Truth, Shiva and beauty

In Hindu thought artha, dharma, kama and moksha are considered the four goals of life. These concepts are the undercurrents of the stream of all life and are not contradictory.

Artha and kama as the urges of human instinct represent the truths of life. These become beautiful when enjoyed in accordance with the principles of righteousness.

Dharma is shivam or kalyankari. It takes negativity out of wealth and sex and purifies them. Wealth is involved in goddess Lakshmi and we are exhorted to earn as much as we can so that it can be used in public service.

Kama too has a god in Kamdeva. Shiva destroys him the moment he emerges with the feeling of physical gratification but when it is enjoyed with love without lust and to offer progeny, it becomes pure beauty and magic of life. The truth of life is thus at once virtuous and base, savage and gentle, ugly and immensely beautiful, with joy and sorrow, light and shadow. Death-in-life completely envelops in itself life-in-death. Destruction is as sacred as creation because destruction quickens new birth. One who knows this Truth also knows that since it is the law of Nature it has to be kalyankari for all life. Nothing bad ever happens in Nature, because it is the concrete manifestation of the love of Lord.

In his poem Ode to a Grecian Urn Keats says "Beauty is truth, truth beauty" and "that is all/ Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know." To Keats beauty is the touchstone of truth. "To see things in their beauty, is to see things in their truth" wrote Arnold. In a letter Keats wrote: "What the imagination seizes as beauty must be truth." Plato similarly thinks that beauty is the splendour of truth. The whole of creation is beautiful and this is the truth of life. But it is the partial truth. Hindu thought adds the word Shivam to it and the concepts of beauty and truth are at once raised to a lofty realm. Shivam comes after truth. That means the ultimate, truth is to know that life in its numerous variety of forms is sacred and this alone is its beauty.

Truth is epitomised in Goddess Kali .She is the primordial energy of the cosmos and is worshipped as Shakti—the sustaining principle of life. She incarnates consummate beauty of death; she incarnates perfect beauty of life, simultaneously violent and tender, grotesque and beatific. Shiva, her consort, personifies Shivam –all that is good on earth. He is the destroyer of creation, but for its preservation, He has drunk poison and kept it in his 'kanth' or throat and has come to be known as 'Neelkantha'. This makes him ultimate in kindness and magnanimity.

Shiva is revered by devotees because He is considered to have never refused a boon to any one. He is the benefactor of all. Together, Shiva and Kali become the quintessence of Satyam Shivam Sundaram. Truth, well being of all, and beauty are the basis of creation and the guiding force of all life. Any concept that leads to bahujan hitaya or common welfare is inevitably going to be for bahujan sukhaya or happiness for all -- and this truth alone is the underlying beauty of life.

List of men you shouldn't marry

1. Mummy's boys

2. Men who are bad with money

3. Men with no friends

4. Men who put you down in public

5. Men who are rude to waitering staff

6. Men unable to laugh at themselves

7. Men unwilling to share authority

8. Men who never make demands countering yours

Tea therapy: To lose weight, don't add milk to your cuppa

LONDON: It's a known fact that tea contains antioxidants that help you lose weight, but a new research led by an Indian scientist found that this fat-fighting ability is neutralised if milk is added to it.

It has long been found that tea contains high levels of antioxidant such as theaflavins and thearubigins which help reduce the amount of fat absorbed by the gut and can also cut cholesterol. Now, researchers at the Tea Research Association in Assam, India, found the compounds also help prevent obesity when given to rats that were on a highfat diet.

The benefits are cancelled out by proteins found in cows' milk, they said. "When tea is taken with milk, theaflavins and thearubigins form complexes with the milk protein, which causes them to precipitate ," Devajit Borthakur, a scientist at the Tea Research Association , said. "Therefore, it is always advised to take tea without milk," he said.

The scientists at the centre are now looking for ways of making the antioxidants less susceptible to being neutralised by milk.

Google owns world's second-largest search engine too!

oon www could stand for world wide watching. Unknown to most, YouTube—the six-year-old video-sharing website—has become the second-largest search engine in the world after Google. It gets two billion views a day, up 50% since 2009.

A startup set up by three PayPal employees in 2005, YouTube was bought by Google in 2006 for $1.65 billion. Now it is gearing up to compete with TV.

