Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History

Throughout history, humans have always been prone to accidents. Some, such as the exotic car crashes seen on this page, can be very expensive. But that’s trivial compared to the truly expensive accidents. An accident is defined as “an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss”. Our aim is to list the top 10 most expensive accidents in the history of the world as measured in dollars.

This includes property damage and expenses incurred related to the accident such as cleanup and industry losses. Many of these accidents involve casualties which obviously cannot be measured in dollar terms. Each life lost is priceless and is not factored into the equation. Deliberate actions such as war or terrorism and natural disasters do not qualify as accidents and therefore are not included in this list.
# 10. Titanic – $150 Million
The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today’s dollars).

# 9. Tanker Truck vs Bridge – $358 Million
On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany . The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

# 8. MetroLink Crash – $500 Million
On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles . It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.

# 7. B-2 Bomber Crash – $1.4 Billion
Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we’re only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.

# 6. Exxon Valdez – $2.5 Billion
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world’s biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship’s master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.

# 5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig – $3.4 Billion
The world’s worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world’s single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world’s most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion.
Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.

# 4. Challenger Explosion – $5.5 Billion
The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today’s dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today’s dollars).

# 3. Prestige Oil Spill – $12 Billion
On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia , Spain . Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea.
According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.

# 2. Space Shuttle Columbia – $13 Billion
The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA’s orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today’s dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million.
In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

# 1. Chernobyl – $200 Billion
On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl , including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

Top 10 Most Expensive Accidents in History

Throughout history, humans have always been prone to accidents. Some, such as the exotic car crashes seen on this page, can be very expensive. But that’s trivial compared to the truly expensive accidents. An accident is defined as “an undesirable or unfortunate happening that occurs unintentionally and usually results in harm, injury, damage, or loss”. Our aim is to list the top 10 most expensive accidents in the history of the world as measured in dollars.

This includes property damage and expenses incurred related to the accident such as cleanup and industry losses. Many of these accidents involve casualties which obviously cannot be measured in dollar terms. Each life lost is priceless and is not factored into the equation. Deliberate actions such as war or terrorism and natural disasters do not qualify as accidents and therefore are not included in this list.
# 10. Titanic – $150 Million
The sinking of the Titanic is possibly the most famous accident in the world. But it barely makes our list of top 10 most expensive. On April 15, 1912, the Titanic sank on its maiden voyage and was considered to be the most luxurious ocean liner ever built. Over 1,500 people lost their lives when the ship ran into an iceberg and sunk in frigid waters. The ship cost $7 million to build ($150 million in today’s dollars).

# 9. Tanker Truck vs Bridge – $358 Million
On August 26, 2004, a car collided with a tanker truck containing 32,000 liters of fuel on the Wiehltal Bridge in Germany . The tanker crashed through the guardrail and fell 90 feet off the A4 Autobahn resulting in a huge explosion and fire which destroyed the load-bearing ability of the bridge. Temporary repairs cost $40 million and the cost to replace the bridge is estimated at $318 Million.

# 8. MetroLink Crash – $500 Million
On September 12, 2008, in what was one of the worst train crashes in California history, 25 people were killed when a Metrolink commuter train crashed head-on into a Union Pacific freight train in Los Angeles . It is thought that the Metrolink train may have run through a red signal while the conductor was busy text messaging. Wrongful death lawsuits are expected to cause $500 million in losses for Metrolink.

# 7. B-2 Bomber Crash – $1.4 Billion
Here we have our first billion dollar accident (and we’re only #7 on the list). This B-2 stealth bomber crashed shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam on February 23, 2008. Investigators blamed distorted data in the flight control computers caused by moisture in the system. This resulted in the aircraft making a sudden nose-up move which made the B-2 stall and crash. This was 1 of only 21 ever built and was the most expensive aviation accident in history. Both pilots were able to eject to safety.

# 6. Exxon Valdez – $2.5 Billion
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was not a large one in relation to the world’s biggest oil spills, but it was a costly one due to the remote location of Prince William Sound (accessible only by helicopter and boat). On March 24, 1989, 10.8 million gallons of oil was spilled when the ship’s master, Joseph Hazelwood, left the controls and the ship crashed into a Reef. The cleanup cost Exxon $2.5 billion.

# 5. Piper Alpha Oil Rig – $3.4 Billion
The world’s worst off-shore oil disaster. At one time, it was the world’s single largest oil producer, spewing out 317,000 barrels of oil per day. On July 6, 1988, as part of routine maintenance, technicians removed and checked safety valves which were essential in preventing dangerous build-up of liquid gas. There were 100 identical safety valves which were checked. Unfortunately, the technicians made a mistake and forgot to replace one of them. At 10 PM that same night, a technician pressed a start button for the liquid gas pumps and the world’s most expensive oil rig accident was set in motion.
Within 2 hours, the 300 foot platform was engulfed in flames. It eventually collapsed, killing 167 workers and resulting in $3.4 Billion in damages.

# 4. Challenger Explosion – $5.5 Billion
The Space Shuttle Challenger was destroyed 73 seconds after takeoff due on January 28, 1986 due to a faulty O-ring. It failed to seal one of the joints, allowing pressurized gas to reach the outside. This in turn caused the external tank to dump its payload of liquid hydrogen causing a massive explosion. The cost of replacing the Space Shuttle was $2 billion in 1986 ($4.5 billion in today’s dollars). The cost of investigation, problem correction, and replacement of lost equipment cost $450 million from 1986-1987 ($1 Billion in today’s dollars).

# 3. Prestige Oil Spill – $12 Billion
On November 13, 2002, the Prestige oil tanker was carrying 77,000 tons of heavy fuel oil when one of its twelve tanks burst during a storm off Galicia , Spain . Fearing that the ship would sink, the captain called for help from Spanish rescue workers, expecting them to take the ship into harbour. However, pressure from local authorities forced the captain to steer the ship away from the coast. The captain tried to get help from the French and Portuguese authorities, but they too ordered the ship away from their shores. The storm eventually took its toll on the ship resulting in the tanker splitting in half and releasing 20 million gallons oil into the sea.
According to a report by the Pontevedra Economist Board, the total cleanup cost $12 billion.

# 2. Space Shuttle Columbia – $13 Billion
The Space Shuttle Columbia was the first space worthy shuttle in NASA’s orbital fleet. It was destroyed during re-entry over Texas on February 1, 2003 after a hole was punctured in one of the wings during launch 16 days earlier. The original cost of the shuttle was $2 Billion in 1978. That comes out to $6.3 Billion in today’s dollars. $500 million was spent on the investigation, making it the costliest aircraft accident investigation in history. The search and recovery of debris cost $300 million.
In the end, the total cost of the accident (not including replacement of the shuttle) came out to $13 Billion according to the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

# 1. Chernobyl – $200 Billion
On April 26, 1986, the world witnessed the costliest accident in history. The Chernobyl disaster has been called the biggest socio-economic catastrophe in peacetime history. 50% of the area of Ukraine is in some way contaminated. Over 200,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled while 1.7 million people were directly affected by the disaster. The death toll attributed to Chernobyl , including people who died from cancer years later, is estimated at 125,000. The total costs including cleanup, resettlement, and compensation to victims has been estimated to be roughly $200 Billion. The cost of a new steel shelter for the Chernobyl nuclear plant will cost $2 billion alone. The accident was officially attributed to power plant operators who violated plant procedures and were ignorant of the safety requirements needed.

