COMMENTARY Plane Crash of the TWA Jumbo-Jet TERRIBLE MESSAGE AND A MUTE REPLY The ghost of international terrorism is again roaming the world. With fanaticized motivations, global-political ambitions, abundantly financed and well organized intelligence and criminal set-up, this monster is not stopping even at the gates of such countries which are at the same time the most developed democratic communities and the most sophisticated police machineries. Just when the members of the U.S. military contingent from the base in Dahran were being buried on the soil of friendly Saudi Arabia, the viper of terrorism, reached - as many indications are showing - the very doorstep of the leading NATO power. And on the very eve of commencement of the greatest world sports and business, social and political spectacle. Sorrow, anxiety and even fear were the shadows cast on the fireworks and sounds of fanfare, which the only remaining super-power or "the leading country of the world" - as often underlined by its politicians - had splendidly prepared in its role of host to the jubilee Olympic Games. In the most terrible way, the explosion ignited fire ball of one of the world's largest passenger aircraft, blended with these fireworks. According to the prevailing belief, it has announced a ruthless and highly organized continuation of the assassination actions of this parallel world, which is presenting an ever growing threat to the legal world order. And in it, the use of force and ultimatum, even without an underground terrorist pandemonium, have already considerably shaken the basic cornerstones of law and order: principles of inviolability of state frontiers and sovereign constitutional norms within those frontiers. If this is really the case of a terrorist mass crime committed against innocent persons and children, then the message sent by the assassins to the U.S. government is clear even without signature of the authors. It could be formulate like this: "Even the greatest security measures at the time of your utmost security mobilization, will not prevent us from striking at the very heart of your national being and soil". Whether and to what extent was a dangerous meaning attached to the fact that the ill-fated air giant was flying on the route New York - Paris, and that the innocent victims were also many French, remains to be seen. This is a matter given for many reasons a considerable thought, and fear, in France. This country had suffered last summer a series of assassination attempts by the "Allah's Commandoes", with seven killed and over a hundred wounded. Police forces and state security authorities of France captured or killed several terrorist groups, mostly the Algerian Islamic fundamentalists. Among them, a personal participation and organized assistance by the Bosnian mujjahedins was also discovered. At the first glance there is a surprising reluctance by the U.S. official authorities to accept the same assumptions that the TWA tragedy has a terrorist character. Whoever is to recall how fast some other painful diversions, also occurring without the explicit 'signature' of perpetrators, were being condemned - when without any proof extremely categorical claims were uttered about a national and political background of the crime, and even sanctions imposed and most heavily thrown upon the shoulders of millions of completely innocent men, women and children - then one has to ask: where does it come from and what does it mean, this present-day extreme reserve of the United States authorities in the face of a completely logical assumption of a terrorist background in the case of the Long Island plane crash? Political functionalization of this and similar tragedies also explains the extent of their eventual concealing, revealing and sometimes even 'staging'. (In this particular case, of course, there can be no talk of any 'staging'). It shows from time to time that there are some hidden facts about false attribution of criminal explosions, as were the ones in the bread-line in Sarajevo, and even twice on the market place of this same tragic and in vain tortured Sarajevo, etc. It was discovered, however, that these were some superbly timed 'public-relations' introductions into imposing of sanctions against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, or into mass bombing of the Serbian vital interests in Bosnia-Herzegovina by NATO. And their alleged 'perpetrators' - as additionally and authentically testified by many foreign mediators, observers and commanders of the UNPROFOR in Bosnia - were being 'discovered', indicted and sentenced within only hours, in an almost comic and ordered haste, immediately prior to the beginning of a long and in-detail- prepared complex punitive actions. And now what? The assumption which is on all our minds is not being articulated by the official circles of the United States, neither by a mute grimace, nor by a