Buying the peace on higher cost
October 4, 2009 by Amitabh Tripathi
“Peace”
has always been a beautiful and highly romanticized word humanity ever
invented but no period of time in history passed without a war the more
long period without war more devastating the war have been. Since
last one century word “peace” has been used as many times as now it has
lost its meaning. Modern European history which has been more or
less interpret rated as history of the modern world is full of wars but
students of history always hope for a peaceful world in their
generation where there would be no war. The whole world looks in one
direction and works for one aim that how permanent peace could be
achieved but what is the reason that peace has always been a distant
dream and not reality. The biggest reason which I see is very much
different what others perceive and that reason is that over emphasis on
peace is always a wrong goal to achieve because once you told others
that you want to establish peace it implied to others that you are
ready to achieve this goal at any cost. Once any individual, group or
nation commits itself for peace onus goes on his side to establish
peace at any cost and it gives breathing space for other rivals who are
not interested in peace and they use this humanistic and romanticized
view as their major weapon to intimidate and blackmail. Rather than
peace word must have been used “Justice”. Justice is a phenomenon which
is always relative to circumstances and self conscience.
Now a days two democratic countries India and Israel are facing the diplomatic crisis and living in dilemma. Since the installation of Barack Obama as president of United States two regions Middle east and South Asia along with Afghanistan intermingled with diplomatic skills and decision making of newly appointed president. During his campaign democrat candidate Barack Obama branded himself with slogan of “Change” and for United States it appealed as well as rest of the world hypnotized with this slogan. This slogan of change has some meaning and implications for the whole world along with United States. A country who attacked Iraq in 2003 to make this country secure and free from the atrocities and clutches of Saddam hussain selected a man with middle name of “ Hussain” as its supreme army commander after 5 years. This selection itself was a change which has the same echo in rest of the world.
Since United States was attacked on 11 September 2001 world has been polarized into two poles George W Bush and Osama Bin Laden. After this incident United States was able to secure its soil from any further attacks but some European countries like Brtain, Spain were not so lucky to stop terrorist attacks and expedition of Iraq has changed the scenario and world tried to come out of the polarization of George W Bush and Osama Bin Laden and they did so by electing Barack Obama not as a president of United States only but the president of the entire world.
In My lifetime I have not seen so much dependence and expectations of the world with one state president. The frenzy and curiosity for the election of president of United States of the entire world proves that everyone in the world consider the United States as a major power to give the shape to the world affairs.
Barack Obama has passed his six months in his office and he has encountered with some serious diplomatic issues.
During the campaign world did not know what Barack Obama has in his mind but world has been clear what they expect from him. The most important thing which people around the world have expectation from him was that he will bring the peace and fear psychosis for American hegemony will be brought down. Islamic countries have their own expectation from him and one was them that will he be able to crack whips on Israel?
In last six month Barack Obama has performed according to his mandate. Just after his installation he tried to reach out the Islamic world and persuaded them to give him a chance to bridge the gap between them and America. He tried to show himself as an honest broker between Israel and Arab countries who want to come to an agreement. But his assertion on peace has made his bargaining capacity weak in Middle East. Islamic world knows very well that Barack Obama is under tremendous pressure for his image make over within Islamic world and they are leaving no stone unturned to exploit his weakness.
In his speech in Cairo President Barack Obama gone too far in to reach out Islamic world and portrayed himself as an appeaser rather than a statesman (It would be very early to conclude that his middle name has any kind of influence on his policy decisions). Once Barack Obama delivered his first president speech after oath I have predicted in one of my articles that child Obama has brought up as Muslim and during his adolescent period he had developed some intimacy for Islam and Muslims and because of that reason he will see the problem of Islamism with different perspective and will fight this war not as an ideological war but as a war against Osama Bin Laden who according to Barack Obama is giving bad name to a faith for which he has lot of respect.
Barack Obama is facing the serious diplomatic issues on three issues
and every one of them is closely related with Islamic world and Muslims
around the world. Fight against Taliban in Afghanistan, Nuclear
ambitions of Iran and any peace initiative in Middle East.
These issues will also define the mode of United States in
which it is going to tackle the challenge of Islamism.
Since last one year world politics has surrounded around the recession
and every country in the world is more focused to come out of this
economic slow down and at this point of time it is very obvious that no
one is ready for any type of confrontation but this obsession for peace
would cost heavily in near future.
President of United States has shown his intentions very clear in
all three issues that either he is buying more time to show the world
that he is doing something actually doing nothing or he is conceding
the demands of those forces who want to exploit his obsession for
peace as their major weapon.