The Kashmir Opportunity

  According to Indian sources the militancy in Indian Held Kashmir is down by over 43% and in the recent elections the turnout was over 63% and compared to the previous election the violence during elections declined by 86%. India attributes this positive change to its effective counter insurgency measures, the elimination of militant leaders and the fact that the population is fed up of militancy and longing for normalcy. There is never any mention of the atrocities by Indian Security Forces and what the Kashmiris think of that.

 

  There is no acknowledgment of any steps by Pakistan that may have brought about these changes. After all the cease fire on the Line of Control is holding– though Indians routinely list violations by Pakistan. The Shri Amarnath Land Agitation triggered by India’s policy blunders could have been exploited to create anarchic conditions because it introduced extreme polarization in IHK with extremist Hindu organizations fanning the flames of violence—but this was not done. Indians also lose no opportunity to state that the infrastructure for the support of militancy is in tact in Pakistan and militants trained in ‘training camps’ are ready and waiting–yet no credit to Pakistan for holding these forces in check. Why?

 

  The reason is that any favorable statement about Pakistan and its commitment to settle issues through dialogue would undermine India’s multi front destabilisation campaign against Pakistan and the Indian design of maligning Pakistan internationally. It would also be against India’s deliberate policy of involving Pakistan as a state in the Mumbai terror attacks–though there are no takers for these accusations. To cover up its lack of reciprocity India reasons that it is Pakistan’s economic decline and internal instability that prevents Pakistan from supporting militancy in Kashmir. The fallacy in this argument is that Pakistan committed itself to a dialogue and eschewed the use of force long before its internal problems began.

 

  In fact Indian logic would therefore dictate that Pakistan must be further destabilized internally so that it cannot interfere in IHK. Pakistan has been saying that India is using Afghan territory to spread terror in Swat, FATA, Baluchistan, NWFP and even deeper in Pakistan. Recently there has been a surge in the activity in these regions as India implements its policy of pressure on Pakistan This explains the violent reaction in India to the plain speaking by David Miliband. It also explains India’s rabid opposition to any US special envoy to help resolve the Kashmir dispute because it is the single most important reason for conflict and hostility. India is exploiting the situation for its covert policy against Pakistan.

 

  India’s current policy is short-sighted and expedient. Pakistanis are wondering why they should be making any overture towards India if there is going to be no reciprocity and offers of cooperation are going to be met with hostility. There are also those who argue that asymmetric actions should continue as it is the only way to check Indian ambitions and stop it from using Afghanistan to destabilize Pakistan. There is an opportunity here that is being wasted because India does not have the heart of the big power that it wants to become. India must restart dialogue and begin the process of cooperation in Afghanistan and not destabilize the region for its narrow interests and ambitions.

U.S.–India Strategic Partnership on Laser-Based Missile Defense

by Lisa Curtis and James Jay Carafano, Ph.D.

WebMemo #2250

Last week, the Press Trust of India reported that defense officials intend to produce a laser capable of shooting down enemy ballistic missiles. The United States is a global leader in directed-energy defenses, including both low and high-powered lasers. American military research is also highly advanced in the technologies of acquiring targets as well as the command, control, and battle management systems necessary to identify and direct weapons to destroy missiles and other targets. In recent years, the United States and India have increased bilateral cooperation in a range of defense, counterterrorism, and homeland security areas. This cooperation is helping increase trust and confidence between the two nations while fostering security, stability, and prosperity in Asia. Working together on directed-energy developments offers a significant opportunity to strengthen the U.S.-India strategic partnership.

India Goes to Light Speed
The United States and India share many security concerns, such as the threat of ballistic missiles. V. K. Saraswat of the Defense Research and Development Organization rightly told the Press Times of India: “If you have a laser-based system on an airborne or seaborne platform, it can travel at the speed of light and in a few seconds, [and] we can kill a ballistic missile coming towards [India].” India’s interest in developing directed energy defenses is understandable, as lasers have several distinct advantages. Such weapons:

• Can use a high-powered beam of energy to disable electrical components or detonate explosives, rendering the attack means such as the warhead or body of a missile useless;
• Come with an almost infinite magazine–as long as the weapons have power, they can be recharged and fired again;
• Can be aimed effectively using existing target acquisition systems (such as radars) and command and control systems (such as a computer battle management network); and
• Can be employed with a minimum of risk toward surrounding civilians, buildings, or vehicles (such as aircraft, cars, and ships).

In addition, lasers are versatile. While high-powered lasers address ballistic missile threats, low-powered lasers have a number of potential security uses, from disabling small boats to downing shoulder-fired missiles to intercepting rockets and mortars. All these uses have application to Indian security concerns.

It is also worth noting that missile defenses, such as high-powered lasers, limit the potential for regional conflict. Missile defenses serve as important deterrents, undermining the effectiveness of enemy threats. They also provide an alternative to massive retaliation in the face of an actual attack. The security provided by missile defenses actually limits the likelihood of armed escalation or an arms race and makes diplomacy more effective. It is no coincidence that the greatest strides in reducing the nuclear arsenals came in the late 1980s, at the same time the U.S. was pursuing the Strategic Defense Initiative. A world with effective missile defenses is safer and more stable.

American Arsenal
The United States has significant research and development capabilities regarding the application of lasers for national security uses. The Tactical High-Energy Laser (THEL) is one such experimental system tested by the U.S. Army. Development of the THEL began in 1996 as a joint program between the United States and Israel to develop a laser system capable of shooting down Katyusha rockets, artillery, and mortar shells. The THEL system uses radar to detect and track incoming targets. This information is then transferred to an optical tracking system, which refines the target tracking and positions the beam director. The deuterium fluoride chemical laser then fires, hitting the rocket or shell and causing it to explode far short of its intended target. More recently, the Army has experimented with low-power commercial solid-state lasers.

Another system under development in the United States is the Airborne Laser (ABL). The ABL is a system that uses a megawatt chemical laser mounted on a modified Boeing 747 to shoot down theater ballistic missiles. The megawatt-class laser was first successfully tested at full power in early 2006. The system is still under development.

A Shared Security Interest
The American record of military laser research and its many cooperative ventures with friendly and allied powers suggests that a joint U.S.-Indian directed energy program is certainly achievable. The shared interests of both nations in promoting security and stability in Asia also indicates they have a common cause in developing military technologies that would lessen the potential for conflict while effectively countering terrorism. The U.S. should explore opportunities for joint development of cutting edge directed energy technologies–lasers–with India as part of overall missile defense dialogue and deepening of military-to-military ties.

Lisa Curtis is Senior Research Fellow in the Asian Studies Center, and James Jay Carafano, Ph.D., is Assistant Director of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for International Studies and Senior Research Fellow in the Douglas and Sarah Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation.

