AUTHOR:
TerrorismCentral Editorial Staff
TITLE:
TerrorismCentral Newsletter - July 28, 2002
SOURCE:
TerrorismCentral, July 28, 2002
TEXT:
Drought is in the news from Australia to Italy, across the US and Africa, in India and Mexico. Water shortages are more than an incident of climate change; they create major public policy issues across the world as countries must begin to grasp the shortage of this most valuable of all resources. The Feature Article this week reviews water conflicts.
News highlights provide an update on the progress of peace in Sudan, Northern Ireland, and Sri Lanka, as well as less optimistic news in the Middle East.
Dr. Joshua Sinai has added more reviews to the Terrorism Bookshelf, so make sure to take another look at this ever-expanding list.
Look for the latest additions to the Commercial Content section and information on the subscription services.
Write us at:
As always, this edition of the Newsletter is linked to selected data from the TerrorismCentral Library.
CONTENTS:
NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:
1. Africa
2. Americas
3. Asia Pacific
4. Europe
5. Middle East
6. South Asia
7. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
8. Finance
9. Human Rights
10 Law and Legal Issues
11. Narco-terrorism
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published
FEATURE ARTICLE:
Water Conflicts
1. Africa
The encroaching famine is southern Africa is complicated by the US, the largest aid donor, offering genetically modified crops that are unacceptable to many of the countries in need, including Zambia, Zimbabwe, and others.
Angolas UNITA rebels have not yet given up their arms, delaying the demobilization that had been scheduled for July 20, but is likely to take place during the next three weeks.
Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda have reached a peace agreement that could bring an end to the fighting that broke out in 1998 and drew in eight neighboring countries. The agreement, to be signed in early August, calls for the withdrawal of up to 30,000 Rwandan troops. The Ugandan-backed Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) had previously reached a peace agreement with DR Congo, from which the largest rebel group, the Congolese Rally for Democracy (RCD) had been excluded. RCD was quick to reject the peace accord and stress the need to include all parties.
Madagascars President Ravalomanana has won kudos for increasing government salaries to discourage corruption. This may encourage the international community to provide the aid he seeks in order to rebuild the economy. President Ravalomanana is also investigating the possible prosecution of former President Ratsiraka under international law.
Morocco and Spain finalized an agreement leaving the island of Parsley/Perejil/Leila unoccupied and scheduling talks in September.
Nigerias mothers have shamed the international oil companies into providing a number of concessions to help reconcile the economic disparities in the country and between the oil workers and the people living in the area. The 12-day protest by hundreds of local women has ended. Nigerian elections, scheduled for August 10, are likely to be delayed for both logistical and political causes.
Sierra Leone was ranked the worlds least developed country in the United Nations annual Human Development Report.
In Somalia, fighting between rival warlords killed at least 16 last week.
Sudans peace agreement is holding as the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and rebel Sudan Peoples Liberation Army/Front (SPLF/A) have held their first personal meeting after 19 years of fighting.
Tanzania faces allegations that its soldiers could be serving as mercenaries in neighboring countries, particularly by DR Congo and Uganda. If true, this development could undermine Tanzanias regional reputation as a neutral party and could put its own security at risk.
In Uganda, rebels of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA) released more than 30 women and children held captive, though hundreds are still missing. Two days later, they attacked a village, killing 42.
European Union sanctions against Zimbabwe have been tightened, with an additional 52 people added to the exclusion list. Stronger enforcement of travel restrictions led to the detention of a senior official attempting to transit through the UK.
2. Americas
Argentine officials provided a deposition from an Iranian defector, Abdolghassem Mesbahi, claiming that the 1994 bombing of a Jewish Community Center that killed 85 was conducted by the government of Iran. (Larry Rohter, "Iran Blew Up Jewish Center in Argentina, Defector Says" in The New York Times, July 22, 2002). Former President Menem denied he or his government had played a role. US authorities said they had no evidence to confirm the alleged link.
Bolivias congress will choose the President on August 3, since none of the candidates won a majority. Leading candidate Gonzalo Sanchez de Lorado formed a coalition with former president Jaime Paz Zamora, making it likely he will be chosen by the Congress.
Brazil has now implemented a sophisticated system, the Amazon Surveillance System, that will help to determine air and land activities in the jungle. (Larry Rohter, "Brazil Employs Tools of Spying to Guard Itself" in The New York Times, July 27, 2002)
In Colombia, an unattributed bomb killed one and injured nine. A video released by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) showed kidnap victim and former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and her colleague Clara Rojas asking for renewed peace talks. Meanwhile, thousands of women across the country gathered in Bogota to demonstrate for peace.
