• Home
  • Perspectives
  • Articles
  • Columns
  • Platform
  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Support
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Write for us
Sign in
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
Search
55.3 F
Los Angeles
Sunday, February 28, 2021
  • Contact MMN
  • en English
    af Afrikaanssq Albanianam Amharicar Arabichy Armenianaz Azerbaijanieu Basquebe Belarusianbn Bengalibs Bosnianbg Bulgarianca Catalanceb Cebuanony Chichewazh-CN Chinese (Simplified)zh-TW Chinese (Traditional)co Corsicanhr Croatiancs Czechda Danishnl Dutchen Englisheo Esperantoet Estoniantl Filipinofi Finnishfr Frenchfy Frisiangl Galicianka Georgiande Germanel Greekgu Gujaratiht Haitian Creoleha Hausahaw Hawaiianiw Hebrewhi Hindihmn Hmonghu Hungarianis Icelandicig Igboid Indonesianga Irishit Italianja Japanesejw Javanesekn Kannadakk Kazakhkm Khmerko Koreanku Kurdish (Kurmanji)ky Kyrgyzlo Laola Latinlv Latvianlt Lithuanianlb Luxembourgishmk Macedonianmg Malagasyms Malayml Malayalammt Maltesemi Maorimr Marathimn Mongolianmy Myanmar (Burmese)ne Nepalino Norwegianps Pashtofa Persianpl Polishpt Portuguesepa Punjabiro Romanianru Russiansm Samoangd Scottish Gaelicsr Serbianst Sesothosn Shonasd Sindhisi Sinhalask Slovaksl Slovenianso Somalies Spanishsu Sudanesesw Swahilisv Swedishtg Tajikta Tamilte Teluguth Thaitr Turkishuk Ukrainianur Urduuz Uzbekvi Vietnamesecy Welshxh Xhosayi Yiddishyo Yorubazu Zulu
Sign in
Welcome! Log into your account
Forgot your password? Get help
Privacy Policy
Password recovery
Recover your password
A password will be e-mailed to you.
Media Monitors Network (MMN)
  • Home
  • Perspectives
    • Jerusalem Israel Palestine Dome of The Rock Golden Dome

      The Abraham Accords undermined much-needed peace with Palestinians

      World Map

      Global disturbing disparities

      Globe Algeria Niger Mali Africa

      There is always a price to pay for befriending the Zionists

      Illegal Israeli Settlements

      Antisemitism claims mask a reign of political and cultural terror across…

      The Flower - Pakistan Monument at Night

      Israel in the vanguard of India’s mounting conflict with Pakistan

  • Articles
    • Man studying religious book

      Ishmael and Isaac: An Essay on the Divergent Moral Economies of…

      Mahmoud Abbas

      May Your Home Be Destroyed

      Netanyahu Lighting Hanukah Candles with His Wife and Sons

      Bibi’s Son or: Three Men in a Car

      The Map of Greater Israel

      The Man Who Jumped

      West Bank - Palestine

      Cry, Beloved Country

  • Columns
    • Republican Hypocrisy Is No Reason to Support Neera Tanden

      Republican Hypocrisy Is No Reason to Support Neera Tanden

      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      Cuomo and Newsom Symbolize the Rot of Corporate Democrats — and…

      Hidden in Plain Sight: The “Unimpeachable” Offenses

      Hidden in Plain Sight: The “Unimpeachable” Offenses

      Progressives Must Fight With -- and In -- the Democratic Party

      Don’t Grade President Biden on a Curve

      Progressives Must Fight With -- and In -- the Democratic Party

      Don’t Let President Biden ‘Make Us the Dupes of Our Hopes’

  • Platform
    • Hanukkah Lights

      Hanukkah is not hypocrisy

      The Washington Post

      “Preemptive war could risk millions of casualties. But….”

      When they shout: "We strongly condemn…"

      68

      Why Iran won’t attack Israel

      Is One Iraqi’s Self-Hatred Newsworthy?

  • Poetry
    • Literature
  • Shop
    • Cart
    • My account
  • Support
    • Donation Confirmation
  • Write for us
Home Perspectives Afghanistan: the empire strikes back
  • Perspectives

Afghanistan: the empire strikes back

By
Iqbal Siddiqui
-
October 16, 2001
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
WhatsApp
Linkedin
ReddIt
Email
Print
Tumblr
Telegram
Mix
VK
Digg
LINE
Viber
Naver

    Three days after the bombing of Afghanistan began, US officials admitted that they were running out of targets. The bombing is likely to continue, however, to satisfy public opinion. Hawks in Washington also want to attack other countries. Iraq is one possible target, as – like the Taliban – it has few allies and there would be little objection. Such an attack would be justified by Saddam’s statement that the attacks on America were inevitable, and by claims that one of the alleged hijackers may have met an Iraqi official in Europe before the attacks.

    Immediately after September 11, the US – supported by other Western states and institutions such as the UN and NATO – declared that the attacks constituted an act of war against ‘civilization’ and ‘freedom’, and that Usama bin Ladin was responsible. They then set about making a case against bin Ladin and building a coalition to support their response, and launched an enormous propaganda effort to obfuscate any reasoned discussion of the situation, and swamp awkward realities that might emerge, with a mass of misinformation and disinformation.

    These programmes have been helped by the credulity of most of the Western media, who have shown a remarkable willingness to suspend their critical faculties. The case against Bin Ladin is an example: according to Washington, his guilt is established. However, many legal experts – such as British barrister Geoffrey Robertson, writing in the Guardian – were categorical that the evidence is not even sufficient for extradition. While such opinions were appearing in the opinion-columns of serious newspapers, however, the same papers were basing their editorial positions on the assumption of Bin Ladin’s guilt. Nor did anyone seriously question America’s right to demand that the Taliban hand him over, under threat of war, instead presenting their evidence to the Taliban as requested. Equally remarkable has been the imperviousness of the US and other governments to such opinion, which is at least partly because the media’s editorial position, which does most to form public opinion, does not take this scepticism into account.

