King: A hope for peace
Mohammad Jamil
Not only in the US, but people throughout the world also have heaved a
sigh of relief on election of Barack Obama as president of America. He
has defeated the neocons who are responsible for the turmoil and despair
in the world. When Americans had elected George W Bush second time, the
downtrodden people of the Third World started hating Americans for
committing the sin of putting the arrogant Bush at the helm. But they
were not to blame because they were not told the truth by President Bush
and his neocon cohorts. However, America is country of diverse people
and races united by ideas and ideals. Whenever confronted with
challenge, Americans rose to the occasion to meet that challenge. At the
present the twin-challenge facing the US is to restore the economy and
the lost image of America.
In fact, President Bush’s reckless economic and foreign policies have
brought the country on the brink of disaster. Bush had acted reflexively
and angrily on 9/11 events and invaded Afghanistan and later Iraq on the
wrong pretexts. The stories of inhuman treatment meted out to prisoners
at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamobay are eerie and awe-inspiring. One wonders
how human beings can descend to such depravity. Neocons were also
responsible for the financial meltdown and stock market crash in the US,
which has engulfed the entire world. Those who stood for general
principle of non-interference or Laissez Faire of Adam Smith and did not
want government’s role even in the realm of social sector are now asking
for governments’ help for saving the banks and corporations. The
government’s help is tantamount to rewarding the exploiters and robber
barons who made capitalism ‘casino capitalism’.
People throughout the world are fed up with the market economy
symbolized by Thatcherism and unbridled capitalism. Even those European
countries that had once raised the slogan of democratic socialism and
considered welfare of people as a guiding principle, have abandoned
those policies. But the US under President Bush became symbol of terror,
and it desperately needed a symbol to showcase its basic decency.
And the people throughout the world also wanted end of trepidation and
fear of war. However, the speech of President-elect Barack Obama
delivered in his hometown after winning presidential election has
sparked hope for peace. He has asseverated in his speeches that he
stands for change, which implies end to unilateralism and taking allies
and friends on board. This will indeed improve the tarnished image of
America. He is likely to abandon gunboat diplomacy, promote dialogue
treating other as equals.
A few days ago, Obama had demanded of the US administration to help
resolve the Kashmir dispute with a view to ending terrorism. In
Palestine, like Kashmir, there were atrocities, mass killings and the
most flagrant of human-rights abuses by Israel. Obama did not say
anything about independent state of the Palestinians perhaps as a matter
of strategy because he did not want to annoy the Jewish lobby to avert
the onslaught during elections. It is indisputable fact that Jews
control America but American people have started realizing that if the
US continues to support Israel’s hegemonic designs in the region they
are likely to pay for Israel’s sins. Under the guidance of the Israel
lobby and Jewish controlled media, the Zionists have been instrumental
in persuading America to strike a massive blow to all of Israel’s
enemies, be it Iran, Syria or any other country just the way it invaded
and devastated Afghanistan and Iraq.
Today the fundamental reason for terrorism, turmoil, suicide attacks and
death and destruction in the region and the world at large is Israel.
The unvarnished truth was that the US suffered the terror of September
11 because of its unqualified support to Israel - a country that
conducted covert terrorist activities against America such as the Lavon
affair in Egypt. It had deliberately attacked USS Liberty with unmarked
fighters and torpedo boats causing 174 American casualties in an attempt
to blame Egypt and garner American support during 1967 war. It had
tricked America into bombing other nations such as in the attack on
Libya in 1986. On could go on and on about Israel’s treachery. It would
not be an exaggeration to say that most people hate America throughout
the world because of its Jewish connection.
American founding fathers had fought a war the independence of America
from British imperialism. They had toiled to establish democracy,
democratic traditions and upholding freedom and human values. But a few
of their successors did not have a commendable track record, as their
actions were at odds with the principles upheld by the founding fathers.
In the past, the US resorted to unilateral use of force ostensibly to
promote democracy in Haiti, Nicaragua and in Latin America. It had
intervened forcibly to change regimes, restore order and preach
democracy. On becoming President in 1933, Franklin D Roosevelt abandoned
the policy pursued by his predecessor President Woodrow Wilson. He
treated his neighbours with respect, acknowledged past American
blunders, and saw that constitutions alone did not guarantee a
democratic outcome. But George W Bush was arrogant and wished to
democratize the Middle East countries through the use of brute force.
Earlier, the era of imperialism had seen the development of conflicts
among the great imperialist countries for a re-division of the world and
the control of its markets and resources. These conflicts resulted in
the first and second World Wars that left over 10 million and 50 million
dead respectively. And of course the injured and maimed could have been
a lot more than those figures. These wars were fought for capturing the
markets to keep the wheels of their industries moving. During the First
World War, western countries depended on the US for its requirements,
thus the US was a major beneficiary of the war. After the World War II,
the US helped the western countries in their reconstruction through
Marshall Plan. Since the US emerged as a super power, its approach was
to involve all major regions and countries that were vital to its global
strategy, in a system of military pacts such as CENTO, SEATO and NATO,
and also bilateral military relationships for the purpose of controlling
those countries and their national resources.
In August 1941 during the course of Second World War, President
Roosevelt had met British Prime Minister Churchill on a cruiser anchored
off Newfoundland Canada, and adopted a declaration that became known as
the Atlantic Charter that set out the parameters of self-government,
free elections and democracy for all those nations that had been overrun
by and subjected to the Nazi Germany. They pledged not to seek gains,
territorial or otherwise; to respect the right of every nation to choose
its own form of government; to guarantee freedom of seas and to conduct
peaceful world trade.
This is the time that the US and the West abandon their policies of
ruthless exploitation and domination because if there is world war they
will not exist to unveil another charter to reassure the people of the
world that they will have their self-governments, free elections,
democracy, freedoms, including freedom from want. |
