America, the Country that Executed bin Laden and Saddam, Deceives India

In Chicago, David Coleman Headley has been sentenced to 35 years in prison in America on charges of plotting a terrorist conspiracy on a newspaper in Denmark. Allowing the Lashkar terrorist Headley to stay alive instead of executing him raises many questions. Is this America’s dual policy on terror? It is quite clear that Headley was a part of the Mumbai attack conspiracy. Despite this, America was lenient toward him.

The court was overcrowded at the time of Headley’s sentencing. People present there were shocked at this lenient approach. In fact, even the judge avoided any responsibility, saying that no matter how serious a punishment he gives, the nature of these terrorists will never change.

America has publicly spoken many times about teaching a lesson to terrorists. For 10 long years, it ran a search campaign to kill Osama bin Laden, the accused mastermind of the World Trade Center attack. By spreading a rumor about biological weapons, war was forced upon Iraq and Saddam Hussein was hanged. However, this leniency toward Headley, who was part of the conspiracy in the Mumbai attacks, is not understandable.

The famous Indian lawyer, Ujjwal Nikam, finds it hard to accept Headley’s sentence. He says that the crimes committed by the terrorist Ajmal Kasab of the Mumbai attack and Headley are equivalent. We hanged Kasab; if Headley was in India, he would have been given the same punishment. America talks about taking strict action against terrorism; however, it allows people like Headley to stay alive. These are America’s double standards, because Headley is an American.

During his visit to India in his first term, American President Barack Obama had given the strictest possible message to terrorists by asking for no leniency towards them. He stayed in Hotel Taj and paid his tributes to the people who died in the attack. In this attack, many Americans as well as other foreigners were also killed. He talked about working with the Indian intelligence agencies to tighten the noose on terrorism. Lashkar terrorist Headley had visited Mumbai before the attack and was involved with the other conspirators. Despite this, America refused to hand over Headley to India. Foreign minister Salman Khurshid said that the process of extradition is ongoing.

The NIA (National Investigation Agency) team, which was investigating the terrorist attacks in India, was refused permission to talk face-to-face with the arrested Headley. Only after several attempts was India able to convince the American officers. However, America wanted a report of the questions that will be asked of Headley. Headley was arrested by the American investigating agency, the FBI. After his arrest, a team from India had gone to America. At that point, the American government had refused to allow the Indian team to question Headley, citing their laws. Instead, they lay down the condition that the questioning will only be done in America.

Headley is an American — is this why America has shown compassion to him? So much oppression is being done on innocent Asians and people of special religions from Eastern and Middle Asia locked in Guantanamo prison. Many a times, all hell has been let loose because of the frightening pictures shown in world media of the Guantanamo prison, which has been described as Hitler’s torture house. Innocent people are becoming targets of American drone attacks at the Pak-Afghan border. Even after so much noise, there is no effect on America. The truth is that America does only what it wants to.