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20 September 2012 By Mahboob A.
Khawaja, PhD . "There are the times that
try men's soul", noted Thomas Paine in his
famous "Common Sense", the lifeline to American
independence. In situations of adversity and
crises, competent leaders represent hope and optimism
for change, not egoistic political agenda and
animosity…………… Peace requires new THINKING and New
VISIONS that American President and Israeli PM do not
have except the WAR agenda. Both are victims of
egomaniac politics. Would Peace and Security grow out
of the nowhere? Threatening rhetoric of pre-emptive
war strikes on Iran nuclear's centers and the nuisance
of individualistic political indoctrination do not
articulate rational and responsible opportunities for
rational and intelligent leaders to engage in peaceful
dialogue or conflict resolution. Conflicts are not the outcome of
rational thinking but of sadistic and cruel mindsets.
Those who plan wars and drive the mankind to the
animalistic thinking and killing of each other are
often fearful of the unknown. They view the humanity
just in numbers, not an object of precious life and
value in the larger universal context. Most often,
these people are disconnected with the annals of
normal human thinking and affairs, suspicious and
paranoid and they see success to be achieved at the
cost of ruthlessness, hatred, degeneration and
viciousness - all part of their inborn value system,
making politics a dreadful game of egomaniac mind,
deceptions and strategic priorities. Zars and other
Russian dictators, Hitler, Mussolini, George Bush,
Cheney, Blair and now Obama are all the by-products of
the same philosophy, policies and behaviors. In a
knowledge-driven global culture of enhanced human
communications and proactive visions for sustainable
futuristic co-existence between Man and the
encompassed Universe and divergent civilizations, we
the educators and learners are to exercise rational
capacity of thoughts, universal ideals and continuous
intelligent foresights to change and adaptability to
the future-making. This requires intelligent
commitment to principles of international peace and
security for all, non-aggression in the working of
global systems, protection of life and a balanced
ecological culture of co-existence within the
encompassed Universe -Man and the Humanity. America, a
leading industrialized power is indifferent to these
pertinent factors of life. Across the United States, the
presidential elections are dominating the 2012
political culture and the world is watching nervously
when and where the perpetuated insanity would hit
next. It is predictably unpredictable curiosity of the
unknown impulse; otherwise, the news media and war
profiteering lobbyists would go bankrupt. To launch
political campaigns and get elected, most of these
politicians rely on consultants and strategic
advisors. Once in office, these dummies cannot
distinguish between the role of a national leader and
a political campaigner. Often they lack moral and
intellectual leadership visions, traits and proactive
know-how. They flunk and always seek advisory opinions
rather than having their own capability for change and
adaptability to the new role-play. They enforce
individualistic ambitions to be politician in policies
and practices rather than a competent leader, always
thinking to be re-elected and nothing else. People and
nations lose precious time and opportunities for
change because of the folly of the so called leaders.
Modern democratic norms are fast becoming obsolete in
relations to the interests of the masses. Throughout the decade long Iraq
war, the Pentagon and the European hired mercenaries
refused to count the civilian causalities in Iraq but
impartial observations put the civilian figures
killed, tortured to deaths including Abu Ghraib,
Fluodga, Baghdad and across the land of the ancient in
the range of three millions lives destroyed by the
genocidal acts against people and humanity who had
neither threatened nor had the ability to harm the
US-European national sovereignty or countries. Would
those responsible - George Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney and
Tony Blair and so many others be brought to justice as
was the case at Nuremberg trials and Japan after the
WW2? Redefined NATO gets new life to cover its past
failure in dealing with the USSR and to waging
unchartered wars in the region of Afghanistan,
Pakistan and the drone attacks, hired private
mercenaries from Eastern Europe, CIA secret 100 or so
offshore investigative centers in many former Eastern
European - Middle Eastern hired Arab outlets are the
framework of global terrorism planned and executed by
the superpowers. The US foreign policy is
intimately linked to its geo-political grandeur
interests not to the COMMON THINKING and primary
interests of the masses. The biggest anti Iraq- Afghan
wars rallies and protests were launched within the
American - European people's moral and intellectual
cultural environment. The Middle East captive
Arab-Muslim population showed no humanitarian
reactions to the onslaught of the fellow human beings
at Guantamobay, Abu Ghraib and Belgram prison in
Afghanistan. Their leaders were complacent in the
Bush led Crusade against Islam - few princely monsters
gave logistical support to the US-Britain invasion of
Iraq in 2003 – ultimately reasons for Iraq's
destructions and genocide - what a moral and
intellectual tragedy that cannot be rationalized. There is a continuing evolution
of the WAR THINKING and conflict-making and
conflict-keeping against Iran within the aegis of the
current Obama presidency, more so now into the
re-election agenda of the incumbent President. Have we
learned anything from the past to change anything
because of the knowledge, history and facts of life to
know our weaknesses and strengths of vision and to
change and reform our minds and behavior when facts
warrant a change, be it in policy making or global
interactive behaviors? After all listening and
learning are critical factors for the changing role of
the 21st century political leadership and
so is the flexibility mechanism to be built-in for
effective leadership. But there are no intelligent and
proactive leaders with a vision of the FUTURE to see
the ONE Humanity except naïve and self-geared
egomaniac full of the sensation of power using
triviality and viciousness to torture and kill the
mankind and destroy ecological habitats. But contrary
to the brutal perceptions and actions of the US-former
Europeans imperialists, the international community is
informed, mature, and enjoys the moral and
intellectual capacity to know and understand the facts
of life and to challenge the politically imperiled
insensitivity to universal accord and UNITY of the
mankind against brutality of the Terrorism of Wars
that unites them with a common fate more than divides
them by any token of adversity and separate national
identities. Progressively evolving is a new
information-age plausible global culture of THINKING
of ONE HUMANITY and a new proactive civilization of
strong bonds and affinity of people to people cultural
communications – citizenry participation in social,
economic and political THINKING and Globalization -
man in one part of the world feels, thinks and
acts-reacts to what happens to any man in another
remote corners of the globe. Mankind is neither blind,
nor inept, it defines its own purpose, meaning and
identity for peace and harmony that the established
institutions of governance - be it in America or
Europe or elsewhere miserably failed to recognize or
value their importance in global political affairs.
