In The Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

 

HOME SECURITY – THE OTHEWRWAY ROUND

 

[Shamim a Siddiqi, New York\

 

The importance of home security cannot be overemphasized. It is one of the basic needs of man on earth. When an individual, a citizen of this country has fallen asleep in the four walls of his or her home, he must have undisturbed and unhaunted sound sleep. When he is walking in streets, traveling in the air or on road, busy shopping in mall, wandering in parks, enjoying his evening meal in a café, he/she must feel completely secured, bearing no apprehension in his/her mind that some one may “blast” a device near by and he or his countrymen’s life suddenly will come to an end. Nothing could be more tragic than this horrible situation if it exists in our midst. It would nullify the existence of a government if it cannot deliver the security of life, honor and property to its citizen, irrespective of the fact where he/she is and what he/she is doing. It is their birth right and the Constitution of the land guarantees it most conspicuously. If any government fails to meet this very primary objective of life, it loses its legitimacy to survive.

 

All the governments of the USA had given due emphasis on this basic need and taken all the possible measures to protect its citizen. President Bush is rightly endeavoring to install the Home Security arrangement through the approval of a sweeping Intelligence-overhaul Bill in the Congress in order to defeat the terrorist threats. But it is being opposed by different government departments and agencies that are going to be affected or overruled by its roller-coaster provisions. Senior Republican Senator, John Warner has expressed his doubts against this Bill. This agency will control more than 160,000 employees and disburse about 40 billion dollars annually. It is emerging its monstrous head in the Capital and different departments including Pentagon are scared of its paramount authority.

 

It is one side of the situation. Let us now look other way around and see how it looks otherwise. Why the issue of “security” has attained so much importance out of proportion. It appears that perhaps every thing is at stake.

 

One can get security and peace of mind only when he/she has fulfilled all his/her obligations, usurped no body’s rights, committed no crime against self, his people or humanity at large and delivered only justice and fair play to all and everyone whether at home or abroad. So is the case with nations. This principle of “give and take”, “be at peace and let others live in peace”, “friendship to all and animosity to none” controls equally the affairs of people at international level.  When a people stand tall in the community of nations most respectfully, it has no enmity with anyone abroad, it has to spread only “Khair” [the good[ in the contemporary world, hasn’t favored “anybody” at the cost of “others”, hasn’t been involved in hegemonies towards subjugating others on the basis of or pre-emptive “presumptions”, hasn’t collaborated with other nations to perpetuate its influence and “occupation” on other’s lands and has shown the courage to stand for justice to everyone against all the eventualities, only that nation, whether small or big like the USA has the inherent right to feel “secured” day and night, at home and abroad. If the USA would have delivered only justice abroad, have been fair in dealings with small nations, especially the Muslims, and would have not denied even the basic needs and human rights to many in the Middle East, there would have been no security problems at home at all.

 

Unfortunately, the problem of “home security” is our own creation, the outcome of our own short sighted foreign policies for so many decades in the past in the wake of Second Great War. We have made only enemies abroad by winning only a few friends, through “conspiratorial” approach. Even these so-called “friends” are selfish and side with us only so far they are getting dollars and “appeasement” from the White House. Thus, we have become our own enemies. We have sold or mortgaged our peace to the vested corporate interests of the USA. They are flourishing and the American people are suffering, living a “scared” life in their homes and market places.

 

America is basically an ideological state. It has its values and ideals that are, to a very moderate extent, replica of the Islamic way of life. So far it was promoting these values and championing them in all its foreign relations, it has no fear and had no home land security problem. It was a heaven for the people of the land as well as for others who came to this land of opportunities, irrespective of the fact whether he/she was a visitor or an immigrant. It was a safe heaven for all and sundries.

 

If the stalwarts sitting in the White House and Pentagon do not realize the situation that it is their own creation, they will never be able to secure our borders whether it is sea, air or land. No amount of Home Land Security Bill can protect us, if our ideological borders are not safe, well-protected, looked after and are maintained religiously, not neglected or ignored in any way. “Home land security” has now become a relative term. You make the world and the oppressed people secured; security will prevail in every house and corner of America. If not, billions and billions will go down the drain but nothing will come out of it. Security will remain as a menacing stigma for Bush administration with no end in sight. Will President Bush and his Neo-Cons look to the other side of the picture as depicted above and realize the “follies” that they are committing in fulfilling their Straussian agenda.

 

 

Shamim A Siddiqi

December 5, 2004