Please, Mr Obama!!!

Philip Bobbitt, what can I say, is all set to make Barack Obama the next Bush. Though being a Democrat, through his book "Terror and Consent: the Wars for the Twenty First century" he has proved what kind of a partisan chauvinist he is. I haven't read his book but simply reading what it contains makes me sick in the stomach.

He has challenged some of the well accepted notions of terrorism and its origins, and has laid out a new way for tackling modern day terror. Forget about what his notions of terrorism are. Everyone has his/her own views. What is more poignant is the solution he has presented in his thesis.

He suggests a broad "US - led" global alliance of what he calls the "states of consent" which would develop a new set of international principles under which, force can legitimately be used against another state to pre-empt a terrorist strike or to destroy WMD. This new set of laws would then override existing international conventions such as the United Nations Charter. Other conclusions you can gather from such a proposition, I leave it to you guys.

In all this, Bobbitt forgets that irrespective of how brutal the terror strike may be, how difficult the struggle against terrorism might be, the concept of human rights is universal and independent of the space time continuum. That cannot become anachronistic. You can't say that considering the ubiquitous nature of terrorism in the 21st century and the vulnerability of civilians to terror attacks, it is justifiable to take blood for blood. A drop of blood spawned in the endeavor of fighting terrorism is only going to give birth to a new insurgent.

What we need thus is a more viable solution, a break from all the parochial anachronistic ideas promulgated in the name of the War Against Terrorism. Creating more Guantanamo Bays, more Iraqs, can never be seen as a solution worth considering irrespective of how bad the state of affairs of international relations go.

Please Mr. Obama, Keep Bobbitt away from your circle of advisors, else you will lose all the trust you have gathered from the international community.