"We believe that the distinction between internet and TV viewing will fast disappear as on-demand video takes centre stage," says Gautam Anand, director, Google (Asia-Pacific Japan). YouTube is adding new streams of content and figuring new ways to make money. In the US it has signed up with MGM and CBS to let them upload films and TV serials with advertisements. Last year, it launched an online film rental service in the US. But online video services like Netflix, Hulu—and even Facebook—present formidable competition.

The India journey

It has nearly 20 million unique users in India. Top hits here mirror what works globallymovies and sports. So Bollywood content dominates and cricket isn't far behind. Dabangg premiered on YouTube in India. Google says Indian content producers lead in adopting and experimenting with YouTube.

Monetisation

Google isn't ready to disclose if YouTube is profitable yet, but the company says it will continue to offer free content and monetise the traffic to generate ad revenues. It is monetising over 2 billion video views in the US every week and has more than 1,000 partners. Advertisers like Samsung say YouTube's 24/7 availability , specially to office goers is a big draw.

HSBC, SBI, HUL, Coca-Cola , Hero Honda, GM, Airtel and Nokia are among the advertisers on YouTube India. For now, YouTube and its rivals could hope that www will also stand for world wide wealth.

Lady delivers hubby's kid 5 years after his death

AHMEDABAD: In 2009, Anurita, 40, flew down from UK to Ahmedabad with lot of hope and two samples of semen of her deceased husband, safely frozen in a container of liquid nitrogen. She desperately wanted to conceive the child of her dear husband. And now, she is expecting!

"Anurita came for a second embryo transplant through IVF in February 2011 as her first cycle had failed. She was shattered at that time. This time, she was reluctant to get a pregnancy test done as she feared the disappointment that would come with a negative result. In fact, we had to coax her to get a test done from Ahmedabad and it has come positive. She is finally expecting her deceased husband's child", said Dr Falguni Bavishi of Bavishi Fertility Centre.

Anurita, an NRI who works as a civil servant in UK, had married Michael, an engineer of Italian origin, in 2001. In 2006, Michael succumbed to blood cancer. "Michael was an amazing person. He loved me so much that I cannot describe it. After his death, I realized that I just could not love another man. I will love him till death. Hence, I want his child so that I can get my Michael back," Anurita had told TOI on her first visit to Ahmedabad.

Anurita's eggs were fertilized with her husband's frozen sperms. The embryo was then transferred to her womb. However, unlike other women undergoing IVF, Anurita had limited semen samples; so, she was desperate to conceive fast. Her husband had left only five samples, of which three were used unsuccessfully on her in hospitals in UK, Turkey and Mumbai.

In UK, before initiating chemotherapy, hospitals offer to freeze semen samples as cancer treatment is known to affect fertility of patients.

"She had come with two samples which we were split into 10. This is the first time that a young woman who has lost her husband has come to us. In fact, after the embryo was transplanted this time, she wanted to go to a church to pray. Her prayers have been answered," said Dr Himanshu Bavishi.

Source -- Times of India

Hasan Ali, ED officers need protection: Report

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has submitted to the Supreme Court a status report on the Hasan Ali Khan money laundering case. The Pune stud farm owner is currently in judicial custody.

According to the report, Khan and all ED officers, including the director, need protection. The ED also submitted that it is on the verge of a breakthrough in the case.

The apex court asked the government as to why it had not investigated the source of black money and its impact on national security. It asked the government to consider setting up of a multi-discipline task force to investigate black money.

'Onions, cow dung reduce radiation impact'

ALLAHABAD: The threat of nulcear radiation in Japan has raised widespread concerns across the world. India too, which has many nuclear plants, needs to be worried, specially for its population living near the nuke plants.

TOI spoke to associate professor in physics department, KN Uttam, about the nuclear radiation and ways to prevent it. He said some traditional Indian practices can help in minimising the effects of Gamma rays, the most harmful rays emitted in nuclear radiation.

"Traditional methods like keeping onions in pockets and applying a layer of Cow Dung on the outside walls of houses absorb the harmful gamma rays," Uttam said. "Cow dung, in fact, can absorb all the three rays -- alpha, beta and gamma. Among these,alpha rays cannot penetrate the layers of cloths whereas beta falls after hitting the same but the Gamma rays penetrate the body tissue and is the most harmful," he added. If the outer walls of houses are coated with thick layers of cow dung, it will absorb the gamma rays and in turn people would be safe, said Uttam who has worked in the ministry of science and technology and MHRD.

