American Empire takes over American Republic—-By Shiraz Paracha
Warmongers in the Empire of America are preparing for their ‘Pakistan Adventure’ as helpless but peace loving citizens of the Republic of America watch with horror how a very powerful group of people and institutions is pursuing a murderous agenda in the name of American people.
Most in the mainstream Western media are drumbeaters for the Empire while propaganda campaign against Pakistan gains momentum.
New excuses are sought and new enemies are invented for a military aggression against Pakistan. During the Cold War Western politicians and the media lied about the Soviet Union’s military power and exaggerated the Soviet threat.
After the peaceful split of the USSR, the Western ruling elites needed new enemies to keep their public in fear and justify military interventions to protect Western interests. Saddam Hussein was the first foreign leader in the Post-Cold War World who was used by the military industrial complex and its allies in politics to fill the enemy gap that was created by the end of the Soviet Union.
Saddam was presented as a much bigger threat than he actually was. In the early 1990s, Saddam was portrayed as an enemy who was in the way of ‘The New World Order’. However, only Saddam was not enough to cause enormous fear that would justify ever growing defence expenses and military adventures against foreign nations.
The foundations of the 2001 ‘war on terror’ were laid 10 years prior with the launch of ‘clash of civilizations’ theory. Tragic but mysterious attacks on 11 September, 2001 in the United States provided the military industrial complex with a perfect excuse to pursue its bloody agenda.
Actually, when mechanisms of accountability and responsibility are corrupted, greedy and powerful forces use a Capitalist system to create wars and conflicts. Such elements thrive on death and destruction. The growing power of multinationals and the war industry have weakened democracies in the United States, Britain, France and some other Western countries.
Nearly 94 years ago, the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia had posed the most serious and real threat to Capitalism. Freedom movements around the world were influenced by the successful implementation of a new but completely different political and economic model. After the Revolution, Western Capitalist powers used military means, covert operations as well as acts of sabotage to reverse the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution but failed.
The British Empire opted for another solution to deal with the two enemies—the emerging threat of Communism and the disenchanted Muslims who were angry at the British colonization of Muslim lands. Many Muslims believed that Europeans were responsible for the destruction of the Osmania Caliphate.
The British encouraged religious sectarianism and applied divide and rule tactics to keep their hold on the Middle East region and India. But most interestingly the British backed rigid Arab tribes and helped in the creation of Saudi Arabia in the late 1920s.
What the West terms political Islam now was in fact groomed by the British with the aim that religiously and politically charged Muslims would be effective tools in Capitalist world’s war on Communism. Religious fanatics were promoted as heroes and organizations such as the Muslim Brotherhood were supported by the West.
In the 1980s, the military industrial complex effectively used today’s terrorists against the Soviet Union by labelling them as mujahedeens and provided them with money and weapons as well as training to kill.
The nature of warfare has changed dramatically in the 21st century and unfortunately to the advantage of the war industry. Revolutionary advances and developments in computer and media technologies are now applied to deceive and mislead the public.
The internet is one of the greatest gifts of modern times. It has enabled ordinary people around the world to connect, communicate and exchange knowledge and information nevertheless the war industry and big businesses have greater control over the new media technologies. Now wars are fought in the cyber space and the military industrial complex and its powerful allies in the media and politics have been using new techniques to misinform the public.
With more sophisticated propaganda and spin techniques information warriors of the military industrial complex deliberately cause chaos and confusion. Digital and computer generated effects are used to play with minds of the public. Freedom and democracy have been hijacked and despite the availability of enormous amounts of information it is even more difficult to differentiate between fact and fiction and truth and lies.
The military industrial complex in its psychological warfare campaigns uses every technique to manipulate the audience. A master of psychological warfare now heads the U.S spy agency, the CIA. The Agency is part of the military industrial complex, which, for example, now presents a Afghan resistance group, the Haqqani network, as a new threat to the American interests in Afghanistan. Like previous threats such as Communism, Saddam and Bin Laden, the Haqqani network seems to be a new buzz name in Washington as well as in Western newsrooms.
In 1979, the Soviet Union did not send its troops to the United States. It didn’t attack any Western country either. The Soviet troops had come to Afghanistan at the invitation of the then Afghan government but some Afghans considered the arrival of the Soviet troops as occupation of their country and started fighting the Soviets with American weapons and money. The Haqqani network was one of those groups which fought the Soviets with the U.S support. One can ask that if the Haqqani network was fighting a holy war to liberate Afghanistan and it had the full U.S backing against the Soviets, why is it wrong now if some Afghans consider the U.S and NATO presence in Afghanistan as a military occupation? Fighters of the Haqqani network just want to liberate their country from the new masters.
The Haqqani network used Pakistan as its base to fight an occupation and now if it is again using Pakistan to fight another it should not be condemned. Either Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union was wrong and the U.S is guilty of supporting that resistance, if not, the U.S cannot condemn the Haqqani network for fighting the U.S occupation.