Two former generals from El Salvador were convicted by a US court of civil war atrocities and ordered to pay $54.6 million in damages to the victims.
Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has said he will not authorize any executions while he is president.
In the US, plans for Homeland Security proceed through congress while plans for war against Iraq continue development. The US House of Representatives narrowly passed a Homeland Security department bill that met the presidents demands, but the Senate version maintains protection for workers and other changes that the president has said could lead to a veto.
The US attorney general, John Ashcroft, has asked the State Department to add nine groups to the 39 listed terrorist organizations. These are Al Taqwa Trade, Property and Industry Co Ltd.; Bank Al Taqwa Ltd; Nada Management Organization; Youssef M. Nada and co Gesellschaft; Ummah Tameer E-nau; Loyalist Volunteer Force; Ulster Defense Association/Ulster Freedom Fighters; Afghan Support Committee; Revival of Islamic Heritage Society.
After leakage of plans for an invasion of Iraq, the US Department of Defense has asked for an inquiry into the revelations. Meanwhile, six Iraqi opposition groups are meeting in Washington to discuss the removal of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
In New York, discussions last weekend over the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site led to requests by local community groups for changes including more imagination and flexibility and less commercialization.
3. Asia Pacific
The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) met this week and agreed on measures to cooperate in joint anti-terrorist activities.
Australian authorities are cracking down on the militant Blackshirt group that protests against the family court system. Australia has also cancelled visas of 50 asylum seekers, alleging they are from Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
China has protested US sanctions applied to nine companies accused of selling components, that could be used to develop weapons of mass destruction, to Iran.
See John Congreves article "Enter the dragon" in the Financial Times of July 27-8 for an interesting report on Chinas northwest province of Xinjiang and the influx of Chinese into the traditional Muslim communities.
Indonesia is working with the US towards the resumption of military aid. No doubt this would be used for counter-terrorism training and to suppress the various separatist groups in the sprawling group of islands. Casualties are mounting in Aceh as a result of increased government operations. The Free Aceh Movement (GAM) has responded with increased attacks that have disrupted foreign oil operations. In the Moluccas, more than 50 were injured after two bombs went off in a busy shopping district. And at sea, the International Maritime Bureau has reported an increase in piracy. Indonesia led the most dangerous waters list, with 44 pirate attacks in Indonesia and nine more in the Strait of Malacca in the first six months this year.
North Korea has expressed regrets for last months fatal maritime border dispute with the South last month. Bilateral talks may resume.
Police and protesters clashed over opposition to government policies in the Philippines. Disagreements include economic issuers and the role of US troops.
4. Europe
A mass grave has been found in Bosnia. Forensic experts believe it contains over 100 bodies. It is near the site of the 1995 Srebrenica massacre.
Greek authorities investigations of the November 17 guerilla movement have led to additional arrests on charges ranging from robbery to murder. Irakis Kostaris was charged in the 2000 murder of British attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders.
The International Helsinki Federation has conducted human rights investigations in Chechnya and has concluded that Russian special forces are deliberately targeting and killing young men to thin their population. Russia says they target terrorists and have killed more than 30 Arab mercenaries in the last fortnight. Russian authorities have restricted access to relief agencies in Chechnya.
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit insists that early elections could damage the economy and increase the power of militant Islamic groups. In the face of continued government resignations and parliaments failure to reach a quorum, early elections now appear to be on the cards, despite these risks.
The UKs House of Commons Defence Select Committee issued a highly critical report documenting serious security failings, including insufficient funding, lack of coordination, and absence of protection of key targets, making the country unable to respond to a major attack.
Capping a spate of violent attacks in Northern Ireland, the loyalist paramilitary group Red Hand Defenders, has admitted the murder of Gerald Lawlor in a drive-by shooting.
The families of the Omagh bombing victims have launched a civilian suit against those they believe responsible. Writs were served against five men.
Following meetings to review the status of the ceasefire, Prime Minister Blair delivered an ultimatum against IRA violence that risks their expulsion from the peace process. He and Northern Ireland Minister John Reid have outlined a number of measures to combat continued paramilitary activities including the use of additional police officers, increased surveillance and intelligence efforts, and rigorously enforcing democratic principles.
