Aftermath of GBU-43B bomb drop

Mohan Kothekar

The American forces enforced to drop a gargantuan non-nuclear bomb called ‘mother of all bombs’ to subdue the maneuver of Islamic State militants on 13^th April, 2017.  During the preliminary investigation a total of 96 IS militants were killed in the Achin district of Nangarhar region of North-East Afghanistan, the body count is likely to increase.  The purlieus are full of tunnels and caves have been targeted to ravage; the province has been used by the ISIS for various subversive, insurgent and incendiary activities against Afghan and American forces.  It is an assertion and enunciation that none of the civilian was killed in the air raid.  The bomb weighed 9.8 tons of almost 9.1 meter length with a manufacturing cost of $ 0.45 million.

The air strike is not going to disentangle and un-riddle the primitive issue of militancy from its root.  But, it will cocksure and sanguinely create fear and affright in the mind of militia that the distressed countries definitely use the state of the art weapons of mass destruction.  The use of chemical weapons during the Syrian civil war, in the recent past, was another incidence wherein the arm conflict against Islamic belligerent and brawler militants has been escalated and tried to dislodge.  At present, the Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and many other Muslim countries are the epicenter of apprehensive and terror activities.  Pakistan is officially supporting the Muslim militia as their state policy.  The general comprehension is the militant activities get temporarily halted; however, militants under the upcoming leadership again regrouped and start subversive activities.    

Why militancy is noticed in the Muslim dominated Islamic countries?  The basic tenets and ideology of the Islam is to reject the democracy, personal freedom, freedom of speech, freedom of press, liberty, gender equality and other religion.  Religious policing is rampant in Islamic states in all walks of life to maintain Islamic and Sharia laws.  There is no place for non-Muslims in Islamic country.  Thousands of the reasons can be enlisted; the major reasons need to be known.  First, the modern educational technology has out rightly been rejected in those regions where militancy has its peak in Islamic states.  The literacy rate has recorded the lowest in Islamic countries that lead to the cessation of catechism and erudition and thus major obstruction in the process of modern civilization.   The mindset of the Muslim society is such that barring Islam preaches through the madrasa the rest is unwarranted and disliked; the primary educational facilities are totally lacking; needless to discuss about higher education.  The consequence is, the Muslim population is not exposed to the modern ethos, ideology and philosophy; they are aloof from the mainstream and thus they have no ambitions and aspirations.  Young children are ready to die for Islam than to learn the science or technology, commerce or literature.  The other observation is, even the educated masses from the Muslim states have more or less accepted and imbibed the Islamic teachings as the main goal of their life.  Many European and American Muslims have joined the ISIS subversive activities; the modern educational system has not altered their attitude, mentality, behavior and psyche.  The religion is far more important to them and thus radical groups have the upper hand over the minority liberal.  Adherence to Islam is a shared factor that affects their life to a varying degree.      

Second, the girls at the age of 13-14 years are emphatically used as child generating machines; Muslims treat their women like sex slaves and they are producing as much as possible children like a pig, irrespective of health endangerment and mental status.  In a entirely male dominated orthodox Islamic society the ladies are being treated as their property and treatment meted to them as second class citizen.  Hence, gender equality is lacking in Muslim sect and resulted in suppression of a woman’s voice as silent spectators, choice-less and voiceless; gender based violence and discrimination is a global based problem.   On the other hand, male children of the equal age are joining the militant groups to fight for Islamic causes.  The psyche of the Muslim community is to stick up to the age old traditions Koran and Sharia laws.  The Muslim would kill anybody in the name of ‘Allah’ rather than to lead a normal and peaceful life.  Family planning is unacceptable to the Muslim community; advantages of small family size are not known to them.  The objectives of life are limited; hence they did not want to improve.  The ladies are acting as progenitor and males are losing their life for radical causes; so, there is no adverse effect of the bombings on reduction in militant number; radicalization and recruitment by Islamist continues unabated.  Young Muslims are being courted by Islamist propaganda. 

Third, the Muslims are eager to die for religion.  The Mullahs, Ulemas, Clerics and the Imams have cent per cent ascendancy and impact over the Muslim masses; they are the guardians of legal and religious traditions.  The preaching and moralizing is such that if a person dies for Islam, then he will go to the Jannah (paradise or heaven) and enjoy the beauty.  Madrasa – religious school - is meant to impart, inculcate and transmit the true Islamic religious teaching and not for irrelevant non-scientific preaching.  The consequence of discourse at the tender age is such an enormous and monstrous that psychologically the youngsters are ready to sacrifice their life for religion.  The other common observation is educated or uneducated masses are all the time discusses regarding the Islam religion, its sanctity, publicity, dissemination and perseverance by hook or crook method.  The number of Islamic countries in the world is more than fifty five and the population growth is exorbitant.  Barring one or two, all Muslim countries are underdeveloped due to strict religious laws; so the question of upbringing of the communities does not arise.

