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By Syed M.Aslam
 Sep 24 - 30, 2001

*** "ROCKETS WON'T SAVE YOU: there's nothing out there to shoot at. Blast away year's worth of ammo. The mountains will survive anything."

(Russian colonel Yuri Shamanov, a veteran of Afghan war which brought Soviet superpower to its knees, advising the US not to go to war in Afghanistan)

*** "I REALLY BELIEVE that the pagans, and abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians ... I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'"

(Prominent US television evangelist Jerry Falwell blaming the deadly suicide attacks in New York and Washington on the Godless ways. His televised speech was supported by another cleric Pat Robertson, the failed Republican presidential candidate)

*** "INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS to combat terrorism must also deal with the state terrorism practiced by Israel."

(Editorial of Saudi newspaper 'Al-Jazira' demanding that anti-terrorism campaign initiated by the United States must also target Israel)

*** "WHEN YOU ARE designing a city, if you lose that humanness and that spirit of community that pins a society, you find technology becomes an obstacle or it becomes even, a dangerous oppressant in achieving what would be a good livable society."

(Malaysian consumerist Anwar Fazal calling for cities to focus not just on physical development but also human-centred growth without which technology would fail to improve the quality of urban life)

*** "I DON'T THINK it would be exaggerated to think that the terrorist organizations were among those who speculated international markets."

(Italian Defence Minister Antonio Martino expressing concerns that terror attacks in the US were driven by those who wanted to profit from the carnage by selling shares beforehand and on insider trading at the stock markets)

*** "THIS CANNOT HAPPEN because Turkmenistan is a neutral country."

(Turkmen foreign ministry official's reply to a question if his country was prepared to help US strikes in September 11 attacks in the US)

*** "OUR REPORT not only looks at the state of the world's children, but also at the state of the world's leadership. Broken promises have hurt the children of the 1990s."

(UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy commenting on the annual State of the World's Children report which blames world leaders for the plight of millions of children dying of diseases and malnutrition, forced labour and military recruitment)

*** "HOLLYWOOD IS NOT only a dream factory; it's a nightmare factory. And this is our new American nightmare."

(US TV historian Robert Thompson commenting on the cinematic treatment of violence by Hollywood)

*** "IN OUR VIEW, of all causative factors, alien intervention and injustice in international political and economic order account for the hotbed of international terrorism."

(A top Chinese security official, Xue Dongzheng, asking the US to shoulder some blame for terrorism due to 'alien intervention')

*** "...openly or tacitly portray the present international crisis as an opportunity for India in realpolitik gamesmanship."

(India's 'The Hindu' newspaper cautioning Delhi against war-mongering. It also accused the government of 'error of judgement' for its over-enthusiasm to join US-led military offensive against Afghanistan)

*** "... including dropping of neutron bombs in selective places inside Afghanistan."

(News report highlighting the possible use of neutron bombs by the US against Afghanistan)

*** "ARE THEY NOT terrorists who maintain a blockade for more than 40 years, trying to kill us through hunger and disease."

(Speaker at a rally held in anti-US Cuba to condemn terrorism including its blockade by its mighty neighbour)

*** Photo on GN 14.9 p 5 with inside captions: 'A Palestinian child'