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Global Political Quagmire: Leaders who could Not Lead
Mahboob A.
Khawaja, PhD.
“We
should already know more than enough to be horrified by the state of our
American world. It should disturb us deeply that a government of, by, and
for the war-makers, intelligence operatives, bureaucrats, privatizing mercenary
corporations, surveillers, torturers, and assassins is thriving in
Washington. As for the people -- that’s us -- in these last years, we
largely weren’t there, even as the very idea of a government of, by, and for us
bit the dust, and our leaders felt increasingly unconstrained when committing
acts of shame in our name. So perhaps the last overlooked anniversary of these
years might be the 12th anniversary of American cowardice. You can choose
the exact date yourself; anytime this fall will do. At that moment,
Americans should feel free to celebrate a time when, for our “safety,” and in a
state of anger and paralyzing fear,
we gave up the democratic ghost.”…..“Among the many truths in that
still-to-be-written secret history of our American world would be this: we the
people have no idea just how, in these years, we’ve hurt ourselves.” (Tom Ingelhardt, “The
12th Anniversary of American Cowardice What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You.”
TomDispatch.com: 3/28/2013).
In a knowledge-based
age of reason and accountability, global politics is fast becoming a staged
drama. Pretension and exploitation are the hallmarks of the global political
leadership. The UNO is already an irrelevant and dysfunctional organization in
world affairs. What led to the failure of the international institutions and
the emergence of World War I and World 2 appears to be inescapable reality not
on screen but in the prevalent human affairs. The liberal democracies have
produced typical ‘right man syndrome’ in its worst shape to manage and control
the minds of the people. Stereotyping of electoral victories produce egoistic,
inept and incompetent leaders who are resourceful but misfit to serve the
interests and priorities of the masses. Most use money and media-build image
and capacity to win the elections but miserably fail to live upto the moral and
intellectual norms and genuine expectations of the common folks. Once in power,
the ego transforms into type of a cancer to commit unthinkable crimes against the
very people who voted for them. Elections are presumptuous gimmick and do not
bring any real political change at the grassroots levels but to recycle the
disposable ambitions of the few to occupy political powerhouses. In an age of rising expectations, hopes are
dashed away for any futuristic developments to imagine a promising future for
the mankind to have peace, con-existence and normalcy across the globe. Most
NATO affiliated leaders are quick to blame President Putin and Russian
intervention in Eastern Ukraine but deny the facts that America and Britain
waged repeated aggressive wars against Iraq and Afghanistan. The decade long
occupation killed millions of innocent people and committed crimes against
humanity. None seem to discuss it in the Western news media. Those sadistic
leaders responsible for the crimes were not held accountable. The current
global politics is a game of political distraction, killings, destruction of
the human environment and continuing displacement and massacre of innocent people
in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan,
Yemen, Libya and other
parts of the Arab world.
Wars Negate Peace Except to Incapacitate the
Mankind
Cynicism at its
best, war rhetoric is fast becoming number games for leadership popularity. Most
Western leaders view public as ignorant of the facts of life. The same absurd
culture that separated power from wisdom and led to the cruelty of Two World
Wars is overshadowing the prevalent realities for political change. At the G7
meeting in Germany,
President Obama came out of the blue that he does not have a ‘complete strategy
to defeat ISIL.’ If the strategy was to incapacitate the Arab countries to
consider US-Israel synchronized agenda for the future of Palestine. A future without resolution of the
freedom of Palestine
is certainly at work. Did President Obama learn anything useful to honor his
major global commitments to the humanity? “Yes we can” remained a broken
promise for the large part of his official priorities. Advanced Western nations
have not produced any credible leadership role model for the future generations
to follow.
Unpredictable
but paranoid and vengeful political leaders have incapacitated the in-born
faculties of American lifelines to be a morally and intellectually crippled
nation in global affairs. This was not accidental but a planned scheme of
things although unknown in its short-long terms consequences over its ability
to cope with the change phenomenon for a sustainable future. America became an insane – a victim
of its own obsession with power and fearful of its future. Global mankind has
passion for peace, not wars. Those mindless politicians claiming to have
accomplished the mission in the War on Terrorism did so at the cost of
ruthlessness, killings of millions of fellow mankind in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sherwood Ross (“US
Sponsored Genocide against Iraq 1990-2012 killed 3.3 million including 750,000
children.” Global Research: 12/06/2012), recalls the statement of Professor
Francis Boyle (Kuala Lumpur War Crimes Tribunal) and many other investigative
reports clearly blaming the US led forces to have massacred more than three
millions civilians in Iraq. The US and British are responsible for much of Iraq’s
planned destruction, increased sectarian violence and dismantling of the
political governance. Dreadful are becoming as abnormal frequency of violent
killings, internal insecurity, drug-abuses and political mismanagement, several
thousands Americans killed in global bogus wars and likewise wounded and
crippled for life, 18-25 war veterans daily committing suicide. One wonders,
what went wrong to America? William Boardman (“A
Country At War With An Illusion.” Information Clearing House: 8/19/2013),
spells out how America
is at war with itself: “We
are waging war on terrorism even as we embody terrorism. …No wonder we seem sometimes to be at war with ourselves, and have been
for most of the 21st century….No American Under 12 Has Lived In A
Country At Peace….America’s Main Enemy Is Nameless, Shapeless, “Associated
Forces”… The American Enemies
List Is Decided Anonymously and Secretly.
