Emir of Bahrain praises the 'good fight' to liberate Afghanistan and calls for Palestine
THE Emir of Bahrain yesterday became the first Arab leader to call the fighting in Afghanistan a great war of liberation.
"I am so happy America and Britain are going into Afghanistan," he said. "Liberating it from this evil Taliban will only be good for women, men and children. It is a very good war of liberation.
"The Americans aren't like the Soviet Union, they are not trying to overthrow Muslims for communists. They are helping the Afghans to progress and saving poor Muslims from evil."
In an interview at Saffriya Palace, Sheikh Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa said Bahrain would not only lend troops, but would allow its airbases to be used for bombing raids. The US Fifth Fleet is based at the island.
"If we were asked to send troops we would consider it, but they might not be appropriate because they are not used to mountainous terrain," said the former Sandhurst officer. "We would think it a great honour. We have helped the British for 180 years and the Americans for 50."
Sheikh Hamad insisted that his neighbours in the Gulf states who didn't support the war in Afghanistan were wrong. "Anyone against such a thing must have lost their mind, it's a gift of God that the developed world can go into Afghanistan and help to correct it."
The Emir who is a Sunni Muslim, said that Muslims should help to hunt down Osama bin Laden. "How can Muslims support a man who is hiding in a cave, who wants to return to the Dark Ages?"
The new progressive head of this tiny state disagreed with other Arab leaders who have criticised the bombing. "It breaks all our hearts to see an Afghan refugee crouching in a dust storm but this bombing is necessary to free these people.
"We have supported this campaign from day one without any hesitation. It is not against Islam or Arabs but terrorism. And terrorism should frighten us, not the war against terrorism."
He said that Bahrain would not send blankets to the refugees. "They are a tough lot, like us. They can survive the winter, what they need are medicines."
The Arab world must understand, he said, that the Taliban are not Islamic. "The way they treat women is disgusting. What can we learn from them? Have they given us better hospitals, schools or gardens? No. Women should choose what they wear: a burqa, a pair of trousers, a swimming suit."
The Emir said that if bin Laden or the leaders of the Taliban were tried in an Islamic country they would be treated extremely harshly. "Killing women and children is not in the Koran," he said.
Arab states must ensure that the war against terrorism did not become a war of religions. "In Saudi Arabia and Yemen even a strange goat is suspicious, there is more resentment against the West. Here we are an island, we are used to different peoples, we must lead the way."
The Emir said the issue of a Palestinian state should not be mixed up with the war on terrorism. "It is nothing to do with bin Laden and his gang. I am confident that the two states, Israel and Palestine, will soon co-exist.
"It would be a great help to the allies if these two states were created quickly, to bring back the support of the Arab world that the West has lost. If we do the right thing in Afghanistan, we must also do it in Palestine."