The nature of the US policy makers has not changed much in terms of directing its role in international relations. It is a fact that it dropped Atom Bombs over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945 when Japan was preparing to surrender. Similarly it invaded Iraq in 1991 when Iraqi government had already signaled its eviction from Kuwait. It finally occupied Iraq after deadly bombings over months on major cities of Iraq when the UN Weapon Inspectors had informally assured the US of no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The US is going to misuse the annual events of the UN General Assembly where Obama is likely to use its trump card against Iran by showing its peaceful image on its two deceptive exercises of showing troops withdrawal from Iraq and initiating peace talks between Israel and Mahmoud Abbas. After destroying Iraq, the US is again misguided by the Zionists to weaken Iran through Sanctions and to change regime as a part of the leveling process along with Iraq. The US is a peculiar country, boasting of being the lamp of liberty, which not only ignores the huge number (about 400 thermo-nuclear) of bombs of Israel along with its long history of International Crimes but also provides huge economic, political and military assistance. On the contrary, the US is bent upon stigmatizing Iran as a nuclear threat in the complete absence of nuclear bombs. It also continues to pressurize Palestinians more and more for appeasing the Zionist guards controlling the American foreign policy in West Asia.
The US is on record of using its veto for more than 36 times only for providing immunity to Israel against the legal confinement of the UN Security Council Resolutions. In January 2009, it blocked a UN Security Council statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza where Israel bombed this area for over 22 days continuously. The US diplomat at the UN said: “We don’t want a ceasefire yet. There is not enough dead people yet. We want more dead people before we will call for a ceasefire.” It is also a fact that the US had not condemned the Israeli attack on Freedom Flotilla in non-Israeli waters in May 2010. It also ignored and dumped the United Nations fact-finding mission’s 575-page report under Judge Richard Goldstone, the former chief prosecutor of the international courts for Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Judge Goldstone had said Israel deliberately attacked civilians and failed to take precautions to minimize loss of civilian life.
Revisionists agenda
The US has turned towards a disturbing path of imposing wars, economic sanctions, military coup d’ etat, military interventions, proliferation and use of the weapons of mass destruction, and exploiting the helpless peoples and countries. The US misused the public money, political institutions, media, intelligence, arsenals and military power against various countries for seeking Plato’s “limited good”. It spent over $ one trillion on recent war in West Asia and this expenditure resulted in the deaths of 5000 American soldiers and 2 million Iraqis, making 6 million Iraqis refugees and internally displaced persons, complete destruction of Iraq’s infrastructure and stationing Iraqis on the highway where day-light robbery, insecurity, killings and all sorts of inhuman practices have become a normal feature of life.
Obama’s declaration of the end of combat operation in Iraq on August 19 is neither a U-turn nor American commitment to peace in Iraq. In reality American army is engaged n ‘stability operations’ and the war is going on behind the curtain which is more sophisticated and malicious in nature. They are more determined to keep and expand their military bases in Iraq and in keeping Iraqis divide on ethnic and sectarian lines. Moreover, they have escalated hostilities in Afghanistan where the victims are largely the civilians.
The Americans are very much in command of key political institutions, oil wells, information services, intelligence, green zone areas and the security. Today’s Iraq is the creation of America and its dark, fragile and enslaved future is also made in America. Thus it shows that the American administration simply talked of democracy in Iraq but in reality they destroyed its values, principles, procedures and basic sources. There is no signal for a visible change in the US policy towards West Asia in particular though peace, security and democracy are the pet words for the Administration. Iraq is in the midst of complete lawlessness, anarchy and Hobbesian ‘state of nature’, the US is engaged in concentrating upon its own road-map to take over the entire region.
Therefore, the US goal is quite clear about forcefully endorsing its own agenda at the cost of the stability, peace and security of West Asia. US President Obama claimed America to be role model last year but it seems to be embedded in the ‘gulf of ignorance’. Iraqis would never take this even as neither a promise nor the Palestinians would agree to it. Iraqis have no sources of justice, democratic governance, equality liberty and sustainable growth because the constitution, political institutions and political process are the products of conspirators, aggressor and occupiers. Governance in Iraq is neither Lockeian in nature nor of even Hobbes’ Leviathan. It is altogether new in its origin and is better left undefined.
Politics of peace
As the British government had maintained the policy of ‘benign neglect’ vis-Ã -vis the predicament of the Palestinians, the US Administration, irrespective of Democrats of Republicans in power, has failed to address the issue of the Palestinians. This ‘grand failure’ is not because of the ‘inability’ factor of the US but the lack of ‘interests, concerns and willingness’ to do so. This sort of insincerity is the result of the ‘union’ of economic and political forces whereby the Zionists lobbies and corporate heavily fund the polling candidates belonging to both parties. In fact, the lobby basically affects the very ‘nature’ of every new Administration in terms of key postings, ministerial allocations, planning, policies and operational realities.