During his presidential campaign Barack Obama called for more attention
in Afghanistan to eliminate the base of Al Queda leadership in Pakistan
and insure that Taliban would never be able to regroup itself and
rejuvenate in the way that it will become a threat for United States.
But on the contrary policies of Barack Obama has not been able to get
any major breakthrough in this region. Reason behind his failure is
very obvious that he has confined himself only to eliminating the Al
queda leadership in Pakistan and in this process he has to depend
himself heavily on Pakistan which is divided in rulers sentiment and
popular sentiments. Rulers of Pakistan along with ISI and army are
using terrorism as a tool to get more economic assistance from United
States with sparing neo Taliban from elimination to use them as their
strategic asset in Afghanistan against India in near future once US and
NATO forces leave this place. Barack Obama adopted the policy of drone
attacks into Pakistan against Al queda and Taliban leadership which
paid off but at the same time he defocused himself from Afghanistan and
gave confusing signals by persuading moderate Talibans and once Taliban
refused this offer they consolidated their credibility within Islamist
group and policy of United States and NATO forces to divide Taliban did
not succeed here as it was in Iraq but it damaged the credibility of
United States as a tiring force which is searching for other ways than
fighting.
This failure has two reasons, one Those mujahideens who had fought against Soviet Russia in 1980’s along with US are energized with Islamist goal that this fight will be decisive for the movement of Islamism and as Soviet Russia collapsed after losing the fight in Afghanistan the time has come for the end of capitalism and Zionism. This Islamist thinking has rejuvenated Talibans in this region and Pakistan gradually has become a epicenter of those conspiracy theories and propaganda which used Israel as an extension of unfinished crusade to galvanize their people in Arab world for last few decades.
Islamic organizations in South Asia have globalised the Islamist
movement in this region as well and in near future world could be
stunned to witness an Iran like Islamic revolution in this region. This
ideological commitment is working behind the resistance of Taliban
fighters in Afghanistan and president of United States and his army
commanders have less concentration on its ideological aspect and they
are more focused to eliminate leadership or come in compromise with
them but this short term strategy is not going to pay off. At the
one hand Pakistan rulers are taking the every assistance from United
States to curb the terrorism and on the other hand their country is
flooded with theories that Indian-America and Israel has made an axis
against Pakistan to destroy its nuclear arsenal and defense capability
and for this purpose these countries are using Baitullah Mahsood and
Tahreek Taliban as their asset. According to this theory Taliban in
Afghanistan are fighting against the occupation of their country and
Taliban in Pakistan has been planted by Indian, American and Israeli
secret agencies. This propaganda has several takers in Pakistan. This
propaganda and psychological war fare came in light first time when
last year Indian economic capital Mumbai was attacked and few Pakistani
analysts made allegations that it was a joint operation of Indian
intelligence agency and Israeli intelligence agency to malign Pakistan
as a failed and terrorist nation.
Barack Obama has made the same mistake in Middle East where he hinted
his gesture for peace which has been interpreratated by Arab world as
his desperation for peace with slight tilt towards Islamic world. This
was the reason that Arab world agreed to give the guarantee of security
for Israel but at the cost of closure of settlement in West Bank. Once
Barack Obama floated the idea of peace he took onus on himself to take
initiative for peace and he has to be blamed for any breakdown of
talks. Instead of talking for peace he had to take the stand for
justice and justice demands the security and sovereignty of Israel from
Arab countries as an essential necessity for any agreement because
issues of past and history could not be solved in one meeting but no
principle of justice said that any country should be denied from
legitimate right to live.
Principle of Justice again arises in the issue of Iran and his
obsession for peace again has made his situation weaker in his
negotiation with Iran. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad has
analysed the situation very carefully and has come to the conclusion
that president of United States don’t want to impose his will on others
and he want to establish peace at any cost to be remembered as a man of
change who took this world out from confrontation to peace and this
situation has given Ahmedinejad a space to maneuver himself
domestically to consolidate his position and throw the responsibility
of peace on the side of Israel and America. President of United States
is buying time everywhere with a wishful thinking that not taking
decision is the best decision but at the same time we have to keep a
fact in mind that whenever efforts has been made to buy the peace its
cost has been so higher that next generations have to pay for it.
Last 5 posts by Amitabh Tripathi
- The Goldstone Report – A Study in Bias – September 17th, 2009
- New Government’s Iran dilemma – May 9th, 2009
- Political Islam in the offing – April 25th, 2009
- What will be the message of general elections? – April 8th, 2009
- War on Terror and has turned into war between Obama and Osama – March 31st, 2009