PAKISTAN CAN DO THE JOB

by Harlan Ullman

January 31ST, 2009

The Obama administration well appreciates the critical importance of Afghanistan, Pakistan and by extension India to the security of the United States, NATO, Europe and the region.   More over, its most senior officials have direct experience and deep understanding of the stakes involved.  Vice President Joe Biden chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  National Security Advisor James Jones was the former NATO commander when NATO took command of the International Security Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan.  And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spent four years on the Senate Armed Service Committee addressing these issues.

That said, reality rather than ideology must dominate the policies that the United States, NATO and other friends pursue if success is to be achieved in the region.  By success, the current security and economic crises confronting Afghanistan and Pakistan must be contained.  That will be a Sisyphean labor even though the conceptual solutions for resolving Pakistan’s crises are not difficult to identify.

Regarding Afghanistan, make no mistake.  The West is losing.  The insurgencies and instabilities in Afghanistan cannot be defeated by military force.  Unless or until the civil sector is reformed—meaning creating jobs, establishing the rule of law, fielding a fair and effective judicial and police system, reducing corruption, stemming the narcotics epidemics and instituting better governance—-Afghanistan will remain a failed state.  Tragically, neither NATO nor the European Union has been able to respond to this necessity and the United States has fared no better.

The strategic conclusion is that to bring a measure of stability to Afghanistan, the key is to pacify Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and its North West Frontier Province (NWFP). To accomplish that, Pakistan must resolve its own economic and security crises.  Unlike Iraq or Afghanistan, given the proper tools, Pakistan can do the job without the need for foreign forces that would be rejected by the Pakistani people who have a solemn view of sovereignty and will not tolerate its infringement.

Tools in this case mean money and assistance. Pakistan needs an additional $4-5 billion a year above what it is getting from the international community.  The bulk of that money would go into its economy that is in dire shape.  Beyond the balance of payments deficit that has only been temporarily closed by IMF loans, money for food, energy and critically needed infrastructure development is essential.

A little more than an additional billion dollars a year is needed for Pakistan’s security forces.  About $200 million would be used to recruit, train and equip an additional 15,000 police and Frontier Corpsman a year.  Unlike Iraq and Afghanistan, Pakistan has the manpower and the infrastructure to accomplish that task.  It lacks the money.  The remainder would buy the equipment the Army desperately needs to fight and win the counterinsurgencies in FATA and NWFP including more helicopters, surveillance and electronic systems, precision guided weapons and force protection gear for its troops, trucks and bases as well as training to maintain this equipment.

But huge roadblocks impede providing Pakistan the tools to let them do the job.  In the midst of the worst economic implosion since the great depression, who can afford the increased funding?  Given Pakistan’s history, guarantees are vital to ensuring the proper use of that money with full oversight and transparency.  Unfortunately, the prior government of Pervez Musharraf chose to spend over 2/3 of America’s $10 billion in total coalition support funding intended for the Pakistani army on other items without informing anyone–a revelation unlikely to go down well in Washington.

To overcome these obstacles, the new Pakistani government is developing strategies to cope with the economic and security crises and will soon take them on the road.  Those strategies must answer the tough questions that will be raised by skeptical friends who, while understanding the criticality of succeeding in the region, need reassurances that future monies will be worth the investment and well spent.  And only Pakistan can make those guarantees work.

Two recommendations are vital if Pakistan is to succeed.  First, in addition to creating workable economic and security strategies, the Pakistani government must demonstrate that it is capable of executing them.  That means it needs to coordinate far better both its policies and the means to articulate the message.  Second, the West must recognize that Pakistan is the key to success in the region and thus to safeguarding our security in the process.  Unlike global bailouts for the financial systems that total trillions and stimulative packages of about the same level, Pakistan can succeed with a mere fraction of that largesse.  Still, this will be a very tough sell.

To paraphrase Churchill, if we are to succeed,  “give Pakistan the tools and Pakistan can do the job.”

---

Harlan Ullman is senior advisor to The Atlantic Council in Washington, DC and to US European Command. He is a frequent visitor to Pakistan.

Girl weds dog to break ‘evil spell’

A nine-year-old tribal girl in eastern India has married a stray dog as part of a ritual to ward off an “evil spell” on her, Indian newspapers have reported.

The girl promised to “take care of the dog”

The girl, Karnamoni Handsa, had to be married quickly because she had a tooth rooted to her upper gum, which is considered a bad omen by her Santhal tribe in the remote village of Khanyhan, about 60 kilometres (37 miles) from Calcutta.

“Members of the village jury asked us to get her married to a dog or to face the bad omen,” the girl’s father was quoted as saying by the AFP news agency.

The tribe elders said the marriage would not affect the girl’s life, and that she would be free to marry again later and did not need to divorce the dog.

“It will not spoil her future. We will marry her off to eligible bachelor when she grows up,” the girl’s mother told AFP.

‘No regret’

The wedding – which took place on 11 June – was attended by more than 100 guests, who danced to the beating of drums and drank home-made liquor.

“I have no regret in marrying the dog Bacchan. I am fond of the dog who moves around our locality,” the girl told the AFP.

“Bacchan is a stray dog who survives on left-overs. I will take care of the dog,” she added.

Indian newspapers reported that local police officials had ordered an inquiry into the incident.

The Santhals – most of whom are sharecroppers – are a large tribe living in the states of West Bengal and neighbouring Bihar and Jharkhand.

A South Asian Story

Technorati Tags: new-president,russia,pakistan,kashmir,mumbai-terror,India

Raven Gale
http://raven-gale.newsvine.com/

Technorati Tags: new-president,russia,pakistan,kashmir,mumbai-terror

The US has a new President. He has appointed a special envoy for Afghanistan-Pakistan. US has decided to increase non-military aid to Pakistan but linked to Pakistan’s management of its border situation with Afghanistan. The US is telling Pakistan that it will do more if Pakistan does more.

Russia has chosen this time to respond to President Karzai’s November 2008 request for support. The Russian President has indicated willingness for broad support and cooperation in specific areas. The US CENTCOM is looking for alternative supply routes to Afghanistan because the best and most direct route through Pakistan is not reliable. The only alternative route is through Russia or the Central Asian States—an area of Russian interest and influence. The EU faced gas supply interruption through Ukraine recently. Russia has linkages with the former Northern Alliance that is now the mainstay of the US backed government in Afghanistan. Russia is resurgent and asserting itself in its former sphere of influence—that included Iran.

India is not amused over recent references to Kashmir by the US and more recently by the British Foreign Secretary. India also does not like the fact that there is general acceptance that Pakistan as a state was not involved in the Mumbai terror. India wants the stand-off with Pakistan to continue. India fears more such attacks if Pakistan does not move against non-state actors and the infrastructure that supports them. India says it has provided evidence. Pakistan calls it information but has promised to investigate. The dialogue between the two countries has been put on hold by India. India has general elections this year.

Pakistan faces an insurgency in its west that has its roots and backing in Southern Afghanistan but an agenda of its own. Pakistan is carrying out determined military action but lacks a full spectrum counterinsurgency strategy. Pakistan thinks India and the Afghan government are in cahoots to destabilize Pakistan and the US is looking the other way. Pakistan has internal stability and political problems. Pakistan faces a difficult economic situation. Pakistan does not want a confrontation with India and it wants Afghanistan to stabilize—it offers cooperation and joint investigations. Pakistan is alive to the geopolitical and geostrategic realities of its location—especially with reference to Russia and China.