As a result, one can also find a typical one-side swing toward the Israeli concerns in media, publications research and in academe which educate average Americans every day. Moreover, there is also a corresponding effects on the direction of intelligence agencies, inquiries and legislations. So we find a kind of ‘blindness’ of Americans towards the real issues concerning Palestinians.
Misleading initiatives
In the case of the Palestinians, the US has been pretending to be sincere and honest broker of peace but the kind of the US involvement itself is damaging for the enslaved people of Occupied Territories. This hypothesis can be verified by going into the following narratives and concerns shown from time to time by the US. The concept of ‘two state solution’ is deceptive in nature and manifestation. It seems like a situation when there was no Israel before 1948. Two states solution also looks like the fragmentation of a federation or confederation. Most fundamental question in this respect is who will give the State to the Palestinians–”Israel or America or the Quatret? The US has so far shown very clearly that in real sense this prerogative rests with Israel. Another question emanates from here can Israel do so justiciably? It looks like a criminal himself is given the power of being a judge as the US has repeatedly pressed the Palestinian National Authority to make ‘historic and painful compromises. The US involvement shows that it is Israeli-Palestinian conflict which again is a misleading concept. The issue is basically the case of Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. The US and the world community need to keep this fact as a fundamental consideration. No viable solution can be reached by pressing the enslaved and occupied nationality on the terms and conditions of the occupiers and land grabbers.
Disturbing indicators
In the recent US initiated peace talks (September 2) in Washington between the Abbas and Netanyahu after the gap of 20 months, both the parties could not reach any compromise on the Final Status Talk but agreed to meet again on September 14. On the day of the talk in Washington, the news of the killings of four illegal settlers rocked the whole world with the painting of a violent image of Palestinians. In fact, the Occupied Territories are the battle field for Israel which is committing crimes against humanity and peace almost every day. Perhaps we have forgotten that during the Annapolis of November 2007, Israel had killed several Palestinians. This time world crying over the death of four should also see the report of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights’ (PCHR) Weekly Reports that just a week ago (during 12-25 August 2010), Israel killed three Palestinians, arrested 34, including 5 children and 5 foreign human rights defenders and injured a child. It continued to fire at Palestinian farmers and workers in the Gaza, wounding a worker. It expanded the buffer zone in the northern Gaza and bombarded civilian facilities. It conducted 35 military incursions. Settlement activities in the West Bank and Israeli settlers have continued to attack Palestinian civilians and property. It decided to establish 23 buildings in 8 settlements in the West Bank, and a new settlement to the east of Nablus. Israeli settlers uprooted 150 olive trees in Nablus. Many Palestinians and international human rights defenders suffered tear gas inhalation or sustained bruises during peaceful protests arrested a Norwegian activist. Israel demolished 3 houses. Israeli settlers stormed a house and set fire to a tract of agricultural land of the Palestinians.
On the very first day of the talks (14-15 September 2010), Israeli troops invaded parts of Northern Gaza and expanded the buffer zone by around 300 meters. One can look into the Reports of the PCHR for the period of 26 August-15 September 2010 which mentions the killings of 7 Palestinians by Israeli forces in addition to the wounding of 14 and arresting of 74 Palestinians for exercising their rights for justice. During this period, Israel made at least 120 military incursions into the Palestinian territories. It transformed 3 Palestinian houses into military sites in Hebron. There are other data about the cases of using tear gas shells by Israel and the use violence by the illegal Jewish settlers and attacks upon Palestinian farmers and workers. The US, Europe, their intelligentsia, media have not shown any interest as they show the death of one illegal settler in the West Bank.
Address the core issues
It is also important to mention that the second round of the peace talks on September 14 and 15 have not shown any developments towards achieving peace. Netanyahu who has never even seriously talked about peace has no intention of extending freeze over some settlements as other kinds of such activities are going on. Freezing of illegal settlement is not applicable Eastern Jerusalem which has been causing great psychological, social, cultural and political turmoil due to Israeli acts of crimes in international law. There is a major and a very fundamental query at this juncture: Israeli negation over the issue of halting constructions of illegal settlements certainly indicate the Zionist mind-set not to address the core issues of the Territory, Border, Refugees’ Rights to Return, Eastern Jerusalem as the capital of Palestinian State, removal of all illegal Settlements in West Bank and Eastern Jerusalem and the elimination of illegal Israeli Wall created in Palestinian lands.
