Once in New York, an year after 9/11...

Just one year after the 9/11 terrorist attack on its World Trade Centre towers in New York and the defence headquarters Pentagon in capital Washington,  the US had changed its agenda against the Al Qaeda terrorists just after having caused a regime change in Afghanistan.  It had not been able to eliminate the leadership and main cadre of Al Qaeda and Taliban that had sneaked into the adjoining tribal areas of Western Pakistan.
Talking to Americans on the occasion of the first anniversary of the terrorist attacks and their reprisal campaign in Afghanistan,  I found the media, people and leaders instead talking of their coming new venture in Iraq in search of the never-to-be-found weapons of mass destruction there. Media in New York was jingoistic and wanted answer in yes or no to its main query to any visiting foreign leader as to wheather or not he would join America in its War on Terror in Iraq. And leaders roaming New York were aplenty. They had come to address the annual session of UN General Assembly. They had their own issues but American media wanted them to answer the first question on its mind. 
On the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, US President George Bush had invited some leaders, including the Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,  from the nations that were facing the menace of terrorism,  to consolidate a support in favour of what he called the War on Terror. Al Qaeda terrorists had hijacked and smashed two passenger planes into the World Trade Centre towers killing about 3000 people and bringing down not only the towers to ground but also puncturing the prestige and glory of the lone Superpower of the world in a way none could have imagined. The Towers symbolised the glory and financial might of the American capitalist system that made the nation as the most powerful military machine in the world.
All India Radio had deputed me to cover PM Vajpayee's tour along with my seniors Sumati Vishwanathan and Amitabh Chakraborty.People from different parts of America too had come to New York to join the events on the occasion. Five band parties had started from as many districts of New York to converge on the spot where the high towers stood till an year ago. The place was a deep  ditch now barricaded by steel bars to stop curious visitors lest they slipped into the ditch. Things dear to those perished in the attacks had been placed along and on the bars by their dear ones. Leaders led by Bush, placed wreaths on the marble plates carrying the names of those dead along with their nationalities. They came from many countries of the world including India. Vajpayee paid his tributes to them.   People in America were still shocked about the attacks on the World Trade Centre Towers. Some said they still had nightmares. It was difficult for many to imagine that Super power America could be attacked and humbled like that. Eye witnesses heaved deep sighs recalling how a huge storm of dust came gushing through adjoining streets engulfing everything and suffocating people. They had seen the towers crumbling down to ground. 
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and his Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha wanted to say that attacking Iraq may not be in the best interests of America or the West Asian nations and the US should focus on the terrorist bases in Pakistan and the covert help the intelligence wing of the Pakistan army, the ISI was extending to the Taliban and the Al Qaeda cadres. 
Nobody seemed to be listening.Iraqi President Saddam Hossain was quite friendly to India. Iraq was the lone Muslim nation  supporting Indian stand on Kashmir. It was also a major supplier of petroleum. Saddam didn't allow terror groups in Iraq and was fighting with Iran, a US rival too since the arrival of the Ayatullahs there.Pakistan continued playing double game, getting billions of dollars from US in the name of fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and harbouring the terrorists in its territory simultaneously.Mullah Umar and Osama took shelter in Pakistan but the country continued denying their whereabouts till Mullah Umar died in a hospital in Karachi in 2013 and Osama was killed by US special forces in his hideout in Pakistani military township of Abbotabad in 2011.
Back in 2002, India also wanted to finalise the Civil Nuclear deal to ease the US sanctions imposed after the Pokhran nuclear explosions of 1999.  The press communique after one-on-one meeting between Vajpayee and Bush though mentioned that the deal was round the corner. It was to come only on the eve of the Loksabha elections of 2009 that Congress party projected as a major achievement and its ally CPM opposed it to the extent of withdrawing support to the goverment. The support had to be managed through huge amount of money floating among some politicians in the corridors of Parliament.  In 2003, the US attacked Iraq to dislodge Saddam but weapons of mass destruction were nowhere to be found. Shia majority Iraq later went friendly to Iran and many of Saddam's Sunni soldiers were to soon appear as ISIS , a far more dangerous terror group than the Al Qaeda. US was to trap itself in many knots in coming times and it became extremely difficult for it to extricate itself from the West Asia conundrum. Its retreat from Afghanistan  after 20 years, was disgraceful, humiliating and a very costly affair that left the region far more destabilised and dangerous to all its neighbouring countries who like the US are now finding their losses far outweighing the gains,  if any....

(Ajit Singh is a freelance journalist based at Hisar. He is a retd IIS officer.His phone number is 946647037)