Progress to end violence in the Middle East seems to be at an impasse. The US administration is focused on planning an attack against Iraq, although the House of Representatives Committee on International Relations has opened hearings to examine a "Marshall Plan for the Middle East". Meanwhile, Europe continues to develop economic and political ties with countries including Iran, and emphasizes that the key to the Middle East now is to resolve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Arab allies are also focused on ending this conflict, using the earlier Saudi proposal as the basis for negotiation.
Amid a general strike, Algerian riot police clashed with hundreds of Berber protesters demanding the release of those jailed in March.
Egypt celebrated the 50th anniversary of the July 23 revolution that established Egypt as a republic. Meanwhile, 34 suspected members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood have been arrested.
In the occupied Gaza Strip, Israeli forces launched a one ton bomb in the middle of a crowded residential district. The bomb annihilated its target, Salah Shahada, head of the militant wing of Hamas, as well as his wife and daughter. It destroyed the surrounding houses, killing another 13, including nine children, and injuring more than 150.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon called the attack a great success. But as the reality of the civilian casualties became apparent, the Israeli government and military began to exchange blame and call for investigation. Governments and human rights groups around the world condemned this use of excessive force in a civilian area. A number of Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups are petitioning to halt Israeli assassinations. US President Bush called the attack "heavy handed" but blocked a UN resolution condemning the attack. Egyptian President Mubarak called it a deliberate act of sabotage, designed to sabotage peace efforts including a plan for the militants to end suicide bombings -- a plan of which the Israeli government had been informed. That effort is now at an end amidst passionate calls for revenge.
Following this attack, the Israeli army launched another incursion into Gaza, blowing up then bulldozing three buildings.
Israel has agreed to release a small portion of the tax money it has been withholding from the Palestinians.
Iranian President Khatami has responded to US efforts to encourage street protests with warnings that warmongering against Iran or Iraq could destabilize the entire region. Iran has also dismissed accusations that it had planned the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Argentina. Iran has granted immediate access to United Nations human rights investigators, in a reversal of its earlier policy, and the first visits will be scheduled.
Iraq is still US President Bushs number one target, despite international criticism and domestic concerns. Iraqi Kurds have expressed concern over a possible invasion, but are also continuing to formulate their strategies in the event there are changes in Baghdad. For details on these issues, see these articles:
Hiwa Osman "Kurds map out post-Saddam future" BBC News, July 22 online at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/middle_east/2144063.stm
John F. Burns, "Kurds Savor a New, and Endangered, Golden Age" in The New York Times, July 28
Roula Khalaf, "Official response is defiance but Iraqis just feel despair" in Financial Times July 27-28
In Israel, plans to deport relatives of suspected militants have been put on hold and are now unlikely. After the deadly attack in Gaza, officials have proposed easing the occupation of the West Bank and freeing some of the tax money that has been withheld.
In the occupied West Bank, a rabbi was shot dead near a Jewish , four Jewish settlers were killed in two road ambushes, and a Palestinian girl was shot dead by Jewish settlers firing guns as they ran through the city.
Afghanistan is trapped between lack of internal security and lack of funding to pay for the security. The international community must do more to help reconstruction despite the security issues, or the government will never be able to provide security. It is unsafe for returning refugees, both because of internal instability and because the sheer volume has been more than can be accommodated. It is also unsafe for aid workers. A suggestion for US support, which has so far been military, is made by Michael Ignatieff, "How to Keep Afghanistan From Falling Apart: The case for a committed American imperialism" in The New York Times Magazine, July 28, 2002.
Personal security for Afghan President Hamid Karzai will be provided by US officers. This move follows the assassination of Vice President Haji Abdul Qadir earlier this month.
Afghanistan will sign the international treaty banning land mines.
Following large scale violent student protests, the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, has been closed.
In the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, the Peoples War Group (PWG) set off a land mine that killed four and injured 30 commandos.
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi is heading up a caretaker administration until new elections can be held. The opposition Congress party is asking for federal rule in his place. Communal killings in Gujarat have left deep scars. Read articles by Celia W. Dugger, "Religious Riots Loom Over Indian Politics" and Mahvish Khan "To Keep the Peace, Study Peace" in The New York Times, July 27, 2002. Meanwhile, an Amnesty International team sent to investigate the killings was refused visas.
In Jammu and Kashmir a grenade attack killed one and injured 18. Two other attacks killed five members and associates of the National Conference party. The first round of talks on possible devolution is being held.