Given the inherent systematic deficiencies and moral
and intellectual corruption in the US - European –
worldwide political governance and policy formulation
toward the international community, the global
community is actively organized and morally and
intellectually powerful to halt all the belligerent
nightmares planned and orchestrated by the upcoming
warmongering against Iran. Contrary to the media's
misgivings, there are 120 nonaligned nations and
strong Western scholarly opinions and thrust of public
reason to support Iran in its stance and its right to
enrich uranium. Iran a signatory of the NPT, not
Israel. For the first time in American
history, when an African colored man walked into the
White House, he promised to change the US belligerent
policies and practices and showed interest to make
peace across the globe. But it was all delusional
politics to win the elections. Paul Craig Roberts
called him "The World's Least Powerful Man – the Obama
Puppet", rescinding all his commitments to "Yes We
Can" and global peacemaking. Obama and Netanyahu both
have serious problems of self-awareness and
intellectual consciousness of the realities of
prevalent culture and civilizations if they wish to
pursue animosities and preemptive war attacks. They
should first know the perceived enemy to be relevant
and effective for their own good. America is just over
two centuries old, and Israel was established in 1948.
America will identify itself with the progressively
information-age changing culture of scientific and
technological era and Israel is still in its infancy
in cultural context to claim value. Iran has thousands
of years of culture and flourishing civilization.
Claiming to be rational, if you start throwing stones
in the sea, the water of the sea will not change its
course; you will simply be wasting your time and
energies with abnormal acts of behavior. Some
onlookers at sea sites could THINK, you have some
mental disorder. Rational people are always open to
listening and learning and to change their views and
stance for a navigational change when facts of life
warrant a change but irrational people insist on
individualistic absolutism and never make out of the
darkness. Obama and Nentanhyu do not know
the people of Iran nor understand the Arab-Islamic
culture and civilization to deal with them. There are
no problems except America and Israel is creating new
ones for their sake. This is what caused strategic
failures to the US-NATO in Iraq and Afghanistan. The
animosity dots are disconnected. Obama apologized for
the unknowing act of the Qur'an burning in Kabul.
