The west pursues security with no regard for the cost to citizens of foreign lands

[marmar]

from the Guardian UK:




A fearful lack of proportion
In airports and battlefields the west pursues security with no regard for the cost to citizens of foreign lands

Peter Preston
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 17 January 2010 19.30 GMT


Suppose you're a young ­Pakistani doctor with a practice in Doncaster or ­Detroit. And suppose you're heading back to work after a holiday in Lahore. Then stop supposing: you'll need to get to the airport very early indeed. Wrong passport, wrong nationality. Expect to be stopped, searched and scanned. Fear maximum hassle. So why not fill in the time by pondering simple concepts, like proportionality?

On one hand, all this sudden conflation of inspection and interrogation is down to one man, a 23-year-old Nigerian who couldn't set fire to his underpants. Cue Messrs Brown, Obama and sundry leaders of the west buying more costly surveillance kit, announcing more nerve-fraying terminal delays and ­getting anxious about Yemen.

And, on the other, cue the figures from Pakistan's own lousy 2009 as our doctor waits in line: 3,021 innocent ­civilians and soldiers killed by terrorist bombs – carnage far worse than Afghanistan endures. Does the family he left behind in Punjab live in fear? Of course. Markets, mosques, shops, hotels are all Taliban targets – and the violence is growing. President Asif Ali Zardari talks democracy and defiance. The army carries the fight into some terrorist areas. But you can't escape a feeling of mounting crisis, and a future without hope.

The war on terror? Here it is. The casualties of that war? Here they are. And now, as spotlights swings towards Sana'a and political packs yelp excitedly about Yemeni training camps, Pakistan's problems suddenly fade from view. Other countries must hear the tough talk. One pair of pants and the west wallows in hysteria before ordering stops, searches and profilings for hapless doctors who keep health systems going. One pair of pants against 3,021 violent deaths. Is that what we mean by proportionality? ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2010/jan/17/terrorism-airport-security-west