Pakistan police have arrested four, alleged members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, for possible involvement in the attack on St Dominics church last year that killed 18. Their names were not released.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Wickramasinghe is confident that the peace process is on track despite delays and breaches of the ceasefire.
7. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
In the US, Princeton University has been discovered hacking into admissions records at Yale. Yale has reported the incursions to the FBI and is evaluating legal action.
A bill introduced in the US Congress would give the entertainment industry the right to hack into personal computers to look for illegal downloads of music or movies. This effort joins Homeland Security proposals to create national reporting, including the TIPS program and proposed exemptions from the Freedom of Information Act.
India has investigated activities of Imtiaz Bazaz, alleged to help fund militant groups in Kashmir. Details in the Christian Science Monitor, July 22, 2002, in an article by Scott Baldauf, "The war on terrors money: Indias six-month investigation offers lessons on fighting underground banking". Additional information is in a report on efforts in Pakistan. See Farhan Bokharis article "Elusive bank accounts foil clampdown in Pakistan" in the Financial Times, July 12, 2002.
US officials have said Omar Shishani, arrested last week with $12 million in fraudulent checks, will cooperate in providing information on terrorism financing sources.
9. Human Rights
The United Nations annual Human Development Report has been released. In its ranking of 173 countries, Norway ranked first and Sierra Leone last. They stress the need to develop democratic, multilateral institutions in the fight against global poverty.
Sergio Vieira de Mello of Brazil has been appointed as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. He will replace Mary Robinson in September.
A joint report by the Organization for Security and Cooperation and the United Nations has identified human trafficking in southeastern Europe the main source of 120,000 women and children annually smuggled into prostitution inside the European Community. The report emphasizes the need to prosecute the traffickers rather than their victims.
A family of four Afghan refugees, who had taken refuge in a mosque in England, was forcibly removed by 12 police. The family has been arrested but their deportation is being appealed.
Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo has said he will not authorize any executions while he is president.
Rwandan officials have criticized the slow pace and lack of concern exhibited by the International tribunal. The tribunal responded that Rwandan authorities were not cooperating in investigations of the army.
A combination of national and international judges will make up the panel of eight on Sierra Leones special war crimes tribunal.
The US unsuccessfully attempted to stop a protocol, ratified by 130 countries including the US, against torture of prisoners.
Hussein al-Attas has pled guilty in an Oklahoma court to lying about his friendship with Zacarias Moussaoui, but he has not been charged with any terrorist activities.
Seamus Daly, Seamus McKenna, Michael McKevitt, Liam Campbell and Colm Murphy are accused of responsibility for the Omagh bombing in a civil suit brought by families of the victims.
Retired generals Carlos Eugenio Vides Casenova and Jose Guillermo of El Salvador were convicted by a US court of civil war atrocities and ordered to pay $54.6 million in damages to the victims.
The US Department of Justice has filed papers describing why American Yaser Esam Hamdi, captured in Afghanistan, should be treated as an enemy combatant.
Khadafi Abubakar Janjalani, Isnilon Totoni Hapilon, Aldam Tilao, Jainal Antel Sali Jr, and Hamsiraji Marusi Sali have been indicted for murders and kidnapping in their alleged role as rebel leaders of the Abu Sayyaf.
Irakis Kostaris, an alleged member of November 17, was charged in the 2000 murder of British attache Brigadier Stephen Saunders. His colleague, Vassilis Xiros had already confessed to his involvement. Other members charged last week include Constantine Tellos, Pavlos Serifis, Heracles Kostaris and Constantinos Karatsolis. Suspected member Dimitris Koufodinas is being sought. Alexandros Yiotopoulos, accused leader, has been charged in a number of crimes and allowed additional time to prepare a deposition.
Sharif Abu el-Magd and Mohammed Haider are among 34 arrested in Egypt on suspicion of membership in the banned Muslim Brotherhood.
Slobodan Milosevics trial is at risk because of his ill health and high risk of a heart attack. This comes as three key witnesses (former president Zoran Lilic, former secret service head Rade Markovic and senior police officer Dragan Karleusa) begin their testimony. Markovic testified that although Milosevic had been briefed daily, his orders came only from the interior minister, not the president. Milosevic denied testimony by Karleusa that he had ordered 86 bodies from Kosovo to be hidden.
In Colombia, the trial of IRA associates Jim Monaghan, Martin McCauley and Niall Connolly, accused of aiding the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, is scheduled to begin October 4.