Similarly, research has shown that onions too absorb the Gamma rays. Besides, Indian practices based on herbal methods, including applying gram flour (besan) and mustard oil on the human skin, too minimise the effects of radiation, Uttam said.

"The leafy vegetables like spinach, basil, fenugreek leaves (methi ka saag), mustard leaves (sarson ka saag) etc., too have radiation but it's negligible and hence not harmful," he said.

These leafs have Sodium 23 and 24 along with Potassium which is infact essential for body growth. These isotopes has a short life as Potassium 42 half life time is 12 hours (after which the quantity of the same comes to half) whereas that of Sodium 22 is 2.5 years. Similarly, there are different Beta emitters like Sodium 22 and 24 Potassium 45, Iron 59 but are non-hazardous. There are many naturally occurring isotopes which are non-hazardous as they do not cross the natural limit, said Uttam.

India vs Pak semifinal: Companies pad up to let employees enjoy

NEW DELHI: Work will take a backseat at India Inc when the cricketing world's arch-rivals India and Pakistan face-off in the World Cup semi-final at Mohali on Wednesday.

While some companies are considering half- or full-day leave for employees on the day of the match, others have installed TV screens across office premises or made arrangements for special screening of the match to ensure employees get the pulse of the cricketing ties between the two nations that have fought three wars since independence.

FMCG company Dabur India is weighing an "off" on Wednesday. "The only constraint is that it is yearend closing, so work pressure is quite high at the moment," said Dabur India executive director A Sudhakar.

The company had declared a holiday on the day of the T20 final between India and Pakistan in 2007.

Food and beverages major PepsiCo India may allow half-day leave for employees if it doesn't impact the organisation's functioning, said Samik Basu, vice-president (HR) and chief people officer for India Region.

Some firms are also looking into work-from-home facility for that day. "If employees want to work from home or leave early to be able to watch the match, we are open to that," said Ashish Kumar, chief HR officer at multiplex chain operator PVR Ltd , which is screening the match at some of its multiplexes. The firm is also considering an exclusive screening for its employees.

Employees of the Future Group's Big Bazaar, the country's largest hypermarket retail chain, will be free to watch the match on large screens installed in stores, said its president, Rajan Malhotra.

"The idea is to let employees enjoy the match while at work, because they tend to take leave during such crucial matches," said S Varadarajan, executive vice-president (HR) at BPO firm Quatrro.

The company has in-house contests surrounding the World Cup to give employees a sense of involvement in the sporting event. Salil Kapoor, COO of the country's largest DTH service company Dish TV, said, "We would have special screening of the match in high definition feed for our employees in office and have also tied up with some pubs and clubs with special discounts for our employees."

Source- Times 0f India

Chicken Recipies

Chicken Cutlet/Patties at Everyday Indian Cooking

Poha and Paneer

Good Work by Camera

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10 Simple Ways to Beat Stress

We all suffer from stress! In these days of demanding work and home schedules, it is tougher than ever to keep stress at bay. Here are some easy ways to beat stress and bring out the best in you

Change your scenery. When stress sets in, place yourself in a different environment for five to ten minutes. If you are reading at your desk, move to a bench outside. The new setting can arouse your senses and replace your stress with more pleasing stimuli.

Start exercising. Begin rhythmic exercises, such as jumping jacks or just roll your head in a relaxing circular motion. Physical activity can give you a feeling of control and work off your negative energy. Breathing slowly and deeply also helps prevent stress from overwhelming you.

Write it down. Start a journal where you can jot down some of your thoughts about what is bothering you and help yourself put stress into perspective. The act of writing down your concerns helps you adopt an outlook of healthy detachment.

Keep a good sense of humor. Laugh at least once a day, preferably aloud, as often as you can. Studies shows that chronic pain sufferers who belly laugh several times a day, complain less of their pain after a few weeks.

Take a walk. Walking just five minutes with your mind focused on your stride and rhythmic breathing does wonders to clear your mind. Step outside, swing your arms back and forth and breathe deeply for an energy boost. Exercise is the number one preventative of stress.

Stop everything. When you start feeling stressed, stop what you are doing and spend just a few minutes breathing deeply.

Say no, to what you do not have time to do. Lowering the demands you put on yourself actually relieves stress. Sometimes saying no is necessary in taking care of you.