2009 will be a busy and eventful year in greater South Asia.

Shouting matches in the palace

Radio Netherlands

01/09/0212
By Bette Dam
[Printer Friendly Version]

NATO chief Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has cast off his politeness. Although the alliance is in Afghanistan at the invitation of its President Hamid Karzai, widespread corruption within the administration led Mr de Hoop Scheffer to publicly criticise the Kabul government in an opinion piece in the Washington Post. Behind the scenes discussions with the president about his weak administration are said to have been going on for much longer.

When visiting the country, corruption and an inefficient Afghan government are impossible to escape. Some are just relatively innocent incidents, like my interpreter having to pay substantial bribes to renew his driving licence, hotel owners receiving annoying visits by fake tax inspectors, students whose permission to go and study in India has been “sold on”.

A stronger signal about Afghanistan’s disturbed society came from a secret service director and good friend of Mr Karzai, who warned me not to go out onto the streets of Kabul. Taking a taxi together with my interpreter was out of the question. He said at the time, it was not just the Taliban that formed the problem; “our own police are very dangerous too.”

It is assumed all too easily that the Taliban are behind attacks, kidnappings or roadside bombings. But things are more complicated that that. Government appointments make the administration weak, unrealiable and unsafe. In the southern provinces of Kandahar, Helmand and Uruzgan, figureheads are in power who have been providing support to Mr Karzai since 2001. NATO appears incapable of acting against them. Mr Karzai is not selecting these men for their education or knowledge; in this complicated tribal society other factors are at play.

Begging
Army leaders and diplomats regularly visit the palace to plead for certain appointments to be cancelled or for corrupt Afghan officials to be sacked. At night, these very officals pay a visit to the president. He shares a past with them or even a family relationship. Or he may need their help to ward off hostile groups or factions.

Outright shouting matches in the palace are the result of this tussling about positions, I have been told. The president is “wheeling and dealing”, ostensibly firing a crony who is then allowed to continue his shady work away from the limelight. Mr Karzai appears to be governing from one day to another, for the sake of his mere survival.

Camp Holland
A Dutch diplomat in Camp Holland told me that the Netherlands, a NATO member, is simply waiting for the appointment of a new president. “Only then will something change in the area.” The Dutch have repeatedly criticised Uruzgan’s local Education Minister, Mualim Rachmatullah. He has been in power in Uruzgan since Mr Karzai’s reign and is likely to remain there.

The Dutch I spoke to say he is a crook: you cannot conclude any agreements with him, the money is disappearing, and the man is mainly focused on his own building companies, people in Camp Holland have told me. The Dutch want to build schools in Uruzgan but are frustrated by the unreliable education minister, who continues to enjoy Mr Karzai’s support.

NATO will go on supporting Mr Karzai, but is hoping that the president will not avoid making political choices. Some Afghans in Tarin Kowt have had enough. They are facing an impossible choice given the increasing hostility towards the government, which the Taliban are quick to exploit. One man who supported President Karzai when he came to power, is desperate:

“Is there a third way? Something totally new, no Karzai, no Taliban, but something else?”

The book ‘Expedition Uruzgan, Hamid Karzai’s road to the palace’ by Bette Dam will be published early this year (in Dutch).

Indians flee Dubai as dreams crash

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

http://news.indiainfo.com/2009/01/14/0901140643_indians_flee_dubai_dreams_crash.html

Dubai: It’s the great escape by Indians whove hit the dead-end in Dubai.
Local police have found at least 3,000 automobiles – sedans, SUVs, regulars – abandoned outside Dubai International Airport in the last four months. Police say most of the vehicles had keys in the ignition, a clear sign they were left behind by owners in a hurry to take flight.
The global economic crisis has brought Dubai’s economic progress, mirrored by its soaring towers and luxurious resorts, to a stuttering halt. Several people have been laid off in the past months after the realty boom started unraveling.
On the night of December 31, 2008 alone more than 80 vehicles were found at the airport. "Sixty cars were seized on the first day of this year," director general of Airport Security, Mohammed Bin Thani, told DNA over the phone. On the same day, deputy director of traffic, colonel Saif Mohair Al Mazroui, said they seized 22 cars abandoned at a prohibited area in the airport.
Faced with a cash crunch and a bleak future ahead, there were no goodbyes for the migrants – overwhelmingly South Asian’s, mostly Indians – just a quiet abandoning of the family car at the airport and other places.
While 2,500 vehicles have been found dumped in the past four months outside Terminal III, which caters to all global airlines, Terminal II, which is only used by Emirates Airlines, had 160 cars during the same period.
"The construction and real estate industry has been hit following the global slowdown and the direct fallout is that professionals working in the realty industry are rapidly losing their jobs," said a senior media professional, in-charge of a realty supplement in Dubai. "In fact, my weekly real estate supplement usually had 60% advertisement and ran into 300-odd pages. In the last seven weeks, its down to 80 pages and with fewer advertisments," he added.
Mumbai resident D Nair (name changed) had been living in a plush highrise in Sharjah for the past four years. However, the script went horribly wrong when his contract was terminated. Nair used all his credit cards to their maximum limit, shopping for people back home. He then discarded his Honda Accord before returning to India for good. Nair, who stays in a rented apartment in Navi Mumbai today, has a Rs15 lakh loan with a Dubai bank.
Another such victim of the meltdown said he bid goodbye to his car in a small bylane near the airport and hailed a cab. "I was scared because a number of us were doing the same and did not want to be questioned by the police. There was no way I could afford to pay the EMI of 1100 Dhirams for my Ford Focus," he told DNA on condition of anonymity.
When contacted, the dealer for Asgar Ali cars in Sharjah said, "We are helpless and do not know how to tackle this issue. A large number of such owners are from Indian, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other South Asian countries."

India ready for war? Forces grapple with delays, red tape

Rajan Pandit | Times of India

NEW DELHI: For all its aspirations about becoming a superpower, India continues to fumble in formulating strategic plans to systematically build the country’s military "capabilities" in tune with its geopolitical objectives.

For one, the government is yet to finalise the 11th Defence Plan (2007-2012) due to wrangling between the finance and defence ministries. For another, similar is the fate of the much-touted LTIPP-2007-2022 (long-term integrated perspective plan) till now, say sources.

"Successive governments have failed to formulate budgetary plans with a concrete strategic underpinning," said a top official. India does spend a lot on arms deals but it happens in a haphazard manner, without clear prioritisation, and is dogged by huge delays.

India’s defence expenditure, of course, has also fallen below 2% of its GDP for the first time in decades this fiscal despite military experts demanding at least 3%. Even as UPA government now belatedly fast-tracks procurement of military hardware and software in wake of 26/11, here’s a look at some of the gaps in military capabilities:

Nuclear Deterrence: India has Agni missiles as well as fighters to deliver nukes but no nuclear-powered submarines armed with nuclear-tipped missiles. The "nuclear triad" is still some four years away from completion, with the 25-year-old indigenous programme to build nuclear subs under the ATV (advanced technology vessel) project yet to come to fruition.