Thomas Jefferson had three volume copies of the Al-Qura'an
(English translation) in the library that he used to
devise legal jurisprudence and moral and intellectual
stipulations for rights and obligations for the
American Constitution. Was this historical fact
unknown to the US politicians-leaders? Muslims know,
believe and respect the Bible and Talmud (Torah) as
part of the Abrahamic monotheistic faith. For
centuries, the Europeans religiously persecuted Jews,
and finally the Holocaust that was planned and carried
out by the Europeans, not by Arabs, Muslims or
Iranian. Recall, throughout the formative history,
who took the dispersed and persecuted Jews to safety,
equal rights and protections and honored them with
distinctions of participation in the Arab intellectual
culture and governance - The Arab civilization in
al-Al Andalusia- Spain for eight hundred years -
longest period of any human civilization. There is lot
of learning for the both to come to understand how
they want to move to the future of perceived
confrontations. What if Obama had the courage to act
like Anwar Saddat - the Egyptian President who took
initiatives to go to Tel Aviv and address the Israeli
Knesset (Parliament) for a new beginning in the dull
and crazy Middle East politics? Could Obama have not
done the same to go to Iran or invite Khomeini –
President Amideenjadad to Washington to have face to
face dialogue? Would this have stopped the earth from
rotating against the sun or would the sky have fallen
on the Antarctica? Intellectually enlightened and
morally spirited scholars and experts hold the view
that all man-made problems are solvable given the will
and rational flexibility and strategies to find
workable solutions. The mankind views these leaders
performing acts of absurdity on stage with frustration
and dismay. Are the leaders not supposed to lead? Do
the Americans and the Europeans have any intelligent
leaders who can lead for the larger interests, peace
and global security of the humanity? The forthcoming
presidential elections in America do not indicate any
hope for change in the status-quo of its policies and
behaviors in international affairs. Comforting the major paradoxes of
history as Arnold Toynbee (A Study of History)
described warrior as dreamers devoid of moral and
intellectual imagination when they come close to
stagnation they jump to irrational outbursts and
conclusions about the facts of life. Wrong people,
glued to wrong THINKING, do the wrong things without
any rational sense of time, people's interest and
history. Obama failed to see the interest of the
global community to a peaceful approach to conflict
management through dialogue and non-rhetoric
belligerent statements. Naïve egoism and one-sided
complacency to Israel's interest cannot further the
cause of peace in the region but an America free to
think on its own and defining its own policy free of
the lobbyists entrapment could opt out of the
political fantasy to global outreach to regain respect
and reentry into global moral and intellectual
consciousness. The hired media agents of
influence continue to poison the masses of war against
Iran. Every day, there are more irrational and
abstract accusations of the nuclear development
program in Iran. For sure, the large segments of
mankind do not believe in these theories and vicious
propaganda onslaught. Obama needs Israeli lobbyists
support and money to get re-elected. To Obama's mind,
America and Israel do have historical bonds of
friendship but in a global context they are
disconnected to the rest of the international
community. America and Israel are alone, not part of
the global thinking and agenda for peace and
co-existence. America and Israel need a political and
intellectual challenge to come to terms with peace and
security but the oil-soaked blood-tainted
authoritarian and intellectually sold out oil
producing Arab leaders cannot provide one. The global
community wants to see America and Israel held
accountable for their warmongering fever against
non-nuclear Iran. Iran is not a nuclear power now, it
cannot be in the near future, so what is the fuss
about? If Obama and Netanyahu cannot think
responsibly and are wrong in their claims, should the
world believe them for anything? Aggressive THINKING
is propagated, echo of peace is silenced. Peace
requires new THINKING and New VISIONS that American
President and Israeli PM do not have except the WAR
agenda. Would Peace and Security grow out of the
nowhere? Threatening rhetoric of pre-emptive war
strikes on Iran nuclear's centers and the nuisance of
individualistic political indoctrination do not
articulate rational and responsible opportunities for
rational and intelligent people to engage in peaceful
dialogue or conflict resolution. There is no scarcity
of proactive Jewish intellectuals and scholars in
Israel and America enriched with political imagination
and strong sense of the global humanity and people who
love peace and harmony with the Arabs and
Palestinians, and likewise American thinkers and
political visionaries who could do a better job than
Netanyahu and Obama's warrior mindsets. Moving facts
of life speak louder than dry inked words. Ignorance
of the facts of life, intransigence and aggression
against the creations of God and Planet do not
cultivate opportunities for peacemaking. Nobody in
the region has the capacity or will to threaten Israel
or America's security. Obama failed to see the bigger
picture of the American national interests and the
converging essence of the vital interests of the
international community; he remained entangled to
worship the form in attracting roaring applause and
forgot the essence of peace and security. In a
political culture overwhelmed with 2012 presidential
election agenda and much charged by conscious
intransigence of the few, America and Israel are
fearful of the unknown and have no vision for peace
and co-existence either in the region or in a global
context. Peace and security are not one sided pursuits
nor can be experimented in a lab. There are many who
could a better and more productive leadership in
America and Israel. America and Israel both need
change for their future. Both desperately proactive,
culturally conscientious and intellectual unbiased
leaders who could see the bigger picture of futuristic
world - a different world of tomorrow of peace and
co-existence rather than perpetuated animosity and
extreme naïve belligerent behaviors, leaders who will
serve the people and could learn to make a
navigational change and adaptability to the making of
a promising future for all the mankind. Paul Craig
Roberts ("the Next War on Washington's Agenda."
OpenEdnews: 01/12/2012) offers an insight to the
political dilemma facing the American masses: We, as Americans, need to ask
ourselves what all this is about? Why is our
government so provocative toward Islam, Russia, China,
Iran? What purpose, whose purpose is being served?
Certainly not ours…………Where do we go from here? If
not to nuclear destruction, Americans must wake up.
Football games, porn, and shopping malls are one
thing. Survival of human life is another. Washington,
that is, "representative government," consists only of
a few powerful vested interests. These private
interests, not the American people, control the US
government. That is why nothing that the US government
does benefits the American people. (Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja
specializes in global security, peace and conflict
resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western
comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of
several publications including the latest: Global
Peace and Conflict Management: Man and Humanity in
Search of New Thinking. Lambert Publishing Germany,
May 2012) |
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