Among the Incongruities of the Global War on Terror…Incoherent ‘No-Fly’, ‘Terrorist Watch’, and ‘Black’ Lists and ‘Crony Capitalism’

The more prohibitions there are, the poorer the people become….

The greater the number of statutes, the greater the number

 of thieves and brigands.

…Lao-tzu

 

By: Bruce G. Richardson

 

Since September 11, 2001, the production lines at the fear factory, in which the multi-billion dollar security industry was spawned… are in overdrive. Daily terrorist alerts and color coded security warnings have become the norm. A government friendly and compliant media regales us with tales of terrorism and emerging threats. Our way of life is under siege, claim the punditocracy. But perhaps the most egregious of Orwellian deceptions, however, is that the security blanket to which we have surrendered ourselves has made us safer. Administration and anti-war critic, Congressman Ron Paul (R) of Texas maintains ‘that they will attack us here because we are over there’ and that to ensure security here in the United States requires disengagement from what is termed ‘full spectrum dominance”, a hegemonic euphemism for global intervention, economic and strategic dominance. But perhaps the most sophomoric peroration emanating from the security establishment is citing endlessly the success of devices such as the ‘no-fly and or terrorist watch list.’ The question however, is, are these costly and invasive devices effective?

We have all most likely heard of the myriad and often unimaginable experiences and stories shared by airline travelers surrounding security measures implemented at commercial airports in the United States by the U.S. Government’s TSA, FBI, INS and Homeland Security Agencies.

One such incongruity confronted a traveler by the name of Ralph W. Johnson. Mr. Johnson was a manufacturer’s representative for a pharmaceutical company who often flew to many of the major centers of business in the United States. One particular flight was surreal, noteworthy. At Boston’s Logan Airport one September morning, Ralph Johnson found himself in an unfathomable nightmare, the subject of detention, repeated and intense interrogation and body searches by TSA employees and later agents of the Boston office of the F.B.I. Notwithstanding the fact that Mr. Johnson had for decades boarded commercial aircraft several times a month, suddenly he was accosted and treated as a terrorist.

It was later found that Ralph Johnson’s name appeared on the “no-fly list” 2,738 times! According to an attorney representing Johnson, there were no fewer than 2,738 people with an identical name on the ‘no-fly list.’ The ‘no-fly list’, sometimes called the terrorist watch list, is a controversial list created and maintained by the U.S. Government of people who are not permitted to board a commercial aircraft for travel in or out of the United States. The list has raised civil liberties and due process concerns, due in part to the potential for ethnic, religious, economic, political, or racial profiling and discrimination. It has also raised concerns about privacy and government secrecy, as well as drawing criticism from civil liberties organizations. In April 2007, the U.S. Government ‘terrorist watch list’ administered by the terrorist Screening Center contained 700,000 names or entries. One year later, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) estimated the list to have grown to over 1,000,000 names and continues to expand.

Because of the ‘no-fly list’, innocent, law-abiding Americans like Ralph Johnson have found themselves subject to relentless hassles, interrogation and searches every time they try to travel by air. The lack of recourse for those who find themselves singled out by the ‘no-fly list’ makes for a truly Kafkaesque situation. Innocent victims are unable to face their accusers, the source of information that made them a target, unable to see that information, or the criteria by which it was judged, and have no meaningful way to appeal their status.  The implausibility of the Keystone Cops approach to security enforcement at major airports in the U.S. was readily apparent and drew heightened media attention when it became known that the late Senator Edward M. ‘Ted’ Kennedy of Massachusetts was refused a boarding pass for a flight to Washington, D.C.  It seems the ‘no-fly list’ has numerous Ted Kennedy’s enumerated.

Afghanistan’s Black List

As we shall see, however the improprieties and incongruities associated with the ‘Global War on Terror (GWOT) watch list’ extend far beyond the borders of the Continental United States. Prior to the London Conference the United Nations Security Council asked the government of Hamid Karzai to provide the names of high-ranking Taliban members who were enumerated on the terrorist ‘black list.’ While this may seem expeditious on its face, it turns out, however, that several former Taliban officials had been for a long time cooperating with the so-called ISAF contingent, to include NATO and the U.S.  And yet, notwithstanding their cooperation, which included mediation, translation services and grievance counseling among the rural population, many of their names continue to appear on the U.S. ‘black list.’

What has failed to enter any dialogue pertaining to conflict resolution among the ISAF counter-insurgents is the dynamics that often precede the consigning of names to the terrorist watch or ‘black list.’  The partial list of individuals that follows consists of those individuals who have cooperated with the government and the ISAF contingent. And needless to say, many have done so at great risk. The occupational powers, however, have subverted their own intelligence capability by reliance on the word of informants, often ignoring the overt implications of political vendetta and or cash reward. As a result, innocents are oft-times arrested, detained, tortured, and killed due to their presence on the ‘black list.’ During the U.S. incursion in October of 2001, we witnessed the distribution of millions of dollars paid to Northern Alliance informants for information leading to the arrest of individuals named as Taliban and or al-Qaeda.  Recent investigation has shown that a majority had been falsely accused. What motivated the inquisitors?  Both political and cash reward.

