani diplomat (both would be glad that I am not). The blame game between Washington DC and Islamabad is unseemly and unedifying. The US needs Pakistan — it is a troublesome cliché. That Pakistan needs the US is another cliché. The conclusion is that this love-hate relationship will continue. And so will the American aid of $1.3 billion every year. The Inter-Services Intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency embrace will remain undisturbed in the long term. The American establishment declares that Pakistan cannot be trusted. Pakistan returns the compliment (client states often do). Both countries have geostrategic interests and problems. The Americans and the Pakistanis take each other for granted. The exceptions are Pakistan’s nuclear weapons; here the Americans do not take Pakistan for granted.
At the moment, US-Pakistan relations are under severe strain. Strong words are in fashion. Pakistani pride is deeply hurt. US President Barack Obama violated Pakistani sovereignty. Pakistan’s claim that it was unaware of bin Laden’s five-year stay in Abbottabad is incredulous. No one is buying this fiction, least of all the Americans. However, this not-so- happy, mutual misunderstanding will not last. Too much is at stake.
Mr Obama’s image was taking a beating. It was being said that “he leads from behind”. Now the same crowd is rightly hailing him as someone who “leads from the front”. The US president deserves credit for the operation by US Navy Seals. Mr Obama’s dignified restraint was impressive. However, some of his spokespersons could have done better. Four versions of the Osama killing in four days caused great confusion.
Does the Arab uprising have a lesson for Al Qaeda? Yes. In the streets of Tunis, Cairo, Damascus, Saana and Bahrain no one invoked bin Laden’s name. The cry was about reform, free speech, free press and no corruption. Is an Islamic renaissance possible? Bin laden defamed a great religion. He terrorised even the souls of his villains. The worry is that in spite of his deeds, he will be more than a footnote in history. On September 11, 2001 he challenged the US and, to a considerable extent, the world. Fighting terrorism became the top priority on the international agenda. It is safe to conclude that it will now rank lower in the terror pecking order. The Al Qaeda threat, however, remains.
I have so far not mentioned India. India has no reason to gloat but we have been proved right. The adamantine fact is that Pakistan does harbour terrorists. The British prime minister rightly said that Pakistan had a two-faced approach to terrorism. India, on the other hand, has handled her secularism brilliantly. On two occasions, I told former US President George W Bush that no Indian had joined either Al Qaeda or the Taliban. Should India resume the composite dialogue with Pakistan, even after learning that Pakistan was home to bin Laden for half a dozen years? Yes, we should. Statesmanship demands it. Besides, is there an alternative? Not yet.
TAILPIECE
While reading a book on the French Revolution, I thought: After 222 years, liberty, fraternity and equality are in short supply. The gospel of equality is the biggest con of all time.