Pakistan police have arrested four, alleged members of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, for possible involvement in the attack on St Dominics church last year that killed 18. Their names were not released.
Zacarias Moussaoui on trial in the US as the "20th hijacker" reviewed his plea with Judge Brinkema and following detailed discussions withdrew his proposed guilty plea and has now entered a plea of not guilty.
The trial of those connected with the gang rape of a woman in Punjab province, Pakistan, has begun. The special terrorism court is trying four for rape and ten for aiding and abetting the crime.
Omar Shishani, arrested last week with $12 million in fraudulent checks, is being held without bail. US officials have said he plans to cooperate in providing information on terrorism financing sources.
James Ujaama was arrested in Denver, Colorado, for alleged associations with Islamic militants.
Afghanistan has burned another 20 bags of poppies and is holding meetings to explore alternatives for the poppy farmers.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta testified to Congress that lack of funding meant it would not be possible to meet screening deadlines. This is a turnaround from as recently as last week and some members of congress have suggested it is a tactic to get more money rather than a legitimate concern. However, it is true that the equipment to undertake full screening is in short supply, as is the staff required to execute required security measures. In an effort to improve participation from the private sector, financial liability for screening companies will be limited.
Similar shortages of equipment and manpower are hampering border controls.
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
Russia plans to build five more nuclear reactors in Iran over the next ten years.
Activists in the US and UK are protesting continues sale of arms to Israel. Following the recent massive loss of civilian life, the US Congress and State Department are reviewing whether Israel has violated arms control provisions.
Baldauf, Scott, "The war on terrors money: Indias six-month investigation offers lessons on fighting underground banking" in Christian Science Monitor, July 22, 2002.
Bokhari, Farhan "Elusive bank accounts foil clampdown in Pakistan" in the Financial Times, July 12, 2002
Burns, John F. "Kurds Savor a New, and Endangered, Golden Age" in The New York Times, July 28, 2002
Congreve, Scott "Enter the dragon" in the Financial Times, July 27-8, 2002.
Dugger, Celia W. "Religious Riots Loom Over Indian Politics" The New York Times, July 27, 2002
Ignatieff, Michael "How to Keep Afghanistan From Falling Apart: The case for a committed American imperialism" in The New York Times Magazine, July 28, 2002.
Khalaf, Roula "Official response is defiance but Iraqis just feel despair" in Financial Times July 27-28, 2002
Khan, Mahvish "To Keep the Peace, Study Peace" in The New York Times, July 27, 2002
Mallie, Eamonn and David McKittrick. Endgame in Ireland. Hodder and Stoughton. (Book of Norma Percys film)
Rohter, Larry "Brazil Employs Tools of Spying to Guard Itself" in The New York Times, July 27, 2002
Rohter, Larry "Iran Blew Up Jewish Center in Argentina, Defector Says" in The New York Times, July 22, 2002
Osman, Hiwa "Kurds map out post-Saddam future" BBC News, July 22 online at
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/middle_east/2144063.stm
Water Conflicts
While abundant resources such as oil and diamonds can be used to finance violence, even greater risk can arise from an absence of resources. The most precious of our natural resources is fresh water, but its supply is limited. 97.5 percent of the worlds water is salty, and two-thirds of the rest is frozen in glaciers and icecaps or too deep to reach. That leaves less than one percent of the worlds supply to provide water for crops, drinking and sanitation.
Already a quarter of the worlds population -- over a billion people -- has no access to safe drinking water. At the current rate of consumption, the United Nations estimates this will more than double by the year 2025, involving a third of the expected population. In the world today, waterborne diseases kill nearly ten times more people than violence -- some 600 per hour.
Many of the worlds flashpoints map to areas of critical water shortages. This article reviews areas at risk around the globe.
Africa:
Water wars in Africa are most likely in areas where water supplies are shared by more than one country, including the Nile, Niger, Volta and Zambezi basins. The Nile runs through Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt. In Southern Africa, Angola, Namibia and Botswana share the Cuito River. All of these areas already experience internal conflicts and border tensions, and have had prior disputes over water. For example, tensions with Egypt increased dramatically when Ethiopia planned to build dams on the Nile.
Americas:
The New York Times (June 11, 2002) describes the impact of one dam:
" Forty years after one generation dammed the Colorado River at the upper end of the Grand Canyon, a new generation of engineers and scientists is struggling to deal with the consequences: colossal loss of sand, shrinking beaches, an invasion of outside fish and plants, the extinction of native species, erosion of archaeological sites and the sudden appearance of an Asian tapeworm, to name a few."
