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05 November 2012 By Mahboob A.
Khawaja, PhD The Arabs, once pioneer of
knowledge-based advanced civilization lasting for 800
years - the longest period in human history, are the
victims of a delusional oil-pumping economic
prosperity imported as marriage of convenience forged
between the tribal Arab rulers and the Western
industrialized world - more so, the USA and Britain.
Throughout the 20th century and well into
the 21st century, the oil richness failed
to deal with emerging social, moral, intellectual and
political problems. Instead with militarization of the
region, increasing bloodbaths depict a havoc political
spectrum. Living without ROOTS and REASON. Islam
enriched the Arabs to become global leaders of a
progressive civilization, but the oil enhanced
prosperity transformed them into ‘camel jockeys' and
object of hallow laughters after dinner jokes across
the Western culture. Money cannot buy wisdom, honor
and human integrity. The bogus "war on terrorism"
could not have happened if the Arab leaders - the
front line bogyman of the US Empire had useful mind,
intellectual capacity and integrity to challenge the
most irrational and cruel act in human history. Under
George Bush and continued with President Obama's
agenda, the oil exporting Arab leaders became the
submissive ‘yes man' to offer logistic support to US
planned aggression against the innocent people in
Iraq, Afghanistan and now in Waziristan, Northwest
Pakistan. An estimated 3 million people were
victimized in the Iraqi genocide and millions more
lost life and habitats in Afghanistan and now in
Pakistan. The War on Terrorism was planned
by the US politicians long before the attacks of 9/11
in September 2001. Its ultimate aims were to occupy
and control the natural resources of the Muslim world.
The mindless oil producing Arab leaders were willing
complacent in this wicked strategic game for purely
individual survival and nothing else. If the Arab
leaders had any knowledge, understanding and sense of
responsibility of the future and of the devastating
short and long terms impacts of the bogus war, they
should have challenged the American policy or sought
advice from Muslim intellectuals and scholars to
assess the crisis situation for reasonable
alternatives. There are many Western scholars and
politicians who oppose the Bush led warmongering
against Islam and the Muslims and took moral and legal
steps to question the US administration. The World War Tribunal held in
Istanbul, 2005, had articulated this conclusion. The
jury Declaration of Conscience included this general
language:
"The invasion and
occupation of Iraq was and is illegal. The reasons
given by the US and UK governments for the invasion
and occupation of Iraq in March 2003 have proven to be
false. Much evidence supports the conclusion that a
major motive for the war was to control and dominate
the Middle East and its vast reserves of oil as a part
of the US drive for global hegemony… In pursuit of
their agenda of empire, the Bush and Blair governments
blatantly ignored the massive opposition to the war
expressed by millions of people around the world. They
embarked upon one of the most unjust, immoral, and
cowardly wars in history." Francis Boyle ("Bush, Blair
Wanted for Crimes against Humanity": ICH, October 21,
2012), an eminent international jurist and Professor
of International Law, University of Illinois, led the
prosecution team in November 2011 at the Kuala Lumpur
War Crimes Tribunal. The Tribunal convicted Bush and
Blair of crimes against peace and humanity, and
genocide over their roles in the Iraq war. Professor
Boyle said in a press interview that "We got them both
convicted of a Nuremberg crime against peace," he
added while referring to the US-led invasion of Iraq
in 2003 and the principles of international law
recognized in the Charter of the Nuremberg Tribunal.
According to Principles of the Nuremberg Tribunal,
planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war
of aggression or a war in violation of international
treaties, agreements or assurances are crimes
"punishable" under international law. Professor Boyle
took note of the Israeli atrocities against the
occupied Palestinian population in Gaza and condemned
the Israeli leaders for "inflicting outright genocide
on the Palestinians in Gaza," Throughout the oil exporting Arab
world, the contemporary rulers have turned out to be
complacent in the US –Israeli strategic plans for the
future of the Middle East. Ironically, it is hard to
imagine if the prosperous Arab rules occupying dusty
palaces have any consciousness of the interest of the
masses or the real world affairs in their own
backyards. Most rulers appear to be missing the
essential human conscience – the hub of Islamic
characteristics of human beings to see the unfolding
political and economic realities on the ground. None
of the leaders have ever come out to represent the
public conscience on the issue of Palestine and the
establishment of an independent homeland for the
people of Palestine. With exception of Egypt, the Arab
world is devoid of critical THINKING, reasoning and
proactive leadership or leadership of any kind to make
the presence felt in the global political arena. The world is changing but not
fast enough for the authoritarian Arab rulers -
fattish fed by the oil revenues and stupid and
mindless in thoughts and behaviors if you view them in
the real world of political actions and prevalent
deplorable atrocities imposed on the Arab people. The
affluent and oil enriched indulged in conspiracy to
assume power and institutionalize corruption simply to
maintain few tribal powerhouses favored by the
ex-colonial masters managing the power centers from
distance. They build sky high towers, mountain high
palaces and used 747 equipped with swimming pools
while the people begged for bread and butter and
freedom to speak and be recognized as human beings.
