***One happy fallout of the US campaign has been the destruction of the obnoxious regime called Taliban in Afghanistan. If anything the word came to signify all that is retrograde and give a terrible name to Islam, the religion of peace. India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads for the entire half century of their independent existence. The bone of contention is Kashmir, the state, which remains divided between the two successors following their war in 1947 - 48. The situation has heated up following terrorist attacks on Indian Parliament in New Delhi. Shrill voices are rising for military action against Pakistan.***

HAD it not been for the fact that we are in the beginning of a new century, I would not have any hesitation in naming Osama Bin Laden as the Man of the Century. The event is too fresh in our memory to need detailed recapitulation. On 11 September 2001, four passenger jet planes flew from different airports of the United States of America. At 8.45 am two of those hijacked planes crashed in rapid succession against the Twin Towers of New York causing immediate explosion and massive fire. Within a very short time another hijacked plane crashed against a part of the sprawling Pentagon in Washington D.C. flattening a large part of the building. A fourth hijacked plane moving presumably towards the White House crashed in Pennsylvania, due to the fact that passengers and the crew had probably a fight with the hijackers.

All this happened in broad daylight and the US administration stood awe struck and paralyzed. Indeed President George W Bush had to move to a safe place so great was the confusion. For the first

time in her nearly three-century history US appeared vulnerable as never before. Her territory, her skies were no longer safe.

The US had to find a rapid response in order to reestablish her credibility, more so because she is the sole superpower trotting the planet. The response had to be swift and highly visible. The destruction of the Twin Towers had been witnessed throughout the world in broad daylight as the 110-

story structures literally melted.

In her search for a target the US did not have to go very far. The honour fell on Osama Bin Laden, born in Saudi Arabia, who had established his credentials as a terrorist by masterminding the bombing of US Embassy in Kenya. He was a millionaire and changed addresses frequently finally finding a safe haven in Afghanistan. The Inter Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) of Pakistan had established the ultra fundamentalist regime called Taliban (meaning student) and Mullah Omar, the leader, gave free play to his "Islamising" fantasies. The women were the worst victims of his idio-

syncrasies as they were put behind walls wearing veils head to toe.

The US demanded from the Afghan rulers that they hand over Bin Laden. Without waiting for a response the US called for a world wide coalition and went to fight Osama Bin Laden and his Taliban protectors. In this turn of events, Pakistan, which virtually guards the doors of Afghanistan, had to fully cooperate in the bombing out by the US of the Taliban, which

Pakistan, with the connivance of the US had created a decade ago. The British Government under the energetic leadership of Tony Blair extended its hand of help to the US effort in the shape of tanks, warplanes and soldiers. The other NATO allies did not stay far behind. Within weeks Afghanistan was bombed into pulp and the Taliban fighters meekly surrendered. There was carnage in Mazar-i-Sharif in the north of Afghanistan where Taliban fighters, mostly foreigners, were butchered without mercy.

Along with the war effort started the UN sponsored talks in Bonn, Germany and the result was the setting up of a new administration

headed by Hamid Karzai. He is a Pushtoon, which is the largest ethnic tribe in the mosaic that is Afghanistan. So far the administration enjoys support from the leaders of various ethnic tribes and specially the support and assistance from the international community. Karzai has six months time to call the Loya Jirga, where the tribal elders will form a broadbased government. It goes without saying there are many pitfalls ahead of

Afghanistan.

To the attack on the US, the American response has been a declaration of war on terrorism. President Bush has repeatedly stated that the war on terrorism is going to be a long one. Inevitably the focus is on Iraq of Saddam Hussein, the handy whipping boy of the US since the Gulf War successfully managed by the father of the present US President, Bush senior.

One happy fallout of the US campaign has been the destruction of the obnoxious regime called Taliban in Afghanistan. If anything the word came to signify all that is

retrograde and give a terrible name to Islam, the religion of peace.

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads for the entire half century of their independent existence. The bone of contention is Kashmir, the state, which remains divided between the two successor states following their war in 1947 - 48. For a decade now India has been bled white by cross border terrorism from across Pakistan in Kashmir and India has carried

on a world wide campaign against Pakistan, in order to brand it a terrorist state. Now that the US has put terrorism on the top of her agenda, India finds that she has a perfect opportunity to bring into focus her campaign of Pakistani terrorism. The situation has heated up following terrorist attacks on Indian Parliament in New Delhi. This audacious attack stunned the Indian population and shrill voices are rising for military action against Pakistan. There has been troop movement on both sides and rumblings of cannons and guns. It is to be hoped that saner voices will prevail between these two nuclear neighbours, with millions of

impoverished human beings. War clouds hovered over the subcontinent at the fag end of the year.

The half a century old conflict between the Arabs and the Jews do not appear any nearer the solution at the end of the year. We have to remember that Ariel Sharon of Israel was elected to guarantee safety of life of its citizens. The Israeli public tired of continued killings by the Palestinians and without any security of life, turned to hardliner Sharon, so that they could have the minimum safety. They turned away from former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, who came tantalizingly close to a deal with his counterpart Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Former US President Bill Clinton, who had devoted the entire eight years of presidency in finding a solution to the Palestine-Israel dispute, had to return empty handed because the two adversaries would not take the final step. Indeed during the two Democrat Presidents, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, there has been movement forward in the Arab-Israel conflict. The two Presidents had succeeded in establishing their even handed credentials. Judged by the performance of his past Republican Presidents, there is no room for optimism in the case of George W Bush.

Osama Bin Laden, the Man of the Century, singlehandedly, has succeeded what mighty states like the former Soviet Union failed to do. Bin Laden has for the first time thrown open the US skies. Fortress America is gone forever.

Arshad-uz Zaman is a former Ambassador.