Submarines: To China’s 57 attack submarines and submarine-launched ballistic missiles, India has just 16 aging diesel-electric submarines, with huge serviceability problems. Only half of Navy’s 10 Russian Kilo-class, four German HDW and two virtually-obsolete Foxtrot submarines are operationally available. The Rs 18,798-crore Scorpene project will deliver six submarines only between 2012 and 2017. Pakistan, meanwhile, is building its submarine arm, inducting three French Agosta-90B vessels.

Fighters: Airpower may be decisive during wars but IAF continues to grapple with a free-fall in its fighter squadrons, down to 32 from its sanctioned strength of 39.5. Though 44 squadrons are needed to meet "a full conflict" with Pakistan, while maintaining "a dissuasive posture" against China, IAF will reach the 39.5 mark only by 2017. Delays in both the indigenous Tejas Light Combat Aircraft as well as the procurement process for 126 new multi-role combat fighters in the $10.4 billion project has led to this situation.

Artillery: The Bofors ghost has derailed Army’s artillery modernisation plan, valued to be well over Rs 15,000 crore. There has been no induction of big guns since the 1986 procurement of 410 Bofors 155mm/39-calibre howitzers. Army wants to induct 400 155mm/52-calibre towed guns, with another 1,100 of them to be manufactured indigenously, in a Rs 8,000-crore project; 180 wheeled self-propelled howitzers for around Rs 4,700 crore; 140 air-mobile ultra-light howitzers for around Rs 2,900 crore.

Night-Fighting: Army, in particular, requires a strong dose of third-generation thermal imaging sights and night-vision devices. It wants to equip all its tanks, which include 1,200 T-72 tanks, with solid NF capabilities by around 2010-2011.

Aircraft Carriers: Navy has long demanded three carriers but it does not have even one operating at present since the ageing 28,000-tonne INS Viraat is currently undergoing another life-extension refit to ensure it can run for five more years.

Indian army ‘backed out’ of Pakistan attack

Siddharth Srivastava | Asia Times

NEW DELHI – Reluctance for battle by an ill-prepared army could have resulted in India not launching an attack on Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pakistan-linked terror attack in the Indian city of Mumbai on November 26 in which nearly 200 people died.

High-level government sources have told Asia Times Online that army commanders impressed on the political leadership in New Delhi that an inadequate and obsolete arsenal at their disposal mitigated against an all-out war.

The navy and air force, however, had given the government the go-ahead about their preparedness to carry out an attack and repulse any retaliation from Pakistan.

Over the past few weeks, it has become increasingly apparent from top officials in the know that the closed-door meetings of top military commanders and political leaders discussed the poor state of the armory (both ammunition and artillery), and that this tilted the balance in favor of not striking at Pakistan.

According to senior officials, following the attack on Mumbai by 10 militants linked to Pakistan, India’s top leadership looked at two options closely – war and hot pursuit.

Largely for the reasons cited above, the notion of an all-out war was rejected. Hot pursuit, however, remains very much on the table.

The government sources say that a framework for covert operations is being put in place, although India will continue to deny such actions. Crack naval, air and army forces backed by federal intelligence agencies will be involved. The target areas will be Pakistan-administered Kashmir and areas along the Punjab, such as Multan, where some of the Mumbai attackers are believed to have been recruited.

The coastal belt from the southern port city of Karachi to Gwadar in Balochistan province will also be under active Indian surveillance.

Thumbs down to war

Following the Mumbai attack, New Delhi’s inclination was to launch a quick strike against Pakistan to impress domestic opinion, and then be prepared for a short war, given the pressures that would be exercised by international powers for a ceasefire to prevent nuclear war breaking out.

The expectation of New Delhi was that the war would go beyond the traditional skirmishes involving artillery fire that take place at the Kashmir border, essentially to check infiltration by militants, or the brief but bloody exchanges at Kargil in 1999.

It was in this context that the army made it apparent that it was not equipped to fight such a war, given the military’s presence along the eastern Chinese borders, and that India was at risk of ceding territory should an instant ceasefire be brokered with Pakistan.

This would have been highly embarrassing, not to mention political suicide for the Congress-led government in an election year. So instead, New Delhi restricted itself to a strident diplomatic offensive that continues to date, and the option of hot pursuit.

The air force, on the other hand, was confident that it was prepared to take on the first retaliatory action by Pakistan, expected at forward air force bases along India’s borders in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Indian-administered Kashmir. The role of the navy in the operations was not clearly defined, but it was to cover from the Arabian Sea.

Not ready to fight

Various experts, former generals and independent reports have voiced concern over the past few years about the state of preparedness of the Indian army.

For example, the Bofors gun scandal of the 1980s stymied the army’s artillery modernization plan, with no induction of powerful guns since the 1986 purchase of 410 Bofors 155mm/39-caliber howitzers. The army has been trying to introduce 400 such guns from abroad and another 1,100 manufactured domestically, without success.

The latest report by the independent Comptroller and Auditor General said the state’s production of 23mm ammunition for Shilka anti-aircraft cannons and 30mm guns mounted on infantry combat vehicles lacked quality. Further, supply was nearly 35% short of requirements.

India’s huge tank fleet is in bad shape due to a shortage of Russian spare parts, while indigenous efforts, such as the main battle tank Arjun, have failed.

Signs of trouble emerged during the Kargil war when it was revealed that India’s defense forces were dealing with acute shortages in every sphere.

In remarks that underscored the problems, the then-army chief, V P Malik, said his forces would make do with whatever was in hand, given the fears of a full-scale war that was eventually avoided due to pressure by America, then under president Bill Clinton.

The Kargil review committee report noted, "The heavy involvement of the army in counter-insurgency operations cannot but affect its preparedness for its primary role, which is to defend the country against external aggression."

Although there have been attempts to hasten India’s overall defense modernization program, estimated at over US$50 billion over the next five years, gaping holes need to be plugged, including corruption and massive delays in the defense procurement processes.

India’s defense expenditure has dipped below 2% of gross domestic product for the first time in decades, despite experts pegging 3% as adequate.

Other defense arms are in dire need of enhancement. Fighter jet squadrons are much below required strength, while the bidding process for medium fighter planes has only just begun and may take a few years to complete.

Meanwhile, the prospects of an India-Pakistan conflict are not over. India’s army chief, General Deepak Kapoor, said last week that Pakistan had redeployed troops from its Afghan border to the western frontier with India. "The Indian army has factored this in its planning," Kapoor said.

Siddharth Srivastava is a New Delhi-based journalist. He can be reached at sidsri@yahoo.com.

The Dossier Difficulty

  Before Pakistan got the Mumbai Dossier from India the general perception was that the Mumbai attack was a meticulously planned operation and that none except professionals had anything to do with it. After all ten persons attacking multiple targets to bring a massive city to a halt and put a country into a tailspin had to be very special people trained and launched by even more special people. So when the Indian finger pointed in the only direction it can point to –Pakistan and its military and  ISI—there were some takers.

 

  After the Mumbai dossier has been made public people are confused. The dossier details a badly botched operation that succeeded only because of the incompetence and many lapses of the Indians themselves. The attackers look like complete nincompoops. They were carrying pickle, shaving cream and other toiletries all made in Pakistan. Even the dinghy engine had the Pakistani manufacturers name in plain view. These people called numbers in Pakistan to get instructions at every single step lest they be confused with anyone except a Pakistani. One attacker miraculously survived to tell the tale and has been accepted as a Pakistani after an investigation. Pakistan is following up on the information provided by this survivor even though he obviously gave it under extreme interrogation.