Fourth, the latest electronic gadgets are being used for destruction, devastation and damnation.  The publicity, dissemination and propaganda are through computers, mobile phones, satellite phones, etc.  It is practically difficult to detect, isolate, control and eliminate the subversive activities; sophisticated instruments along with a huge fleet of experts from different arenas of are required to control rebellious, riotous and destructive activities.   The militants alter and adapt the varied ways and means, thus, for state detective and investigative agencies it has become tremendous, overwhelming and dreadful job to minimize the spread of aggressive, combative, bellicose and subversive activities.  Most of the time the messages are in coded form using different Apps; to decode them is practically difficult.  The detection and neutralization of Osama Bin Laden from Abbottabad, Pakistan required almost a decade for American Detective Agencies (CIA) is a live example to understand the veracity, hardship and catastrophe.  Billions of dollars were required along with trained manpower to undertake such a unilateral military action; it is like finding the needle from the haystack.

Fifth, the Islamic militants are utilizing refined and sophisticated arms and ammunition.  The weapons and armaments are produced by terrorist organizations and supplied by different militant groups.  The Palestinian Sunni Islamic Fundamentalist Organization – Hamas – is the militant group that has the technical competence, skill and ability to manufacture short range homemade rockets.  North West Frontier Province of Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) is one of the manufacturing hubs of the latest arm production.  Taliban, ISIS, militant groups has their own production units and are laced with modern armaments.  America has provided the ultra modern military equipment to the Taliban and other radical groups during the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan.  It is said that, now a days, the Russia is supporting and furnishing them the needed technical support and requirement.  North Korea had successfully tested intercontinental nuclear ballistic missiles.  In Mosul city of Iraq, the ISIS has recently used chemical weapons to create terror among fleeing local population.  The Syrian conflict is entered in the seventh year.  A half million of Syrian has already been killed; a million injured and 12 million Syrians have been displaced from home.  Notwithstanding the US intervention, the conflict is still continuing on the streets due to uninterrupted supply of arms and ammunition from several Arab states, Turkey and terrorist groups.  The new rebel groups laced with modern arms are joining the militancy at one or the other place.  In the event of receipt of nuclear armaments – dirty bomb - by the ISIS or Taliban or Hamas type of established terrorist organization, it is likely that the world will have to face severe catastrophe after Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic explosions.  The militants are the experienced fighter and thus years of hardship will be required to eliminate them by the state agencies.  In Syria, during ceasefire the militants have killed more than a hundred women and children is the another example of use of latest chemical devastating technology.
   
Sixth, in the recent past, some of the developing and developed countries have given shelter to the refugees.  Thousands and millions of refugees have been displaced and seeking asylum in recipient countries. The consequence of the benefaction is that the militancy has enhanced in those countries; France, Briton, Spain, Australia and Germany and many more countries are the victims.  The threat level in the western countries has escalated to a higher level and poses threat to law enforcement agencies.  Canada made a determination to accommodate Muslim refugees from seven Muslim majority countries affected by the Trump executive order; the country is likely to endure and go through the ordeal in the near future as it is practically difficult to isolate militants from others.  In whatever place the Islamic refugees will get settled, the militant activities, terrorism, jihad and indiscriminate violence will be cropping up due to pathological mindset; it seems the terrorism is in DNA of Muslim community and has become a global epidemic.  It is astonishing to note that none of the Islamic country has entertained these refugees; on the contrary, they are providing financial and logistic support for militant groups for rebellious activities.  Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Dubai, UAE and many more Islamic countries are directly and indirectly responsible for ethnic disturbances.  It is an axiom that the refugees are unacceptable to the Islamic nations; what a strange it is?

Seventh, Muslim radicals is accustomed to accommodate without modern amenities; prefer caves, tunnels, barren lands, deserts and wilderness as their permanent hideouts.  Two times meals along with the Kalashnikov AK-47 assault rifle, bullets, rockets, grenades, etc. is adequate for the militant families to sustain their own world.  Their requirements are minimal; a madrasa, poppy fields, meat, cereals, pulses, vegetables, GPS, satellite mobile, arms and ammunition.  The economy of militants depends on production and smuggling of heroin, marijuana, cocaine, etc.  The militants are bound by Islamic laws; the traditional arm conflict continues decades together.        

So, there is no effect of bombing on militant activities.  It will continue in one or the other farm.  The threat perception after the GBU-43B bombing has enhanced manifold for America, developed and developing countries rather than to the Islamic world.  Pakistan, Iran and North Korea are the nuclear states.  It is likely that militants will procure crude atomic bomb and use ruthlessly in big cities.  More and more radical Muslims are likely to join the Taliban, ISIS and other radical groups, thus, the threat has increased to the civilized society.  Militancy is the curse of the mother earth and it will continue generations after generations in one or other form.  Militancy will only be curbed if Muslim changes their mindset.

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