Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani has blamed the failure of world intelligence for the inability to locate Osama bin Laden. This is unwarranted. The slain al-Qaeda leader was found in a safe house in his own country. The ultimate intelligence failure was on the part of Pakistan, whose role in the so-called war against terror stands exposed. The U.S. should think twice before releasing more financial aid to Pakistan.
Hari Mohan Sharma,
New Delhi
The U.S. action to eliminate Osama is fraught with dangerous consequences. His burial at sea was unwarranted. The action, if unchallenged, would sanctify the right assumed by the U.S. to dispense justice as it pleases. If Osama could be killed without trial as retaliation for 9/11, by the same logic, the U.S. generals who led the gulf wars, the war in Vietnam and the war against Afghanistan can be eliminated by the enemy without trial, and India can bomb Karachi to kill Dawood Ibrahim. Let us not forget that if it is Pakistan today, it could be India tomorrow.
N. Kesavan,
Hosur
The U.S. was responsible for making Osama what he was, though it routed all help to him through Pakistan in the 1980s. In course of time, he started exploiting the U.S. game plan and became hostile. Washington continues to pursue the same game plan. It has never wished any good for the world. Look at the double game it is playing with India and Pakistan.
Vinod Vyas,
Bhiwani
The pictures of the three men killed along with bin Laden in Abbottabad (May 5) make one wonder why the U.S. is not willing to publish the picture of Osama's body. If bin Laden's pictures are gruesome, so are the ones which have been made public. Was Osama shot beyond possible recognition? Or was the operation an eyewash?
R. Prasanna Karthik,
Chennai
Is Osama's killing really something that calls for celebrations? The time is to reform religious education and mosques to root out extremism. Secondly, how genuine is the news that he is dead? On what basis did the international media publish the news when pictures of his body were not even shown to them?
Noor Jahan Khan,
Bangalore
Osama's killing in a house so close to Pakistan's capital has once again exposed its dual stand on terrorism. India should realise that engaging Islamabad will not pay. Just a month ago, it said bilateral talks would resume just because the two countries met in the semifinal of the cricket World Cup. Politics and sports should not be mixed. Pakistan can never be trusted, as Americans have just discovered.
P. Dinesh,
New Delhi
The comment by CIA Director Leon Panetta — involving Pakistan might have jeopardised the operation to eliminate Osama — clearly portrays America's mistrust of Pakistan. It was shocking to know how the most wanted terrorist was hiding in plain sight under Pakistan's nose. Senior politicians in the U.S. have every right to question Islamabad and its intelligence agency. In the interest of safety, India should be much more vigilant and careful in dealing with Pakistan.
Seshadri Ramkumar,
Lubbock
Although it is true that some sections in Pakistan have been supporting fundamentalists, it may not be wise to use this fact to harass the people of Pakistan at this moment. They have been at the receiving end for quite some time now and are caught between a series of terrorist attacks on their soil and the U.S. drone attacks.
The terror outfits have so far succeeded in capitalising on the poverty and unemployment among the youth in the name of Islam. It is time the media created awareness among the people rather than adding insult to injury.
Krishnaprasad Balan,
Chennai
Everyone is showering praise on Mr. Obama for getting Osama bin Laden, even though the President's contribution to containing terror has been minimal. It was George Bush who taught bin Laden's men a stiff lesson by driving them out of Afghanistan, into the wilderness. He made the U.S. impregnable by instilling mortal fear in the cowardly hearts of terrorists. He did not bother about his image. He stood for the restoration of American prestige and power. But for the resounding retaliatory U.S. strikes against the al-Qaeda under his leadership, there would have been many more large-scale attacks on American soil.
M.R. Anand,
Chennai
