Saturday, October 8, 2011

UN Counter Terrorism: Cognitive Dissonance

In a previous post, I detailed the statements of Allah and his messenger which sanctify, mandate and incite Islamic terrorism, as expressly denied in three statements before the General Assembly's 6th Committee.  This post concentrates on the cognitive dissonance exemplified by those statements. 

    The fun begins with the double representation of Kazakhstan as a member of the SCO  and a representative of the OIC.  How does Kazakhstan reconcile these polar opposite positions?

  • condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of its
    motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.
  • terrorism, irrespective of its motivation, objectives, forms and manifestations,
    committed by whomsoever and wherever, can never be justified.
  • without any "double standards"
  • ---------------------------------------------------------------------
  • root causes of terrorism including unlawful use of
    force, aggression, foreign occupation, festering international disputes, denial of
    the right of peoples living under foreign occupation to self-determination,
  • outstanding issues including those related to the legal definition of terrorism,
    particularly on the distinction between terrorism and the struggle for the rights of
    self-determination by people under foreign occupation,
    How is it possible at once to condemn all forms of terrorism, regardless of motivation, location &  perpetrator without double standards and to exclude terrorist attacks against Israel from the definition of terrorism?  How can it be permissible to bomb civilian mass transit in Israel but not in Europe?

    The fun continues with cognitive dissonance regarding the root cause of terrorism. 
  • The SCO member States express grave concern over the expansion of terrorist ideology.
  • We actively support the widespread prevention of terrorism, including countering the ideology that nourishes it.
  • ----------------------------------------------------
  • No religion or religious doctrine encourage or inspires acts or terrorism.
  • improving the living conditions of the poor and unemployed youth and
    people living under political and historical oppression and foreign occupation.
  • In this connection, we note that attempts to link terrorism with any particular religion or a particular ethnic
    group are themselves provocative and contributes to the spread of terrorism.
China swerves into the truth by citing terrorist ideology, but does not name or describe it, obviously because of excessive political correctness. China's affiliate, Kazakhstan, assigns economic injustice, oppression & occupation as causes of terrorism.  Which is it: the belief that Allah demands global conquest, sanctifies & mandates terrorism as exemplified by his messenger, or poverty and foreign occupation? 

    Qatar brings another dimension to cognitive dissonance, asserting that exposing the Islamic doctrines that incite terrorism provokes terrorism.  If Islam was not involved, exposing it would not provoke Muslims to engage in terrorism.  With one sentence, Qatar blows up the entire house of cards.

China/SCO

It is my great honor to speak today on behalf of the Members
of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO): the Republic of
Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Russian Federation, the
Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan , and my own
country the People's Republic of China.

The SCO reiterates its fundamental position of condemning
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, regardless of its
motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.

In this regard, the SCO Member States
emphasizes that counter-terrorism cooperation should be
conducted on the principle of respect for international law
including state sovereignty and without any "double standards" .

The SCO member States express grave concern over the
expansion of terrorist ideology. Representatives of numerous
ethnicities with different religious beliefs and cultural traditions
live in the territory of this Organization. It is vital that the idea of
condemning terrorism becomes an intrinsic part of the dialogue
between religions and civilizations. We actively support the
widespread prevention of terrorism, including countering the
ideology that nourishes it.

Kazakhstan/OIC

The OIC Group reaffirms that terrorism should not be associated with any religion,
race, faith, theology, values, culture, society or group. No religion or religious
doctrine encourage or inspires acts or terrorism, and, thus, none should be
portrayed as such.

To achieve this objective the OIC Group support a comprehensive strategy to combat
terrorism that must address the root causes of terrorism including unlawful use of
force, aggression, foreign occupation, festering international disputes, denial of
the right of peoples living under foreign occupation to self-determination,
political and economic injustices, and political marginalization and alienation.

We reaffirm our determination to make every
effort to reach a consensus agreement on the draft convention, by resolving the
outstanding issues including those related to the legal definition of terrorism,
particularly on the distinction between terrorism and the struggle for the rights of
self-determination by people under foreign occupation, and colonial or alien
domination, as well as on the scope of the acts covered by the draft Convention.

Qatar/Arab Group

On the other hand, it is unfortunate that a large part of international efforts to
combat terrorism is limited to reactions to terrorism and its symptoms, rather than
discussing and addressing its root causes and eliminating the factors that feed it. For
international efforts to eliminate terrorism to succeed, it is imperative to address its
root causes, as recognized by the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy,
and the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. This includes several aspects,
including improving the living conditions of the poor and unemployed youth and
people living under political and historical oppression and foreign occupation. We
must also prevent the incitement to hatred, including incitement to violence and
hatred of minorities of ethnic groups, religions and foreigners. In this connection, we
note that attempts to link terrorism with any particular religion or a particular ethnic
group are themselves provocative and contributes to the spread of terrorism.

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