 

  The dossier raises several questions. What was the aim of the attack—hostage taking, suicide bombing or random killing? The attackers seem to have done a bit of all these without any conclusive results. What was the purpose of the operation? Mayhem or terror or economic destruction or some kind of message to meet their demands—again they failed on many counts. Why leave a clear trail pointing at Pakistan with planted items? No explanation answers this question except that they wanted India-Pakistan relations put on the previous hostility track and perhaps lead to a conflict situation. Is it in Pakistan’s interest to do any of these things? Obviously not—Pakistan would not want a problem with India because of the threat across its western borders and the fact that Pakistan has been totally committed to the composite dialogue with India. Who would want deterioration in the India-Pakistan situation? Non-state actors within India and Pakistan using local infrastructures.

 

  The situation calls for a joint investigation and a resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan. The pre-condition can be that the purpose will be to find the planners, perpetrators and their collaborators so that they can be brought to justice. Blame, pressure and threats will not bring closure—it can create complications and lead to unpredictable consequences. The world has accepted that Pakistan as a state is not involved. Pakistan has offered joint investigation. Pakistan is also investigating and taking action. India needs to reciprocate.

 

Pakistan nets Al Qaeda man ‘wanted for London attacks’

Photo: AFP

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistani forces on Wednesday arrested a Saudi, senior Al-Qaeda operative allegedly wanted in connection with the 2005 attacks on London in a lightning raid in the country’s lawless tribal belt. Security stormed a militant den in the northwestern city of Peshawar, capturing the operative and six other suspected militants, a senior Pakistani security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The official said the Al-Qaeda operative was wanted for the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings in London, and named him as Zabi ul Taifi. “He’s been arrested in the northwestern city of Peshawar this morning. The suspect has been shifted to Islamabad for interrogation,” the official said. “It was a well-planned raid carried out against a militant den. The culprits were caught off guard and captured without resistance,” the official said. Another security official described the Saudi national as a plotter of the July 7 bombings that killed 52 commuters in the English capital. US and NATO officials say that Pakistan’s rugged, northwest tribal belt have become safe havens for militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda who fled neighbouring Afghanistan after the 2001 US-led invasion. Local officials in Pakistan confirmed the arrests and said American investigators were present at the time of the operation. An unmanned surveillance drone was spotted in the sky at the time of the raid, the local officials said.

The raid came four days after British Foreign Secretary David Miliband left Pakistan for talks largely aimed at defusing tensions with the Muslim country fellow nuclear armed neighbour, India after the  David Miliband. “We are investigating the reports,” said a spokesman for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London when asked about Wednesday’s arrests. Four suicide bombers, three of ethnic Pakistani origin, blew themselves up on the public transport system in London, killing themselves and 52 others while wounding more than 700 commuters. At least two of the four bombers were known to have visited Pakistan in the months before the attacks.

Wednesday’s raid was carried out at the house of a Pakistani man called Bakshi Khan where the outskirts of Peshawar run into the lawless suburb of Bara on the edge of the sprawling city, officials said. Some of the other six suspected militants arrested were Afghans, said the senior security official. Deep into the neighbouring district of Mohmand, closer to the Afghan border than Peshawar, 24 militants were killed when Pakistani forces shelled extremist hideouts from helicopter gunships, security officials told AFP. Troops have waged a crackdown in the known Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold, where security officials said 60 militants were killed on Monday and Tuesday.

Pakistan rejects Western accusations that it is not doing enough to tackle the extremist threat within its own borders, where a wave of attacks carried out by fundamentalists have killed more than 1,500 people in 17 months. Dozens of suspected US missile strikes have hit militant targets in Pakistan, sparking anger and concern from Islamabad, an ally of the US. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer was due to arrive in Islamabad late on Wednesday for talks with Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership, said a foreign ministry official. Scheffer has called for another 10,000 troops to help provide security for elections across the border in Afghanistan this year, on top of the 51,000-strong NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on the ground. Last month, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged six million pounds (nine million dollars) to help Pakistan tackle militancy. Britain says it has a vested interest in trying to help Islamabad, as the majority of terror plots investigated by British authorities in London have links back to Pakistan.

Are the Jews not ‘the chosen race’ then?

Indisputable statistics!

 

WAKE UP

The figures are speaking themselves very loudly we are unable to / listen.  (Even if only 50% is true)

Some Thoughts                                  

 

Demographics:,

World  Jewish Population                             14 million,

Distribution:

America                                                          7 Million

Asia                                                                 5 Million

Europe                                                            2 Million

Africa                                                              100 Thousand

 

World Muslim Population                              1.5 billion

Distribution:

Asia/Mid-East                                                            1 billion

Africa                                                              400 Million

Europe                                                            44 Million

Americas                                                        6 Million

 

Every fifth human being is a Muslim.

For every single Hindu there are two Muslims

For every Buddhist there are two Muslims

For every Jew there are 107 Muslims

 

Yet the 14 million Jews are more powerful than the entire 1.5 / billion Muslims   Why?

 

Here are some of the reasons.

Movers of Current History

Albert Einstein                                                                       Jewish

Sigmund Freud                                                                       Jewish

Karl Marx                                                                               Jewish

Paul Samuelson                                                                      Jewish

Milton Friedman                                                                    Jewish

 

 

Medical Milestones

Vaccinating / Needle .Benjamin Ruben                                 Jewish

Polio Vaccine / Jonas Salk                                                     Jewish

Leukemia Drug / Gertrude Elion                                           Jewish

Hepatitis B / Baruch Blumberg                                              Jewish

Syphilis Drug / Paul Ehrlich                                                  Jewish

Neuro muscular / Elie Metchnikoff                                       Jewish

Endocrinology / Andrew Schally                                           Jewish

Cognitive therapy / Aaron Beck                                            Jewish

Contraceptive Pill / Gregory Pincus                                      Jewish

Understanding of Human Eye / G. Wald                               Jewish

Embryology / Stanley Cohen                                                 Jewish

Kidney Dialysis / Willem Kloffcame                                                Jewish

 

Nobel Prize Winners

In the past 105 years / 14 million Jews have won 180 Nobel / prizes whilst 1.5 billion Muslims have contributed only 3 Nobel / winners

 

Inventions that changed History

Micro- Processing Chip / Stanley Mezor                              Jewish

Nuclear Chain Reactor / Leo Sziland                                    Jewish

Optical Fiber Cable / Peter Schultz                                       Jewish

Traffic Lights / Charles Adler                                                           Jewish

Stainless Steel / Benno Strauss                                              Jewish

Sound Movies / Isador Kisee                                                 Jewish

Telephone Microphone / Emile Berliner                               Jewish

Video Tape Recorder / Charles Ginsburg                              Jewish

 

Influential Global Business

Polo / Ralph Lauren                                                               Jewish

Coca Cola                                                                               Jewish

Levi’s Jeans / Levi Strauss                                                     Jewish