The article goes on to describe research into collaborative processes to stem these consequences here and also in the Columbia River basin, the San Francisco Bay delta and the Everglades.
There are severe droughts in many parts of the United States, as far from California and New Mexico to Atlanta, Georgia.
Water tension between the US and Mexico is high. As explained in the New York Times (May 24, 2002):
"The United States and Mexico built a huge reservoir by damming the Rio Grande, under a treaty to divide the water of the might river.... The reservoir, drained by drought, thirst, population growth and personal greed, holds one-twelfth of its capacity.... On the waters edge, two miles away, horses and cattle graze on grasses that should be five fathoms under.... The water-management policies of both nations for the border can best be described in three words: pray for rain....
Mexico now owes the United States 465 billion gallons of water....
What started as a local dispute along the Rio Grande has turned into an international imbroglio, a question of national security for Mexico and a matter of survival for several million Texans and Mexicans."
Discussions over this systemic problem are ongoing, but it cant be reconciled if the supply of water doesnt exist.
Meanwhile, diversion of rivers for irrigation in South America is also beginning to have untoward environmental consequences. For example, in Paraguay, more than 10,000 crocodiles are dying as the swamplands they live in are drying up.
Dont forget all of the indigenous groups in these areas and their long history of disputes over the allocation of natural resources and their basic livelihoods.
Asia Pacific:
One of the worlds greatest water disasters occurred here, with the disappearance of the Aral Sea. Once the worlds fourth largest inland sea is now a desert whose salt carries in the wind as far away as the Himalayas. Under the Soviet Union, the rivers that fed the sea were diverted to grow cotton in the deserts of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. This cotton still provides the main income for the new republics. Back at the former sea, there is a graveyard of ships left behind from the former fishing port and a population rife with diseases that result from malnutrition and water polluted with the pesticides and fertilizers used on the cotton.
Europe:
The UN Economic Commission for Europe says that one in seven Europeans (120 million people) do not have access to clean water and sanitation and that wasted water costs Europe around $10 billion/year.
Middle East:
Scarcity of water in the Middle East has exacerbated regional tensions.
The Sea of Galilee a major source of water for Israel, as are the Golan Heights (occupied from Syria), that supply almost a third of their needs, and the Litani River (Lebanon). Water is of such critical importance for Israel that in May a parliamentary committee recommended that the Prime Minister should have direct control of water-related issues.
Israelis use more than three times as much water per head than do the neighboring Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, Jordan, Syria, or Lebanon. Much of this consumption has gone into irrigation of crops (citrus fruit, rice, cotton) and watering lawns, but after several years of drought many water-hungry plants are being replaced with hardier species. Neighboring countries have accused Israel of being reluctant to withdraw from occupied territories because they want to retain control of the water.
Turkey has been building dams and hydropower plants along the Euphrates that are depriving Syria and Iraq of water.
In Iran, Lake Hamoun has dried up following Afghanistan (under the Taliban) damming the Helmland River. This month, Iran called for the flow of water to be reopened.
South Asia:
While ethnicity and religion account for a large part of the reason for the long-running conflict over Kashmir, rest assured that control of the water of the Indus River Basin also contributes to this intransigent problem. Indias ultimate weapon is less the nuclear threat than the threat of cutting off water supplies to Pakistan. At the height of the recent dispute, Indian hardliners were suggesting India pull out of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty that survived the 1965 and 1971 wars. This treaty gives Pakistan rights to three western tributaries, and India rights to three eastern tributaries, but it all passes through Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Elsewhere in India, the Ganges, center of economic, social and cultural life, is heavily polluted, putting water supplies for over 350 million people at risk.
Changes in the population and weather patterns have played a role in the worlds water shortage, but the primary problem rises from mismanagement of resources. Agriculture consumes some 70% of water used. Current mass production methods and irrigation techniques must be altered to take into account the effect on the total environment and the reality of the limited resources available. Pollution of fresh water must stop. Waste from inadequate production and distribution systems must be controlled. The technology to achieve these changes exists; it is only political will that is lacking.
Water shortages represent one of the greatest risks the world faces. Many experts anticipate that war will be caused by a shortage of natural resources, and that a fight over water is more likely than one over oil. In many parts of the world, water is already more expensive than fuel.
The UN has called for a "blue revolution" to conserve water and develop new supplies. These actions need to be undertaken NOW.
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