As far Pakistan is concerned, in 1977 it had come under the evil dictatorship of General Zia-ul-Haq and the U.S had supported the evil general. Generals and religious fanatics together destroyed the social fibre of the Pakistani society while they were partners of the United States in its proxy war against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. And now, the consequences of the U.S war industry’s second Afghan adventure are hurting Pakistan again.
As planners at the military industrial complex seem busy for some sort of gung-ho action against Pakistan, I met a warm, intelligent and lovely American journalist from New York. Like thousands of other humanist and sensitive Americans, Pamela Renner believes that her country has been hijacked. She is disgusted with her country’s bloody policies and has decided to live in another country. She has left the U.S. I am sharing with LUBP readers Pamela’s letter that she has sent me a couple of days ago.
“Dear Shiraz,
I’m glad we met and had a chance to speak today. I agree with much of what you said — the only point I’d argue is I think that the Soviet presence in Afghanistan also was a detriment to the people, and that they suffered under colonialism & military aggression from both Cold War adversaries…35 years of hell. Or more?
Deep down, my sense is that the Pentagon & CIA do not represent the American people or even the Constitutional democratic tradition, and that without any public debate, our democracy has been stolen away from us by internal corruption and conspiracy; the elected representatives in Congress shunted aside, or purchased as party favors by corrupt military & corporate interests.
The judicial branch that was supposed to jealously guard the separation of powers has caved in and left no recourse.
I heard one author on WBAI– the New York radio station– speak about the difference between America the Republic, and the Empire
of America…He said, the only way to save the former was to end the imperialistic policies of the latter, and terminate the endless
wars of aggression against foreign nations, leaders and peoples.
Personally, I’d add the covert war against domestic dissent must end, too, and be acknowledged as a crime in its own right.
The drones are truly an unspeakable and obscene way of conducting war; I cannot imagine a strategy less honorable or courageous than the one being pursued now, by Obama’s Pentagon-CIA and by the Bush-Cheney precursors. Many people in the US on the left were aghast when they recognized how little difference it made who held the highest office. I was not only appalled, but I decided I couldn’t stay in New York– so I was thankful and deeply relieved that I have left the United States.
Best,
Pamela”
Typical anti-U.S. generalizations. The article seems to share the Pakistan military and security establishment point of view. Everything is the U.S. government’s fault. The “Military industrial complex, exists, only it exists in Pakistan, not the U.S. The American people are not victims, we vote, it is a free country, and when policies go against the will of the American people we will vote them out. Far-leftist apologists like your American friend are free to live elsewhere. I wish more abject dissenter-haters would have equally good sense to move away, rather than live in the land of opportunity, all the while, bashing it.
The drones do the work that the PAk military won’t do. The 9/11 attack is no mystery; The Haqqani Network are a real threat; and by the way, MAD was the only reson Soviets never attacked the U.S. as they proclaimed “We will bury you.” Mutually Assured Destruction.”
Nice try, but there is more death and destruction under your own nose, blood in the streets of Karachi, only sidelined by even more destruction in Quetta; the ISI supported killing of Hazaras, and Balochs, ignored by your own Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and you have the gall to rail on about the U.S.?
Actually showed great restraint in publically announcing what was common knowledge for those of us paying attention- the Pak military is duplicitous. What shocking news
No mention of a change of strategy towards Pakistan, so no need to over reach with your preposterous claims of American Empire recycled bunk.
Why put your energy into riddin the tribal lands of your own terrorists killing your own marginalized Shiites, Balochs, and tribal families!
The author highlights an interesting moral dilemma when he writes:
“Either Afghan resistance against the Soviet Union was wrong and the U.S is guilty of supporting that resistance, if not, the U.S cannot condemn the Haqqani network for fighting the U.S occupation.”
Can anyone please resolve this dilemma?
Dear Rusty,
Thank you for expressing your pro-Empire views and confirming that in reality the U.S. ruling elites never follows principles and they have always violated the international law with impunity. Let us talk about specific examples, not generalizations. Drone attacks is one specific example of the brutal minds running the Empire but you support drone attacks so no point in arguing this any further.
Very recently NATO military aircraft have bombed civilians in Libya and reports say that depleted uranium has been found in the areas which have been bombed in the past five months. May be you don’t know about such reports as most U.S media outlets don’t report about such acts when they happen. During any U.S aggression the U.S media speak Pentagon’s language and use their terms.
And it is the United States which has been depriving the Palestinian people of their rights by supporting Israeli aggressions. The U.S is equally guilty in Israeli crimes against humanity. In the last 64 years, 44 times the U.S has vetoed any resolution at the U.N Security Council that was in support of Palestine or was slightly critical of Israel. The U.S is again going against the will of the whole world by opposing the Palestinian bid for independence. With such a shameful record, not many would defend and support the ‘land of free’ where elections are stolen and major decisions are made under the pressure of powerful lobby groups. And people like you have the gull to lecture the world?
Regards
Shiraz