Sawbuck’s / Howard Schultz                                                  Jewish

Google / Sergey Brin                                                              Jewish

Dell Computers / Michael Dell                                              Jewish

Oracle / Larry Ellison                                                            Jewish

DKNY / Donna Karan                                                            Jewish

Baskin & Robbins / Irv Robbins                                            Jewish

Dunkin Donuts / Bill Rosenberg                                            Jewish

 

Influential Intellectuals/Politicians

Henry Kissinger / US Sec of State                                         Jewish

Richard Levin / President Yale University                            Jewish

Alan Greenspan / US Federal Reserve                                   Jewish

Joseph Lieberman / US Sec of State                                      Jewish

Madeleine Albright / US Sec of State                                               Jewish

Casper Weinberger / US Sec of Defense                               Jewish

Maxim Litvinov / USSR Foreign Minister                            Jewish

David Marshal            /  Singapore Chief Minister                          Jewish

Isaacs Isaacs / Gov-Gen. Australia                                        Jewish

Benjamin Disraeli / British Statesman                                  Jewish

Yevgeny Primakov / Russian PM                                          Jewish

Barry Goldwater / US Politician                                            Jewish

Jorge Sampaio / President Portugal                                       Jewish

Herb Gray / Canadian Deputy – PM                                      Jewish

Pierre Mendes / French PM                                                   Jewish

Michael Howard / British Home Sec.                                                Jewish

Bruno Kriesky / Austrian Chancellor                                                Jewish

Robert Rubin / US Sec of Treasury                                       Jewish

 

Global Media Influential

Wolf Blitzer / CNN                                                                Jewish

Barbara Walters / ABC News                                                            Jewish

EugeneMeyer / Washington Post                                           Jewish

Henry Grunwald / Time Magazine                                        Jewish

Katherine Graham / Washington Post                                               Jewish

Joseph Lelyeld / New York Times                                         Jewish

Max Frankel / New York Times                                            Jewish

 

Global Philanthropists

George Soros                                                                          Jewish

Walter Annenberg                                                                  Jewish

 

Why are they powerful?   Why are Muslims powerless?

Here’s another reason. We have lost the capacity to produce knowledge.

In the entire Muslim World (57 Muslim Countries) there are only 500 / universities. In USA alone 5,758 universities. In India alone 8,407 universities. Not one university in the entire Islamic World features in the Top 500 Ranking Universities of the World. Literacy in the Christian World  90%. Literacy in the Muslim World  40%. 15 Christian majority-countries  literacy rate 100%. Muslim majority – countries None. 98% in Christian countries completed primary. Only 50% in Muslim countries completed primary. 40% in Christian countries attended university. In Muslim countries a dismal 2% attended. Muslim majority countries have 230 scientists per one million Muslims. The USA has 5000 per million . The Christian world 1000 technicians per million. Entire Arab World only 50 technicians per million. Muslim World spends on research/development 0.2% of GDP / Christian World spends 5 % of GDP

 

Conclusion

The Muslim World lacks the capacity to produce knowledge.

Another way of testing the degree of knowledge is the degree of / diffusing knowledge. / Pakistan 23 daily newspapers per 1000 citizens / Singapore 460 per 1000 citizens. / In UK book titles per million is 2000 / In Egypt book titles per million is only 17

 

Conclusion

Muslim World is failing to diffuse knowledge

Applying Knowledge is another such test. / Exports of high tech products from Pakistan is 0.9% of its exports. / In Saudi Arabia is 0.2% / Kuwait  / Morocco and Algeria 0.3% / Singapore alone is 68%

 

Conclusion

Muslim World is failing to apply knowledge.

What do you conclude? no need to tell the figures are speaking / themselves very loudly we are unable to listen

 

Advice                       

Please educate yourself and your children. always promote education, / don’t compromise on it / don’t ignore your children’s slightest / misguidance from education (and please / for God’s Sake / don’t use your / personal contacts or sources to promote your children in their / education; if they fail / let them and make them learn to pass if they / can’t do it now / they can’t ever).

We are World’s biggest and strongest nation / all we need is to / identify and explore our own selves. Our victory is with our / knowledge / our creativity / our literacy…And nothing else.

….Wake up…

Afghanistan allies ‘equally responsible’: ministry

The Afghan government said Sunday its foreign allies must share the responsibility for the country’s dire situation, hitting back at NATO charges that it was almost as much to blame as insurgents. It was responding to comments by NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer accusing it of corruption and inefficiency and saying the country’s problem was “not too much Taliban; it’s too little good governance.” The comments, in an opinion piece for The Washington Post newspaper, were an unusually strong expression of the alliance’s dissatisfaction with the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

“Afghanistan and the international community are equally responsible, both for the gains and problems of the past seven years,” foreign ministry spokesman Baheen told AFP in response to De Hoop Scheffer’s article. This included failure stop an insurgency led by the extremist Taliban regime toppled in a US-led invasion in late 2001; the country’s illegal drugs trade and corruption in government, Baheen said. “Afghanistan has been insisting for the past seven years on the existence of terrorist bases across the border, where they (militants) are being equipped, financed and recruited,” Baheen said. “As long as these bases are not taken out, a victory is difficult,” he said, referring calls by Karzai for the US-led “war on terror” to focus on militant safe havens outside of Afghanistan.

Baheen said the Afghan government was committed to establishing rule of law. However, its efforts were being undermined as “the international community, including some powerful NATO-member countries, have their own favourite warlords” who they back against Karzai’s government, he charged. Corruption existed not only in the Afghan administration but also among international groups helping with reconstruction since the Taliban’s ouster, said Baheen. “Afghanistan’s government is committed in fighting corruption, but this is a long struggle and takes time,” he added, citing the trial of more than 700 officials allegedly involved in graft.

Baheen also said that Afghanistan’s opium production was only high in places where international foreign forces are stationed, like the British troops in Helmand. The country produces more than 90 percent of the world’s opium, a raw ingredient of heroin, and multinational efforts to stop the production have made little headway. NATO heads an military alliance with more than 50,000 troops in Afghanistan, with NATO members also significant contributors to the country’s efforts to rebuild after decades of war.

by Staff Writers
Kabul (AFP) Jan 18, 2009

US, Allies, Torture Kids in Iraqi Prisons

Since it invaded Iraq in 2003, the U.S. has detained thousands of juveniles—some of whom were tortured and sexually abused, according to published reports. Figures of the number of children behind bars vary. Some estimates put the number as high as 6,000.

While the criminal abuse of male prisoners at Abu Ghraib is well known, child and women prisoners held there have also been tortured and raped, according to Neil Mackay of Glasgow’s “Sunday Herald.” Abu Ghraib prison is located about 20 miles west of Baghdad.

Iraqi lawyer Sahar Yasiri, representing the Federation of Prisoners and Political Prisoners, said in a published interview there are more than 400,000 detainees in Iraq being held in 36 prisons and camps and that 95 percent of the 10,000 women among them have been raped. Children, he said, “suffer from torture, rape, (and) starvation” and do not know why they have been arrested. He added the children have been victims of “random” arrests “not based on any legal text.”