No Comments…No Judgment… But Rationality demands
Dialogue and Reconciliation for Global Peacemaking
Do politicians
having small wisdom and big mouth and no rational knowledge can determine the
future of mankind? How could the mankind be protected from the sadistic mindset
of the few warmongers? The Universe and all it encompasses are the products of
God-given command; and do not operate in concert with man-made laws,
constitutions, foreign policies, judgments, hopes and desires. Light is One,
and darkness are many. Life and the Universe exist because it is ordained by
the Creator of the Worlds. Be it a reminder or an advice that human life is
precious and we are accountable and we must all try to pursue peace and
harmony, not wickedness and extermination of life and habitats from Earth. If
history is relevant and is seen as a source of learning and warning, undeniably
all those superpowers well equipped with weapons and animosity to destroy
others or all have met the same fate of self annihilation. It is beyond doubts
that when they challenged the sanctity of the Laws of God governing the Earth
and the living Universe, and invaded small and poor nations in farfetched
lands, they ultimately met their own end by natural causes such as earthquakes,
flooding, tornados, exploding lavas, sound blasts, lightning and lot more. Are
there any thinking people to take heed from the prevalent facts of human
history?
War is
racketeering. Since the renewed sectarian warfare in Arab world, leading
American weapon manufacturers have increased 19% prices for weapon sales. None
of the combatant forces offer any plan for stopping the bloody sectarian
vindictiveness. If the coalition of the
willing had working intelligence, they should engage ISIL in a political
dialogue to explore peace and a durable future. Obviously, ISIL’s cold-blooded
killings of few foreign prisoners cannot be accepted as precepts of the Islamic
behavior and values of the Muslim world, but the group is gaining ground and
after Ramadi attracting large number of recruits across the Arab
countries. President Obama claimed
diplomacy to deal with other nations. But nothing is initiated out of the fixed
strategy against ISIL or to deal with Russia for a negotiated settlement
of problems.. “It
is Perfectly Reasonable to Negotiate with Villains like ISIS So, Why Don’t We
Do It to Save Some Lives” The Independent: 9/28/2014), asks reputable
international journalist Robert Fisk. Obama says, No at the UN and adds, we do
not negotiate with Evil. The same message is echoed by the UN Secretary General
Ban Ki Moon. The UN and its leadership are in desperate need of a navigational
change to pursue dialogue and reconciliation for peacemaking with all the belligerent
parties. To any impartial observer evil is not one-sided. Political temptations and compulsion
can enforce evil’s supremacy but it can never acquire victory as a permanent
factor. No wonder, why America
is using the logic of power and not the power of logic to respond to a critical
global humanitarian crisis.
The informed global community wishes to see dialogue,
reconciliation and opportunities for peaceful settlement of conflicts. Have the
Two World Wars resolved any problems facing the humanity? What is the cure to
raging indifference and cruelty to the interests of the whole of the mankind?
The 21st century new-age complex
political, economic, social and strategic challenges and the encompassing
opportunities warrant new thinking, new leaders and new visions for change,
conflict management and participatory peaceful future-making. Is the 21st
century political genius more redundant, backward and unable to speak against
the political drudgery and wickedness of the few warlords to destroy the
humanity? Perhaps, Robert Burns - the poet (“Man’s
inhumanity to Man”, from his poem Man was made to Mourn: A Dirge, 1785),
knew better and had unraveling and passionate moral and intellectual understanding
of the human nature and interests of the global mankind to clarify:
'Many and sharp the num'rous ills
Inwoven with our frame!
More pointed still we make ourselves
Regret, remorse, and shame!
And Man, whose heav'n-erected face
The smiles of love adorn, -
Man's inhumanity to man
Makes countless thousands mourn!
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