Take care of taxing tasks in the morning to get them out of the way. Usually in the morning when you are fresh and rested is the best time to take care of projects that require concentration. Look at large projects as a series of steps to complete one by one

Devote three hours each week to you and you alone, and do not let anyone steal that time away. Take up a hobby or pick up a book that you have always wanted to read.

Live for today. Do not dwell in the past or worry about the future. Live in the moment.

Why Soups are Good for Working Women

Image courtesy: © Thinkstock Photos/ Getty Images

Your typical day starts with you rushing to prepare your husband's lunch, and then getting your child ready for school. You just about manage to have them ready in time, when you realise you're late and neglect your own breakfast, rushing to work!

It's no big news that our hectic lifestyle makes us compromise on our health, is it? And that's exactly why you need to include some nutritious meals in your diet, like soups!

We tell you why soups are good especially for working women.

Skip office canteen snacks

You are conscious about what you eat for lunch but what happens when the canteen boy takes his evening walk around the office loaded with chips, bhajiyas and samosas? Instead of giving in to the temptation, carry a healthy evening snack to work. Soups not only serve as nutritious snacks but also help you avoid those fatty foods.

Prepare your soup early in the day and carry it with you to work, or have a bowl of nutritious soup as a pre-dinner snack when you get home.

Knorr's range of soups gives you a variety to choose from. Thick Tomato, Hot and Sour, Chicken Delite... all you have to do is take your pick!

Eat healthy in between meals

When your brain is hard at work, you feel hungry much faster. That's why it's important to eat small meals through the day. The question is what can you eat? Well, we recommend avoiding those vending machines and pamper your taste buds with soup instead. Soups can really satisfy a growling stomach.

What's more, soups refresh you and de-stress you too. They hydrate you while satisfying your hunger, so you won't feel the need for aerated drinks, coffee etc.

Stay nourished on-the-go

Does your work require you to be outdoors very often? When you're on-the-go, soups are your best bet. Simply refrigerate your soup and carry it to work in a flask the following day.

Now if you're thinking that you can't be bothered to prepare a pot of soup. Simply try a packet of Knorr soup. Just empty the contents of the soup packet into the water, stir till it starts boiling, simmer for a few minutes and it's ready to be served! Sweet Corn Veg or Creamy Mushroom soups make for really tasty on-the-go snacks.

Keep fit while you work

As a working woman, you tend to eat out more than you'd like to, isn't it? Add to that, you're too tired to head to the gym after work. Well, soups are an easy way to alter your eating habits. They have been longed linked to weight loss and diets. Not only are they low in calories and fats but their ability to satiate, helps you eat less.

Include two bowls of Knorr soup in your day and see yourself shed those extra pounds!

Give the kids a nourishing snack

After a long day at work, it's hard dealing with hungry kids. But packets of wafers are really not the solution! We suggest you stock up on packets of soup that are easy to prepare even for a tired mom like you.

Cabinet approves 6% DA hike for central government employees

NEW DELHI: Nearly 50 lakh central government employees and 38 lakh pensioners can look forward to a 6% increase in their dearness allowance with the Union Cabinet approved the proposal on Tuesday.

If the move is approved, the dearness allowance, which is linked to the consumer price index, will rise from 45% currently to 51%, triggering a further change in the allowance structure. For instance, payments like conveyance allowance and children's education allowance will also increase by 25%.

Further, special compensatory allowance for those posted in remote areas such as the north-east and Jammu & Kashmir as central government employees in these areas are entitled to a Special Compensatory Allowance. Their special allowance goes up by 25% the moment the 50% trigger is breached.

While the move will provide some relief to government employees and pensioners whose salaries and pension are usually revised once a decade, the increase will cost the exchequer Rs 1,500 crore annually. Households have been combating high inflation, which in recent weeks was led by rising fruit and vegetable prices. Wholesale price index-based inflation is expected to be around 8% at the end of March.

Sources said the additional installment of DA will be released with effect from January this year. Typically, the increase takes place in two installments effective January 1 and July 1.

TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL see 5% rise in pricing on higher salary costs

BANGALORE: For the first time since the Lehman crisis that forced customers to shelve projects and bargain for lower billing rates, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro and HCL are beginning to see an uptick of up to 5% in pricing, driven by higher salary costs and improved business environment.