    It is also notable that few commentators take their scepticism to its logical conclusion. Many realise that the US is acting totally outside the law, without any evidence, with total disregard for the rights of others; that it is lying to its own people, other governments and international organizations; that it is abusing its international position to browbeat governments and organizations into supporting its illegal actions; that it is more interested in suppressing opposition and bolstering pro-western countries than in promoting democracy and human rights; and that it is guilty itself of far greater crimes than any committed against it, even on September 11: yet they still cannot see the US’s hegemonic power as anything but a force for good in the world. Even when they point out that opposition to the US is understandable and inevitable, they do not ask why the US acts as it does, what such behaviour says about it, or whether opposition to it might even be just and laudable.

    These are questions that Muslims have often posed, and can answer. One way of understanding the US’s attack on the Taliban is that it is an imperial power teaching a troublesome tribe, in some usually inaccessible and irrelevant corner of the empire, a lesson. This ‘war’ is a modern version of the bombing of Iraqi tribes by Britain in the 1920s, or France’s periodic destruction of troublesome villages in Algeria: the demonstration of power is more important than getting the right tribe or village. The modern West is an empire much as the British or French empires were, or the Nazi or Soviet empires, except that it is global. The West’s claim to be defending civilization and promoting democracy is the modern equivalent of the old imperial claim of shouldering the “white man’s burden” of civilizing the world é and just as hollow.

    What we are seeing now is the ‘justice’ of an empire that has suffered a blow, and is striking back. But history also tells us that empires cannot survive indefinitely, however strong they are. Indeed, history shows us that the more brutal the empire, the more determined resistance becomes. An empire that depends on force cannot survive; in the long run every atrocity it commits to consolidate its rule contributes also to its ultimate defeat.

    It is these realities that Western commentators, however frank and however sceptical of the West’s claims, cannot bear to face.

    Mr. Iqbal Siddiqui is Editor of Crescent International and Research Fellow at the Institute of Islamic Contemporary Thought.

    Back to Top 

    Like this ? Vote for it to win in MMN Contest

    SUPPORT MMN

    MMN SERVICES

    • TAGS
    • about
    • abusing
    • according
    • account
    • acting
    • actions
    • Afghanistan
    • after
    • against
    • Algeria
    • alleged
    • allies
    • America
    • answer
    • anyone
    • anything
    • appearing
    • atrocity
    • attack
    • attacks
    • because
    • becomes
    • before
    • began
    • bombing
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Pinterest
    WhatsApp
    Linkedin
    ReddIt
    Email
    Print
    Tumblr
    Telegram
    Mix
    VK
    Digg
    LINE
    Viber
    Naver
      Previous articleThe United States, Israel and the ‘war on terrorism’
      Next articleYellow Belly Yiddish Journalism and the National Interest
      Iqbal Siddiqui

      Mr. Iqbal Siddiqui gets featured on Media Monitors Network (MMN) with the courtesy of Crescent International.

      RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

      Jerusalem Israel Palestine Dome of The Rock Golden Dome

      The Abraham Accords undermined much-needed peace with Palestinians

      World Map

      Global disturbing disparities

      Globe Algeria Niger Mali Africa

      There is always a price to pay for befriending the Zionists

      Google Search

      MMN @ Google Play Store MMN @ Amazon Appstore

      MMN @ TwitterMMN @ FacebookMMN Feed

      Newsletter

      EDITOR PICKS

      Republican Hypocrisy Is No Reason to Support Neera Tanden

      Republican Hypocrisy Is No Reason to Support Neera Tanden

      February 25, 2021
      Tax Revelations and Corporate Media Won’t Defeat Trump

      Cuomo and Newsom Symbolize the Rot of Corporate Democrats — and...

      February 16, 2021
      Hidden in Plain Sight: The “Unimpeachable” Offenses

      Hidden in Plain Sight: The “Unimpeachable” Offenses

      February 7, 2021

      POPULAR POSTS

      167

      The Origin of Freemasonry: The Crusaders & Templars

      April 23, 2003

      Sharon to Peres: We Control America

      November 20, 2001
      Qibla - Kaaba

      Direction of Al-Qiblah

      February 23, 2003

      POPULAR CATEGORY

      • Perspectives13742
      • News3119
      • World2785
      • Asia2386
      • Columns1329
      • Articles859
      • Africa280
      • Health273
      • Australasia160
      ABOUT US
      Media Monitors Network (MMN) is a non-profit, non-partial and non-political platform for those serious Media Contributors and Observers who crave to know and like to help to prevail the whole truth about current affairs, any disputed issue or any controversial issue by their voluntary contributions with logic, reason and rationality.
      Contact us: [email protected]
      FOLLOW US
      • About MMN
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms and Conditions
      • Contact
      Copyright © 2000 - MMN International Inc. All rights reserved.
      Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
      All other brands, logos, and product names are registered
      trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
      ResponsiveVoice-NonCommercial licensed under 95x15
      MORE STORIES
      Myanmar: UN rights office condemns escalating violence in deadliest day of protests so far

      Myanmar: UN rights office condemns escalating violence in deadliest day of...

      February 28, 2021
      In its monthly lecture series, OIC highlights importance of innovation in Islamic world

      In its monthly lecture series, OIC highlights importance of innovation in...

      February 28, 2021