Guest post from T.R.Ramaswami
Here are some terror quiz questions. What is it that has killed more people than the atom bomb, the bubonic plague, malaria and all the earthquakes in the world? What is common to the killing of Anwar Sadat, Carlo Alberto, Nicholas Ceausescu and Salvador Allende? It is the Kalashnikov rifle more popularly known as the AK-47. It never jams, can fire even when filled with dirt or wet and has a trigger that even a kid can pull. It can turn a bunch of schoolboys into a veritable terror force. In fact the cost of the AK-47 has become the inverse index of violations of human rights. The less the cost the more the violations. How much does an AK-47 cost? As much (or as little, if you prefer it) as $50 in Western Africa. In places like Yemen you can get a second hand weapon for $6!! It has become so ubiquitous that it has found a place on a country’s flag – Mozambique. Want to know more about it and the world of terror, drugs, illegal and spurious goods and even toxic waste? Read Gomorrah – Italy’s Other Mafia – by Roberto Saviano. The author has been accorded state security after the book was released.