Rising wages, inflation, and attrition of key staff are some of the reasons driving up billing rates for outsourcing contracts. Most new contracts now come with clauses that address the risks of future salary hikes, foreign currency fluctuations, and inflation in countries such as India.

Some portions of larger contracts outsourced by customers, including Citibank , JPMorgan , Telstra, Wal-Mart and American Express, have come at least at 1-3% higher rates than three years ago, senior executives at vendor organisations serving these clients told ET.

"When you are linking work to business outcomes, the risks and rewards are higher," said a senior executive at one of the top five Indian tech firms. "Though still at lower rates than IBM or Accenture, we are now able to charge more for consulting projects, and all this is helping us get better rates," he added.

Though it has taken more than a year of improving demand for prices to start going up, companies are now being able to raise rates by 1-2%, brokerage firm CLSA said in a report earlier this month. According to CLSA analysts, new contracts were being signed at the peak rates that services providers were able to command in 2007-08. Pricing, usually calculated depending on the number of hours put in by each employee involved in the project, is expected to have gone up at least 8-10% for new projects.

"Pricing has been an elusive variable for Indian technology firms over the last 3 years. In the slowdown, it took just a few months for pricing to drop 3-5%, but it has taken over 18 months of strong volume growth for a shift in vendor outlook on pricing. Infosys had reported a 1.4% quarter-on-quarter increase in offshore pricing in the December quarter and there were doubts on sustainability of this pricing trajectory. However, discussions indicate that there are more legs to the pricing uptick," Nimish Joshi, Bhavtosh Vajpayee and Arati Mishra from CLSA said in a report.

IT contracts come with a clause that allows for fluctuations in pricing depending on the inflation and cost of living in the vendor's economy and buyers of IT services have also been taking India's high inflation into account to give price increase. According to CLSA, with 4-6% revenues in any year coming from new business, it should add 40-50 basis points year-on-year to portfolio pricing. Overall, IT players would be able to get a 1.5-2% year-on-year pricing increase in the next financial year.

Improving employment scenario and shortage of trained manpower is leading to higher wages in the technology sector in the US. As wage hikes lead to IT costs for companies rising internally they are more likely to increase prices for vendors.

In the past few years, Indian IT players have been striving to move away from the per employee, per hour billing model to a non-linear one where pricing is outcome based or fixed. This helps companies provide more high-end services like consulting and analysts say this is also helping companies command better prices.

"There has been a move away from the full time equivalent model to more transformational work and fixed cost pricing. All these moves will help pricing. In the coming financial year it is difficult to say how pricing will be but there is a much deeper pipeline and that should help," Siddharth Pai, MD of TPI India , said.

As momentum returns in the world economy and companies gear up for growth once again, the return of discretionary spends is also likely to lead to new contracts at higher prices. The top ten players are better positioned to take advantage of higher rates as they would have greater bargaining power due to the breadth of services and end-to-end capabilities.

Not so lucky, Superchor Bunty sent back to Tihar by brother

NEW DELHI: Out of jail only in June last year, Devender Singh alias Superchor Bunty seems to have done it again. The thief, who shot to fame after a Bollywood film " Oye Lucky Lucky Oye" based on his life was released, has been sent to jail again. This time, he has been booked under the Arms Act.

The criminal-turned-detective - who even figured in a reality show - allegedly barged into the house of his brother, Balwinder Singh, in Vikaspuri on Saturday evening. He was apprehended from the house and a button-actuated knife was recovered from him. Bunty has been booked under sections 25, 54 and 59 of Arms Act. He was produced in Tis Hazari Court and sent to Tihar Jail for 14-day judicial custody.

Deputy commissioner of police (west) V Renganathan said, "No bail application has been received yet and Bunty is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. His brother, Balwinder, had called police following which we arrested him." Sources said that an arrest under these sections usually invites three years' imprisonment.

Bunty had allegedly barged into Balwinder's house demanding money. "He had been repeatedly calling us ever since he was kicked out of Bigg Boss in October last year, claiming he wanted to start a new business. He told us that after being kicked out of the reality show he went to Nepalwhere he, along with his partner, wanted to start a business. He demanded Rs 1 crore for his business, saying he would leave us alone if we acceded to his request. He would keep calling us from different numbers and insist we give in to his demands. We even tried explaining that we don't have that kind of money," Balwinder told TOI.