Now, the Arab people have awakened after long slumber
of complacency and disorder. The problem was well
defined centuries earlier by Shakespeare "the destiny
of peoples coincided with the destiny of their monarch
and nobles." This week, the impacts of the
SANDY super storm and its resulting loss of human
lives and vast destructions of the habitats should
have reminded the people in America, what it is like
to be victims of the US led wars in other lands. The
destruction in NY and New Jersey clearly resembled to
war zones but it was caused by natural disaster – a
staunch warning to realist thinkers what can go wrong
when leaders and nations wage bogus wars against
innocent people of the earth. An honest
self-reflection will help America to RETHINK of its
futuristic policies and practices and regain its vital
role in global affairs. Michael Hampton asks "Do
American Approve Mass Murder" (Information Clearing
House: 6/14/2012). When humanity is transformed into
statistic and is presented by the leading US opinion
polls - the hourly paid dehumanized propaganda
industry, it does not include the human aspects of the
real story. Across the United States, common folks
lack the reality check. The NY Times reported (May 29,
2012) that President Obama maintains a ‘kill list' and
personally reviews it to issue the strike order, when
and where. Hampton notes that "The reality, widely
reported worldwide but rarely in U.S. media, is that
all too often these strikes kill innocent civilians in
addition to, or even instead of, the intended
targets." In some instances, the US drone attacks do
hit the militants fighting against the war on terror
but overwhelmingly, the global consensus indicate that
these attacks are resulting in more reactionary
animosity against the US warmongers. Hampton offers a
context to the civilian tragedies: "But by killing the
innocent, the strikes themselves are manufacturing
more enemies. Haykal Bafana, a lawyer in Yemen, writes
on Twitter, "Dear Obama, when a US drone missile kills
a child in Yemen, the father will go to war with you,
guaranteed. Nothing to do with Al Qaeda. Do American public care about the
on-going massacres of civilians in other lands?
Hampton observes: "So we come full circle. Only a
minority of people show any concern over Obama's
killing of innocent people abroad in the name of the
war on terror (oops, we aren't supposed to say that
anymore). Perhaps the people who approve of the drone
strikes simply don't know. Or perhaps, like Rep. Peter
King (R-N.Y.), they don't care. "I am not concerned,"
he said." America is in a grip of crises,
one after another as legal and political repercussions
of the continued wars against Iraq, Afghanistan and
Pakistan. The war mentality has not changed under
Obama's presidency and much intended political stunt
"Yes We Can." America is bankrupt in moral, financial,
political and intellectual domains. Over the centuries
what was evolved and built by its historical thinkers,
philosophers and political leaders, has been
undermined and destroyed by George W. Bush and Barrack
Obama just in a decade. Dirk Adriansens
("Crimes against Humanity: Iraq's Mass Graves",
Global Research, October 23, 2012), points out how the
US occupation forces planned and trained the Iraqi
police to kidnap, torture and kill the civilians.
"US Occupation
authorities: guilty. They created, trained and armed
the National Police and controlled the Ministry of
Interior, responsible for death squad policies.
Maliki government:
guilty. They acted as local US stooges. They carried
out the US counterinsurgency strategy, protected the
kidnappers and prevented an investigation.
UN Human Rights
Bodies: guilty by negligence. They refused to nominate
a special Human Rights rapporteur for Iraq. They
refused to investigate this crime against humanity." Michael Hampton ("Do American
Approve Mass Murder") strikes a logical warning: "Let's be perfectly clear.
Killing an innocent person is wrong, whether you're
the lowest criminal or the highest .. excuse me,
president of the United States. What should worry you
even more than that, though, is that in a few years,
those drones and their missiles are coming home, and
they will be used here in the U.S. against Americans.
Police chiefs all over the country are drooling at the
prospect of getting hold of their own drones — to be
used only for aerial surveillance, of course, and not
to kill people by remote control. At least not right
away. That part comes later, after you all are
accustomed to seeing the things flying around." How should the global community
view the contemporary Arab societies living under
obsessed conspiracies of power and corruption of
tribal authoritarianism for over half a century? They
are a failure on all the major frontlines of global
affairs. What happened to their Islamic culture,
values and glorious civilization? Was the petrodollar
a conspiracy ("fitna") to disconnect the Arab people
with the Islamic civilization? Ironically, how the
few tribal leaders could have managed the time and
history on their own unless large segments of the
masses were complacent in making the tragedy? The
contemporary global affairs warrant intelligent and
competent leadership not kings, not military dictators
or fatty and dull prince occupying splendid palaces
away from the people. Leaders manage the crisis when
facts of life warrant change and adaptability to the
future. Often crisis bring unity people of reason but
not the Arab rulers. They are comparable to the role
of hypocrites when the Prophet of Islam went to
encounter the idolaters- the enemies of Islam.
Notwithstanding the requisites of reason and honesty,
many Arab rulers are collaborating with the US-Israel
warmongering against Iran. Time will tell how some of
the Arab leaders deserve the wrath of God for
supporting the global warlords. There are no Arab
public institutions of THINKING and no leaders to lead
except individualistic absolutism performing at the
theatre of absurdity. One wonders, why the earth never
felt any weight of the oil pumping Arab rulers. In view of the unstoppable cycle
of political killings and daily bloodbaths in so many
Arab states - Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Bahrain and
spill-over to other oil producing Arab nations - and
reactionary militancy against the authoritarian rule
and dismantling of the socio-economic infrastructures
- is the Arab world coming to its own end because of
the sadistic dictators? The Arab rulers and the
masses live and breathe in conflicting time zones
being unable to see the rationality of people-oriented
Islamic governance. The worst is yet to come,
surrender to foreign forces as there are no leaders to
think of the future or the Arab armies to defend the
people. Are the foreign dictated rulers and their
armies - the bloody killers - the only task they are
accustomed to do? Borrowed weapons and corrupt and
failed rulers do not extend moral or intellectual
security. The question is how to decode treachery,
greed, incompetence and dead conscience to tell the
world - the real story of the Arab ruler's
self-inflicted defeat and decline. (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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