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September 22, 2001
A commentary by Sergei Markov, Director of the Institute of Political Studies A War Has Been Declared! Who Is the Enemy?
Having declared a war against terrorism, U.S President George Bush said that he and his generals rather than a court would decide whom to kill. The justice of peaceful time has been put aside. Bush will decide himself who will live and who will die. This is the point of this war. The fact that the enemy has not been clearly identified, makes the whole situation still more ideal. Though it puts the U.S generals in a difficult position, it is good for the United States from the legal and political standpoints. Anyone in any country can be declared to be America's enemy. At the same time, those who help this enemy should also be punished. This will be the chief reason for declaring this war.
Now, who is the adversary that will be the target for the U.S strikes? The war has, primarily, been declared on a symbol chosen to be responsible for the September 11 terrorist attacks. The fact that no one's guilt has been absolutely proven does not matter to the United States in this case. The American nation has identified itself as being in a state of war. The U.S President has proclaimed that on behalf of all Americans. Osama bin Laden has been pinpointed to be the chief enemy. Hence, the strikes should be dealt at his military camps. An additional war has been declared on the Taliban, bin Laden's allies who are hiding and helping the Saudi terrorist. Concurrently, the United States has declared a war on the entire international terrorist community and, subsequently, to bin Laden's hypothetical allies both in Afghanistan and all other terrorist headquarters around the world. A recent statement says that terrorists have used the territories of 59 states for terror strikes.
The U.S judicial system allows it to deliver a strike, a nuclear one included, even in the North Caucasus. These are the legal consequences of the Bush-declared war.
Although practically and politically we understand that Bush will never issue such an order now, a legal possibility of that has appeared. In fact, Bush has had plenty of occasions to use nukes against Russia, had he decided that Russia attacked the United States. For example, sensors record missiles launched in Russia whose flight paths indicate that they are targeted against the United States, and there is no chance for Bush to get in touch with Vladimir Putin. In that case, Bush may decide to deliver a nuclear strike against Russia. All bin Laden's allies have been proclaimed to be America's enemies. Consequently, a war will be waged against the entire terrorist-training web existing in dozens of countries.
The international law has undergone substantial changes in the last ten years. Therefore, I think that some kind of consensus is going to be reached. Today, everybody, including Afghanistan's representative at the United Nations, will agree that the U.S attack against Afghanistan is not an act of aggression.
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