Bunty's family members claimed that about a fortnight back, he again started calling them for money. "We had already barred three of his numbers but he started calling from other numbers and threatened us with dire consequences. On Saturday, he came to our house when my wife was alone. He came with three bags and refused to budge. My wife panicked and called me and my father. I tried to reason out with him, but when we were left with no option I called police," alleged Balwinder, who is an electronic engineer.

Bunty has been making waves since he came out from Tihar in June last year. At first, he had said he wanted to become a spiritual leader. Claiming that he was penning his first book, Bunty believed that he would become a good detective using his powers of "divya gyan". He claimed he had already approached Iskcon temple priests for the same and even trained for three months at a detective agency in July.

The superchor in October had jumped at the opportunity to participate in a reality show. Though the well-known smooth-talker was nominated as the 'Captain' in the show, he was kicked out following allegations of using foul and abusive language and being disrespectful to the 'rules' of the show.

Source --- Times of India

Ponting could be dumped as captain: Report

SYDNEY: Ricky Ponting could be in the final week of his nine-year reign as captain after a troubled build-up to the World Cup, a report said on Tuesday, citing a Cricket Australia official.

The Sydney Morning Herald said there was stiff opposition at boardroom level to the 36-year-old retaining the job for next month's tour ofBangladesh, although his position as a player was not in jeopardy.

"We need to be looking at the future. It's time for us to make a change," the newspaper quoted the official as saying.

Ahead of the World Cup, Ponting earned the dubious distinction of becoming the only Australian skipper to fail to win the Ashes three times, putting him under enormous pressure.

He has also done himself no favours in India, taking a reprimand from the International Cricket Council after smashing a dressing-room TV in a fit of fury after being run out during Australia's World Cup win over Zimbabwe.

He was also criticised for angrily throwing the ball to the ground after colliding with teammateSteven Smith during their victory over Canada.

Then his sportsmanship was questioned when he failed to walk in Saturday's defeat to Pakistan.

"We're waiting for the next thing to blow up," the official said. "We don't go a game without there being some issues with him."

Michael Clarke, who led Australia to an emphatic 6-1 one-day series victory over England to give them a boost after the post-Ashes despondency, is seen as favourite to take his job.

Source-- Times of India

India are bookies' favourite to lift World Cup

MUMBAI: India might face the monumental task of overcoming four-time champions Australia in the quarterfinal at Ahmedabad on March 24, but for bookies, MS Dhoni & Co are the runaway favourites to win the 2011 World Cup.

Top betting site Ladbrokes is offering odds at 3/1 for India to lift the trophy on April 2 in Mumbai. In other words, a bet of Rs 1,000 on India will earn you a profit of Rs 3,000 if Team India justifies its billing. Another leading betting website, Williamhill, also tips the hosts to win the Cup. While India get top billing at 3/1, South Africa, at 10/3, are the next close favourites. Another betting site, www.bet365.com, gives South Africa, at 3/1, the top billing, with India only slightly behind at 10/3.

At Ladbrokes, India gets favourable odds at 8/13 to beat Australia on Thursday night, while for the Aussies, the figure is 5/4. Williamhill too tips India, at 4/6, to vanquish the Oz (6/5). South Africa, who topped Group B, the pool in which India were placed, and Sri Lanka are the other teams favoured to win the crown, says Ladbrokes. The Proteas enjoy odds of 7/2, while the Lankans are tipped at 9/2.

If Ladbrokes' estimation comes true, India are likely to meet Lanka or South Africa in the final. For both eventualities, the odds are at 5/1.

As for the other quarterfinals, Shahid Afridi's Pakistan are tipped to beat the West Indies at Mirpur. South Africa, the bettors think, should not have a problem against the Kiwis at Mirpur, while Lanka are expected to have it easy against England at Colombo.

If the Cup goes the bookies' way from here, it should be an India versus Pakistan semifinal at Mohali, with Dhoni's boys making it to the summit clash.

Drones 'winning' war against al-Qaeda, says ex-CIA head

By Peter TaylorBBC Two's The Secret War On Terror

The use of the remote-controlled craft has stirred anti-American feelings in Pakistan

Continue reading the main story

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More than 40 people were killed in Pakistan last week in a US drone attack near the Afghan border. The use of unmanned drones have always been controversial, but ex-CIA director Michael Hayden says they are winning the war.

