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| Sunday, 3 October 2004 |
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Kerry ahead in round one Globescan by M.P. Muttiah The first of three debates between the US Presidential Candidates Democrat John Kerry and Republican George W. Bush ended favourably to Kerry. Their main subject was on foreign policy, especially on Iraq and terrorism. This was the first fiery debate between Presidential candidates since the Vietnam War. Although there are five weeks more for the November 2 Presidential election, already voting began in several states. Absentee or mail-on balloting in 31 States permit absentee with no justification needed. In 20 States, people can vote up to 40 days early at a county clerk's office. A campaign has begun in the United States not to cast absentee votes before the election day. While the war of words between the two contenders commenced, the world has lost hundreds of innocent lives, including children, in the name of terrorism and against US domination. The US attack on Samara and other rebel-infested cities in Iraq caused several deaths and, the attacks of Israel, the closest ally of the United States, on Palestinians have been intensified. In Afghanistan, where the presidential election is around the corner, American soldiers had been killed. The United States has lost 1053 of it soldiers deployed in Iraq till September 30 since March 2003. But it seemed that it had not learnt a lesson from its occupation in Iraq. The dark clouds of war, trumpeted by the United States, loom large over Korean peninsula and over Iran. While Bush was justifying his stand on Iraq and North Korea, the US Destroyer has started patrolling the Sea of Japan. This is considered as a first step to threaten North Korea. The recently concluded meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency urged both North Korea and Iran to adhere to the principles set out by it. It also stated that more than 40 countries with peaceful nuclear programmes could enhance them to produce nuclear weapons. The Director-General of the IAEA also said, that it was time to tighten world inspection of nuclear activities and `stop relying on information volunteered by countries'. This is an indirect reference to the United States that occupied Iraq with the so-called dismantling of nuclear weapons. However, considering reports, it seems that the United States has already decided to `punish' North Korea and Iraq. The statements from South Korea and Israel signal imminent attacks. South Korean Defence Ministry said that North's chemical weapons would kill and injure 2.19 millions in the South. In a document of the South Korean Defence Ministry to the Grand National Law makers and Parliamentary National Defence Committee members, it was predicted that North Korea would use 740 tonnes of chemical weapons all over the country within the first three days of fighting killing or wounding 290,000 soldiers and 1.9 million civilians within a month. It has also stated that North Korea possesses 5,000 tonnes of 17 types of chemical weapons. Thus South Korea spreads the war psychosis among its citizens. At the same time, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing had cast doubts on North Korea's nuclear weapons capability and about its missile tests. He also reiterated that North Korea's security concerns too must be addressed before any international action. Israel, in its turn, targets Iran. Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz said that his country was not ruling out a military option against Iran. But the real ground situation is something far from what Israel and the United States think. The UN inspectors who analysed the soil samples taken at Lavizan in Iran showed no signs of nuclear activity. However, the US Ambassador to the IAEA, Spencer Abraham, disregarding the fact that Tehran is a signatory to Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, strongly maintained that Tehran was refusing to comply with the proliferation control regime. Iran says its nuclear programmes are conducted solely to meet civilian needs. But the United States does not recognise the fact that Israel and South Korea too possess nuclear weapons. Israel, according to well-informed sources, has 200 nuclear weapons. As such, it is believed that an Israeli attack on Iran with the blessings of the United States is imminent. Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has demanded to withdraw the US sanctions against two Indian nuclear scientists for allegedly collaborating with Iran's nuclear programme. It said that one of the scientists, C. Surendra has never visited Iran and he had not even crossed Iranian airspace while YSR Prasad was a on a consultancy mission by the International Atomic Energy Agency to oversee the safeguards on Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor under IAEA's technical co-operation programme. The sanctions against these two Indian scientists evoked strong emotions in India. |
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