The Palestinians are occupied, enslaved and fortified. Israel is their self-imposed post-Colonial master with. There is no equation factor between Israeli State and Palestinian National Authority. It is like a Rambo with bombs and guns in his hands on the one side and a weak and a lame Young man on the other side. So the situation is not conducive to any type of settlement unless the mediator overpowers the Rambo or asks him to follow the command and not the request or smiles. This kind of US initiative is not solution package but a part of public diplomacy to show its sincerity in settlement so that it could win more favours on the issue of Iran nuclear policy. The US has reiterated that it would encourage the peace partners and would not force any solution. Whereas the US rejected the massive protests in over 200 cities all over the world including the US to bomb Iraq to unseat its President Saddam Hussein. Similarly it unlawfully bombed Belgrade for Kossovo and imposed Dayton Accord on Bosnians. It also attacked Afghanistan and waging war for liberating Afghan people from Talibans. Why can’t the US adopt the same method of using military means and policy of economic sanctions against Israel to liberate Palestinian territories occupied on 4 June 1967 (22.5% of the whole Palestine) to which the whole world has agreed on several occasions.
Another fault with the US policy makers is their ignorance over the falsehood of Israeli security concerns which is meant for justifying the Israeli expansion of illegal occupation of East Jerusalem and in the West Bank through creating 721 kms long Israeli Wall, unlawful settlement of Foreign Jews in West Bank, security zones, buffer zones and over 100 outposts. Such illegalities of usurpation further reduce Palestinian territories to 10 to 12 percent of the whole Palestine. They are inextricably linked with the core issues of territory, border and Jewish settlements. Few months ago, Israel snubbed the US over its request to Israel on the issue settlement. This was the fact that prompted American scholars John Mearsheimer and Stephen Wault to criticise the US foreign policy endorsing the designs of the Israeli lobby in the US. It is important to recall that the UN Security Council has passed resolutions for vacating territories occupied on and after 4 June 1967. The UN General Assembly and the International Court of Justice have called settlements and Israeli Wall in West Bank illegal and unjustified. Similarly the UN has approved the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their home in Israel which is rejected by the occupiers.
Price of Palestinian compromises
In this context, majority of developing world and others have spoken in favour of liberating the Palestinians. It is a fact that after the Palestinians started taking peace after 1988 and more after 1991, Israel has engineered systematic and systemic losses to the Palestinians. Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat agreed to the Oslo Accords for the purpose of getting a sovereign state in at least 22.5% of the land but since then Israel expanded its occupation of West Bank. Post 1991 expansions of Israeli occupation thrown the Palestinians in a deep quagmire and the US has left them as on where basis. Palestinians have systematically lost their lands, leaders and supporters like Iraq. Hamas which won elections in January 2006 is under tremendous pressures and stigmatization of terrorism. Gaza where it rules has been under severe economic and trade sanctions and suffered Israeli bombings for continuous 23 days with the loss of over 1400 people. Hamas was not invited to the Washington talks. Those who wanted to feed hungry Gazans in last May, were killed in High Seas and their ships captured. Hizbollah which is mainly against Israeli occupation was attacked in 2006. Now it is Iran which is the prime target of Israel and the US for raising genuine concerns over Israeli occupation and violation of Palestinians’ rights. Those who speak of justice within the PLO and Fatah are forced to be silent.
Therefore, Israel can be easily accused of committing crimes of aggression, war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace which need to be addressed. Unless and until the US and the world community seriously warn Israel of deserving harsh punishments and humanitarian interventions, Israel will not abstain from unlawful activities. Freedom of Palestinians thus requires concrete actions and not abstract initiatives on the table. So far the US has no roadmap for a viable Palestinian State. Israel is interested in more expansions and seeking more concessions from the enslaved people. Egypt and Jordan have no interests in addressing the core issues as they themselves are highly undemocratic. The Arab League and the Quartret seem to be highly optimists. It is in this vicious web of ‘ignorance’, the Palestinians are lonelier than ever. Dozens of their leaders have been killed and many in Israeli prisons. They are losing every day their people, properties, lands, homes, security, privacy and dignity. Palestinians have not lost their ‘will’ of resistance and protests and the UN resolutions, International Laws, International Morality and American love for liberty have become useless and meaningless for them. Therefore, it would not be unreasonable to say that silence and inaction against Israel have exposed the nature of the contemporary world order and the nature of liberal democracies. It will be more clear at the podium of the UN General Assembly when the US would soon trumps up on Iran to divert real issues in West Asia.