Ten years on from 9/11, al-Qaeda appears to be on the back foot. One of the main reasons is that its leadership no longer enjoys untouchable sanctuary in the tribal areas of Pakistan where for many years it has been able to plot and train its recruits.

The reason? Pilotless American drone aircraft with a payload of deadly Hellfire missiles, guided to their targets by remote control from thousands of miles away in the American desert.

Not for nothing are the drones known as "Predators".

Former CIA director, Gen Michael Hayden, could not sing their praises loudly enough - although ironically the word "drone" cannot pass his lips, so sensitive and allegedly secret is the CIA's programme of targeted killings.

How can a programme be secret when its results are plain for all to see?

Gen Hayden said the use of drones was an "inherent right"

Gen Michael Hayden believed the results had been spectacular.

"A significant fraction of al-Qaeda senior leadership in the tribal region has been 'taken off the battlefield'," he said.

"That used to mean 'killed or captured'. In the last couple of years it simply means killed. We just aren't doing any capturing."

Ironically the CIA's drone programme was greatly accelerated under President Obama who has authorised more than 160 Predator missions - four times as many as his predecessor, President George W Bush, targeting not just al-Qaeda but Taliban leaders also hiding in the border areas.

The programme has been highly contentious and controversial.

Gen Hayden denied the attacks were state-authorised assassinations. He said the US was at war with al-Qaeda and the Taliban, and was simply acting in self-defence.

When I pointed out that legally the war was in Afghanistan not Pakistan, he said that was not how the American administration looked at it.

"No they're not assassinations. This is a war, this is action against opposing armed enemy force. This is an inherent right of America to self-defence.

"I can only fulfil my moral and legal responsibilities to the citizens of my republic by taking this war to this enemy wherever they may be."

Judge, jury and executioner

There is another side to the equation.

However effective the CIA may believe its programme to be, it has damaged America's reputation in Pakistan still further, fuelling anti-American propaganda and bringing yet more recruits to the militants' cause.

Continue reading the main story

“

Start Quote

I think we'd be naive to believe the propaganda that says that firing these fantastic weapons is killing the right people”

Clive Stafford SmithReprieve

Hundreds of civilians have been killed in the attacks, although it is impossible to put a precise figure on the number of innocent victims.

It is estimated by the New America Foundation that between 2004 and 2010 they may have been responsible for around 25% of those killed.

Human rights lawyers on both sides of the Atlantic have grown increasingly concerned about the US government appearing to act as judge, jury and executioner.

Jameel Jaffer of the American Council for Civil Liberties said: "This is quite an awesome power, the power to label somebody as an enemy [then] wipe them out without judicial process of any kind."

His sentiments are echoed by the director of Reprieve, Clive Stafford Smith.

"Who does get killed? Are these really Taliban people and al-Qaeda or are they random civilians who had nothing to do with it?" he said.

"I think we'd be naive to believe the propaganda that says that firing these fantastic weapons is killing the right people."

Gen Hayden has not been phased by such arguments.

"It has been a very strong significant force in making the al-Qaeda senior leadership spend most of their waking moments worrying about their survival, rather than threatening yours or mine. And that is a war-winning effort," he told me.

But other highly-respected and experienced voices in the intelligence community do not share Gen Hayden's view about winning the war.

In her first television interview, I asked the former director general of MI5, Baroness Manningham-Buller, if she thought the war was winnable. She has spent 40 years fighting terrorism.

"Not in a military sense. There won't be a Waterloo or an al-Alamein," she said.

"The terminology about winning the war on terror was not something that I ever subscribed to.

"If we can get to a state where there are fewer attacks, less lethal attacks, fewer young people being drawn in, less causes, resolution of the Palestinian question, I think we can get to a stage where the threat is thus reduced."

At the end of the interview, given her long experience in fighting terrorism in Northern Ireland and her intimate knowledge of the secret talks between MI5 and the IRA, I asked her if we should talk to al-Qaeda as we had once talked to the IRA.

Her reply took me by surprise. "I would hope that people are trying to do so," she said.

"It's always better to talk to the people who are attacking you than attacking them, if you can.

"I don't know whether they are, but I would hope that people are trying to reach out to the Taliban, to people on the edges of al-Qaeda to talk to them."

I then asked her if she thought that al-Qaeda would listen.

"I don't know," she said. "Doesn't mean to say it's not worth trying."