discreetly pointed finger. The inquisitive and naturally curious reporters are being given a decisive 'no' for an answer: no - there are no signs indicating at a terrorist background of the event. The reasons for this sudden silence lies in several layers of the American politics and business, and touches both on the present- day and on the yesterday's, but most of all on the immediately forthcoming interests. To begin with, it is difficult to admit the inefficiency of one's own anti-terrorist defense in the phase of its highest performances. It is much easier to "call upon God as my witness" and ascribe the entire tragedy to an unescapable force majeure. This will be a lesser encouragement to supporters of and actors in the terrorist underground, and will alleviate the anxiety of citizens and visitors to the Unite States in general and during the Olympic Games in particular. Even an eventual failure to discover organizers and perpetrators will, thus, not burden the authorities during the pre-electoral duels in front of the public. French President Chirac, free of such encumbrances, was not reluctant to express immediately his concern about the possibility of a new terrorist attack having taken place and committed by the Islamic commandoes. Two of the three international peace-making missions by President Clinton (Middle East, Bosnia-Herzegovina, plus Ireland) are seriously jeopardized by the aggressive terrorist offensive of the Islamic fundamentalists and coercing demands by Alija Izetbegovic for NATO to grant him as a gift a military victory, and not only the salvation from an irrefutable military defeat. In the face of fighters of "Hesballah" in Lebanon, "Jihad" in Ghaza" and "Muslim Brotherhood" and similar terrorist groups, the peace process in the Middle East came to a halt, and in Israel a right-wing Likud block came into power with many 'hawks' at its head... In the Northern Ireland, the war lasting for several decades, is now raging again, and the mediating initiatives of Bill Clinton have failed, which at the time marked a spectacular but unfortunately, very brief, success. In an attempt, after all of these bitter experiences, to save at least the Dayton Peace Agreement on Bosnia-Herzegovina and not to deteriorate relations with the militant Islamic front, Washington D.C. suddenly and without any arguments, states that all the foreign mercenaries and mujjahedins have left Bosnia-Herzegovina, and that this important condition has been fulfilled for the commencement of an extensive military assistance which, together with the already mentioned demand, was promised to Alija Izetbegovic and his fictitious federation with the Bosnian Croats. (And Tudjman's Croatia has already annexed them into its own both social- political and military-police structures). In spite of the haphazard but politically necessary statement about the departure of mujjahedins (mostly of Iranian, Algerian, Pakistani and Saudi origin), they still remain in Bosnia. This is well known and claimed in whispers by those IFOR and European Union officials who assume - on firm grounds - that the American contingent will withdraw from Bosnia-Herzegovina until the end of this year, leaving their monitoring presence for the Balkans in a much calmer Macedonia, while on the ground in Bosnia-Herzegovina only the European units will remain, those whose governments will be willing to secure their share in the future Balkans constellation. Armament and instructors who are now being sent to the Izetbegovic's Islamic semi-state, as well as what he had already received from Iran with the American blessing in the period of "strict application of the arms sales embargo" to any side in the conflict in the region of the former SFR of Yugoslavia, will remain there as a threat, and not as a guarantee for either Dayton or any other lasting peace. It will be the source of permanent inspiration for the new demands by Muslim authorities and for new pressures of its Pan-Islamic backyard towards Washington D.C. and its closest followers from the European camp. At the same time, these arms will be an immediate danger for the remaining IFOR forces, and an indirect source of military supplies and logistic support for various Islamic militant groups throughout Europe and the world. It is a general belief that the American contingent, before withdrawal from Bosnia-Herzegovina, will make an additional gift to the Islamic rule: it is expected that the entire or at least well selected armament and equipment of this contingent, will be given to the author of "the Islamic Declaration", ***************************************************************** * REPUBLIC OF SERBIA * MINISTRY OF INFORMATION * * 11000 Belgrade * Nemanjina 11 * Yugoslavia * * * * email: mirs@EUnet.yu Phone: 381 11 645 590 * * http://www.yugoslavia.com Fax : 381 11 659 370 * *****************************************************************