Former prisoner Thaar Salman Dawod in a witness statement said, “(I saw) two boys naked and they were cuffed together face to face and (a US soldier) was beating them and a group of guards were watching and taking pictures and there was three female soldiers laughing at the prisoners.”

Iraqi TV reporter, Suhaib Badr-Addin al-Baz, arrested while making a documentary and thrown into Abu Ghraib for 74 days, told Mackay he saw “hundreds” of children there. Al-Baz said he heard one 12-year-old girl crying, “They have undressed me. They have poured water over me.” He said he heard her whimpering daily.

Al-Baz also told of a 15-year-old boy “who was soaked repeatedly with hoses until he collapsed.” Amnesty International said ex-detainees reported boys as young as 10 are held at Abu Ghraib.

German TV reporter Thomas Reutter of “Report Mainz” quoted U.S. Army Sgt. Samuel Provance that interrogation specialists “poured water” over one 16-year-old Iraqi boy, drove him throughout a cold night, “smeared him with mud” and then showed him to his father, who was also in custody. Apparently, one tactic employed by the Bush regime is to elicit confessions from adults by dragging their abused children in front of them.

The Los Angeles Times as far back as August 26, 2004, reported U.S. military police at Abu Ghraib “used Army dogs to play a bizarre game in which they scared teenage detainees into defecating and urinating on themselves.”

And reporter Hersh told the American Civil Liberties Union convention he has seen videotapes of Iraqi boys that were sodomized, “and the worst part is the soundtrack of the boys shrieking.”

Jonathan Steele, wrote in the British “The Guardian” this past Sept. 9th, “Hundreds of children, some as young as nine, are being held in appalling conditions in Baghdad’s prisons, sleeping in sweltering temperatures in overcrowded cells, without working fans, no daily access to showers, and subject to frequent sexual abuse by guards, current and former prisoners say.” Sixteen-year-old Omar Ali told the “Guardian” he spent more than three years at Karkh juvenile prison sleeping with 75 boys to a cell that is just five by 10 meters, some of them on the floor. Omar told the paper guards often take boys to a separate room in the prison and rape them.

As the occupying authority in Iraq, the Bush administration cannot escape legal responsibility for the torture crimes of Iraqi jailers or for the deplorable conditions in the prisons they operate.

Raad Jamal, age 17, was taken from his Doura home by U.S. troops and turned over to the Iraqi Army’s Second regiment where Jamal said he was hung from the ceiling by ropes and beaten with electric cables.

Human Rights Watch(HRW) last June put the number of juveniles detained at 513. The grounds: they pose “imperative security risks.” In all, HRW estimates, since 2003, the U.S. has detained 2,400 children in Iraq, some as young as ten.

HRW said the children “are subject to interrogations, have no access to lawyers, and sometimes are held for more than a year without charge, in violation of the United States’ own regulations.” It said children “have very limited contact with their families.” HRW called upon the U.S. to “ensure that children it takes into custody are treated according to their status as children, and given prompt judicial review and access to independent monitors.” Apparently, this has not been the case.

Clarisa Bencomo, of HRW’s Children’s Rights Division said, “The vast majority of children detained in Iraq languish for months in U.S. military custody. The U.S. should provide these children with immediate access to lawyers and an independent judicial review of their detention.”

IRIN, the humanitarian news service, last year quoted Khalid Rabia of the Iraqi NGO Prisoners’ Association for Justice(PAJ), stating: “Children are being treated as adults in Iraqi prisons and our investigations have shown that they are being abused and tortured.” IRIN was refused permission to visit child prisoners.

Five boys between 13 and 17 accused of supporting insurgents and detained by the Iraqi army “showed signs of torture all over their bodies,” such as “cigarette burns over their legs,” she said.

One boy of 13 arrested in Afghanistan in 2002 was held in solitary for more than a year at Bagram and Guantanamo and made to stand in stress position and deprived of sleep. And 15-year-old Omar Khadr, a Canadian, was held in Guantanamo for two years without being allowed to see a lawyer or have contact with his family. Khadr has been held for a total of six years. According to the current “Catholic Worker,” Mohammed Jawad was 17 when captured in Afghanistan and was subjected to sleep deprivation at Gitmo day and night for two weeks. Every three hours jailers shackled and transfered him to another cell under a “frequent flier” program, forcing him to change cells 112 times.

Jawad’s defense lawyer Air Force Major David J.R. Frakt said the most likely reason Gitmo authorities tortured the youth (who had attempted suicide five months earlier) was “for sport, to teach him a lesson, perhaps to make an example of him to others.”

Officials from UNAMI, the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iran, said that children awaiting trial at severely overcrowded Tobchi prison, Baghdad, said they had been tortured and sexually abused while in custody in adult facilities prior to their transfer to Tobchi, and showed the marks to prove it. And at Karkh juvenile prison, children showed skin sores from lying on soggy mattresses in temperatures that average 112 during the day.

Former President Jimmy Carter wrote in “Our Endangered Values”(Simon & Schuster) that the Red Cross found after visiting six U.S. prisons “107 detainees under eighteen, some as young as eight years old.” And reporter Hersh, (who broke the Abu Ghraib torture scandal,) reported 800-900 Pakistani boys aged 13 to 15 in custody. President Carter wrote that the Red Cross, Amnesty International and the Pentagon “have gathered substantial testimony of torture of children, confirmed by soldiers who witnessed or participated in the abuse.”

In an effort to conceal conditions in its Iraqi compounds, the U.S. has closed them to human rights monitors such as AI, HRW, and the International Federation of Human Rights, says Ciara Gilmartin, the Security Council Program Coordinator at Global Policy Forum(GPF), a New York-based organization that seeks to strengthen international law.

GPF called for opening the Iraqi detention facilities “to national and international observers” and for establishing clear accountability for U.S. officers and contractors in charge of the prisons.

“The whole abusive system must be thoroughly overhauled or closed down,” Gilmartin said. “U.S. military and civilian leaders are not the only ones complicit in the abuse and lack of due process of Iraqi detainees. All who stay silent in the face of the Iraq gulag allow it to continue.”

In 2005, the AP reported from Geneva that UNICEF was “profoundly disturbed” by reports of abuse of children in Iraq prisons. “Any mistreatment, sexual abuse, exploitation or torture of children in detention is a violation of international law,” UNICEF spokesman Damien Peronnaz said.

According to a report by Felicity Arbuthnot published last June 9th in Global Research, the UN Special Representative for Children in Armed Conflict, Radhika Coomarswarmy, said children are not allowed any outside lawyers and may be held hostage to force an adult family male to give himself up.

HRW said that as of February of this year the length of detention for children was more than 130 days and “some children have been detained for more than a year without charge or trial, in violation of the Coalition Provisional Authority memorandum on criminal procedures. Not surprisingly, “One of the biggest complaints (by Iraqis) is that the vast majority of (U.S.) detainees have not been charged with any crime,” David Enders writes in the October 27 issue of The Nation.

Although President Bush says he reads the Bible, the words about children Matthew ascribes to Jesus may not have sunk in and so are worthy of repeating: “Who so shall offend one of these little ones…it were better that a millstone was hanged about his neck and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”

http://rinf.com/alt-news/war-terrorism/us-allies-torture-kids-in-iraqi-prisons/4827/

By Sherwood Ross