[Reader-list] Comment: David Miliband's argument is flawed

[Lalit Ambardar]

David Miliband's poor taste & judgement were also visible when he shot his mouth & attributed the scourge of pan Islamic terror that has been targetting India for the past two decdes to what he thought was  "Kashmir issue". 
Would somebody ask  him whether  the  Glassgow Airpor suicide bombing by the Bangluru born aerospace engineert or 
Srinagar  2000 X-mas eve  car suicide bombing by the Barmingham born (Of Pakistani origin ) Bilal & London train bombings or Madrid train bombings or even 9/11 World Trade Centre bombings were executed because of his fancied 'Kashmir issue'.
It seems , prior to his departure ,he was briefed by the powerful Pakistani Mirpuris & other London based anti India pan Islamists.
It was shocking to see in the media  our own 'royal PM' in making hobnobbing with the visiting 'royal fool 'while our foreign affairs spokesperson wanted the visiting guest keep his mouth shut.
Regards all
LA
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> Date: Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:05:52 +0000> From: 2tahamehmood at googlemail.com> To: reader-list at sarai.net> Subject: [Reader-list] Comment: David Miliband's argument is flawed> > http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article5525152.ece> > Times Foreign Editor says the Foreign Secretary may not want to call> this a war - but Osama bin Laden certainly does> Richard Beeston> > > David Miliband showed bad judgment and poor taste when he chose the> Taj hotel in Mumbai to take a last swipe at George Bush in the dying> days of his presidency.> > With the blood barely dry on the reception walls, the Foreign> Secretary made his stand against Mr Bush in the city's most famous> landmark and memorial site to the 164 dead from November's terrorist> attack.> > Mr Miliband said that the War on Terror was "misleading and mistaken"> and may have done more harm than good, that the threat posed by> militant Islam cannot be defeated by force of arms and that there is> no single enemy in this fight.> > His points have been rehearsed by British ministers before but Mr> Miliband chose to set them out more bluntly than ever, just five days> before the US leader steps down. He separately praised the incoming> Obama Administration whose "values and priorities" he told us he> shared.> > On substance his argument is flawed. As Osama bin Laden made clear in> his statement this week, the al-Qaeda leader, his No 2 and his global> organisation are alive and well. Bar some inauguration surprise, the> fugitive Saudi terrorist is likely to see off Mr Bush, who steps down> on Tuesday. Al-Qaeda and its offshoots are still well armed and funded> and running operations in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia,> Somalia, South-East Asia and North Africa, not to mention mainland> Britain. Since 9/11 they have succeeded in attacking targets across> the globe — Bali, Madrid, Jedda, London, Istanbul, Baghdad, Algiers,> Islamabad and Amman to name a few. They are responsible for the deaths> of thousands of innocent civilians, mostly fellow Muslims.> > Mr Miliband cited General David Petraeus, whose tactics are credited> with turning around the situation in Iraq, as a commander who> understood that America could not kill its way out of the problems in> Iraq.> > That is true. But what America did do under Mr Bush and General> Petraeus was commit tens of thousands more troops to the battle and> win over the support of key elements in the local population. The> Americans, with their new Iraqi allies, then dismembered al-Qaeda in> Iraq in a series of decisive military actions.> > Clearly if there are moderate, biddable elements in the Taleban, in> Hezbollah, in Hamas or among other militant groups around the world,> then the governments concerned should act to engage them. But let us> not kid ourselves about al-Qaeda and its allies. We may not want to> call this a war but they do.> > The shortcomings of Mr Miliband's arguments are largely beside the> point. The Taj hotel in Mumbai is a place where visiting foreign> leaders should pay respect to the dead and praise the courage of those> who defied the terrorists.> > Mr Miliband appears to have followed the advice of one of Mr Bush's> predecessors in the White House, who was fond of saying that you> should never hit a man when he was down but kick him because it saved> bending over.> > Instead, the Foreign Secretary should have acted some time during the> past seven years when his words would have mattered, not on the eve of> Mr Obama's inauguration and not in Mumbai.> _________________________________________> reader-list: an open discussion list on media and the city.> Critiques & Collaborations> To subscribe: send an email to reader-list-request at sarai.net with subscribe in the subject header.> To unsubscribe: https://mail.sarai.net/mailman/listinfo/reader-list > List archive: <https://mail.sarai.net/pipermail/reader-list/>
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