Today, the government/cabinet of Hamid Karzai and the Parliament are represented by a number of individuals who themselves should be enshrined on the ‘black list.’ Communists, collaborators, drug lords, war lords and corrupt opportunists are in a majority in what international jurists refer to as one of the most corrupt governments on the planet. Hazrat Omar Zakhailwal, for example, the new finance minister who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform tasked a subordinate, Abdul Rahman Kamawai, aka Abdul Rahman Noul, to purchase two homes on his behalf and to keep secret as to who holds legal title. One of the homes is located in Karte Parwan Kabul and the other in Jalalabad. Each of the homes had been reportedly purchased for an amount close to $400,000. Sadly, this is far from an isolated case. Recently Sibgatullah Mojadidi resigned citing concern over rampant corruption in government. Yet Mr. Mojadidi, always the chameleon, assisted Sayed Hares Fatemi, son-in-law to Mojadidi and son of Dr. Sayed Mohammad Amin Fatemi, who served as public health minister to avoid prosecution for the larceny of $6,000,000 dollars at the Kabul Airport. But as we shall see…this is but the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

‘Crony Capitalism’:  In a Washington Post article titled ‘In Afghanistan, signs of Crony Capitalism’, February 22, 2010, Andrew Higgins reveals the connection between the shadowy Kabul Bank and Afghanistan’s power elite. The Kabul Bank is a financial institution reminiscent of Pakistan-based BCCI, irreverently dubbed ‘the Bank of Crooks and Criminals International’ for their involvement in arms and drug trafficking during the Cold War. Owners of record for Kabul Bank are: Farnood, a Moscow trained financial adviser and campaign fund raiser for the Karzai administration, the president’s brother, Mahmoud, Ahmad Zia Massoud, Haseen Fahim, brother of Mohammad Qasim Fahim, former military and intelligence aide to Ahmad Shah Massoud and current vice president. The Washington Post article discloses a plethora of banking irregularities, as one example, the financing provided remnants of the faction known to the Soviets as sekretnye sotrudniki (secret collaborators), or to their Western affiliates as the Northern Alliance for the purchase of a number of sumptuous villas in Dubai, U.A.E.*, costing millions of dollars. Collateral for the highly questionable financial real estate transactions and subsequent repayment capital are alleged to have as their source proceeds emanating from drug trafficking, production of which trebled in the post-Taliban period, and back-channel collaboration with Russia, Iran, India, France, Great Britain, and the United States. (The Dubai* of today holds the nefarious title of ‘the money laundering capital of the world.’)

Corruption in the Afghan government is today of such magnitude that even the most menial transaction between government and the people requires the ever-present bribe to accomplish. But even more insidious is the drug trafficking which involves members of the ruling family and the presence of war criminals in key cabinet positions. The criminal element’s monopoly on power and resources in Afghanistan would not be possible without the backing of the occupational forces, in particular the U.S. for whom they served as a proxy-militia during the invasion in October of 2001.

 So again, forgetting for the moment that the U.S. war in Afghanistan is illegal and constitutes ‘War of Aggression’, the most serious infraction of existing international law and protocol under the Nuremberg Standard, the incongruities extant in this so-called war on terror are legion. Those who oppose invasion and occupation of their homeland by a foreign power are deemed terrorists, and those who rape, steal, mortgage, and murder their own citizens are afforded diplomatic cover and economic opportunity. Can this be cast as anything but the zenith of pathological and amorphous insanity?

Notable examples of misinformed, incoherent and or misguided black listing of Afghans:

 Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil:  The former Taliban Foreign Minister surrendered following the collapse of the Taliban government.  Sentenced to two years detention for terrorism and held at the Bagram holding facility, Mutawakil was subsequently released from prison and has worked diligently with the U.S. and NATO contingents in search of conflict resolution ever since. He is currently a resident of Kabul.  Minister Mutawakil’s name can still be found on the terrorist ‘black list.’

Abdul Hakim Muneb: After the collapse of the Taliban, Muneb cooperated with President Karzai and served as the governor of Oruzgan Province. In this capacity Muneb worked closely with U.S. and NATO forces. He currently supports the government of Hamid Karzai. Yet in logic decipherable only by the security-challenged stalwarts of the official terror list, Muneb’s support of the Karzai administration and service as a governor have not resulted in the removal of his name from association with terrorists.

Mohammad Mosa: Former commander with Hezb-Islami became deputy planning minister for the Taliban. Following the Taliban collapse, Mosa cooperated with the new government and subsequently became a Member of Parliament.  He is currently found on the ‘black list’ of terrorists.

Fazil Mohammad Faizan:  Taliban former deputy commerce minister, has since the collapse of the Taliban government cooperated with the government in Kabul.  His name remains to be found on the ‘black list’ of terrorists.

Shams ul Safa Aminzai: Once a resident of Italy, gained the trust and respect of the Italian government as a result his service as a teacher. During the Mujahideen government, Aminzai served in the Foreign Ministry. During the Taliban era, he served in the Press Office. He was to go on to further serve the Italian contingent and the ambassador as a translator. Notwithstanding the fact that he was not seen or considered as a hard-core ideologue, and had served the ISAF contingent, Aminzai’s name seems indelibly inscribed on the ‘black list’ of terrorists. It is this lack of cognitive reasoning, justice and fair play that accelerates the exponential rise of cynicism over power projection around the world. To label others in order to subjugate them cannot be construed as within the purview of truly lawful and democratic nations that wax- eloquently and endlessly about democracy, freedom and security.

      

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