The smear campaign launched by certain Western media against the Arab and Islamic world, accusing some Arabs and Muslims of involvement in attacks in New York and Washington has so far claimed the lives of a Pakistani and an Indian national living in the United States. It seems that the campaign is aimed at reviving a sense of patriotism among the American public and promoting their national unity at this sensitive juncture at the cost of demonizing ethnic and religious minorities living in that country.

Furthermore, while a news blackout has been ordered by the U.S. government on the attacks, and the public have no access to firsthand information about the real motives and culprits behind them, the Western media are only focusing on a certain Islamic fundamentalist group in order to divert public attention from some internal elements or dissident forces that may have been involved in the incidents.

The U.S. Administration is currently pointing a finger of blame at Saudi dissident, Osama Bin Laden, calling him the prime suspect in the attacks. However, if the United States had any strong evidence to implicate Bin Laden in the attacks, it would present the evidence to international bodies to have a legal justification for its planned military operations against Afghanistan. Even French Foreign Minister, Vedrine, said on Sunday that the United States does not have any evidence to prove the involvement of Osama Bin Laden in the attacks.

Therefore, in the absence of an international tribunal to look into the attacks to determine who was really behind them, the U.S. government intends to use Bin Laden as a scapegoat in order to appease the angry American public and also to hide the possible internal factors behind the attacks. But what the White House officials seem to have ignored is that killing a large number of Afghan people just to settle their crisis at home is a great crime against humanity. Even if there is strong evidence to show that Bin Laden was actually the mastermind of the attacks, there are legal avenues to bring him to justice, especially through UN intervention. Therefore, killing a large number of Afghans and displacing hundreds of thousands of others would be the worst solution to the crisis.

The United States should listen to the voice of reason and, instead of launching a smear campaign against Islamic groups and fostering hatred of ethnic minorities at home, it should look into the real causes of the attacks and try to prevent their recurrence in the future. The policy presently adopted by the White House based on intimidating, threatening and even blackmailing other nations, especially its planned military campaign throughout the world will surely create a universal crisis much more serious than the one presently faced by Washington. The only wise solution to the crisis is to invite the United Nations to assume its responsibility and bring the real culprits to justice after thorough investigations.

Any unilateral military action against innocent Afghans may help to boost the image of Uncle Sam at home, but it will surely tarnish the U.S. image on the international arena for its flagrant violation of international law.