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AT A LOSS:
Why Do They Hate Us? |
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| By Ken Johnson |
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Long after the initial American military campaign began in Iraq, 7 out of 10 Americans believed Saddam Hussein had a key role in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. Even today, as this is being edited the US Ambassador to Georgia Richard Miles is given a speech to the first graduates of the Georgian Train and Equip program that their role in Iraq is part of the international war on terrorism.
Regardless, of what is true or otherwise, why does 70 percent of the American public believe a story line when the facts show a completely different story? It is difficult to say but all roads lead to suspiciously what is a clear-cut problem, i.e., American ignorance of the world in which we live. This article is an opinion and results from year of observation, that the idea that we live in societies where the people are more and more informed about public debates and social problems is largely a myth.
Statistically most Americans could not locate Afghanistan on maps immediately after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. So, how can they be expected to have even the slightest understanding about the current complexities of Al-Qaeda, and their allies, networks and financial supporters? What are the objectives in the War on International Terrorism? Did Iraq fit those objectives? This is the hard question that people and lawmakers should be asking. Where are the weapons of Mass Destruction? What happened with the concept of international law and the UN? For many reasons we cannot expect the American public to be able to mentally process the information they passively receive via the electronic media in well crafted sound bytes and the superficial print media. Inundated by the redundancy of the carefully controlled US media, MSNBC, CNN, FOX, and the likes of C-SPAN, it is little wonder, that this nation is mostly a population of clueless people and lead by a clueless president. The print media (newspapers) have sat on the sidelines and even admitted to this after the fact. US lawmakers did not ask the hard questions required in any democracy for fear of being labeled as unpatriotic.
Self-Determination and
Lip Service
One reason Americans are hated in the world is because they don't even realize or want to understand why people hate them so intensively. Americans commonly state that the troops are 'fighting for freedom. How? Many Americans think the troops are 'protecting America from being attacked.' George W. Bush stated in March of 2003 that 'An attack on the United States would do great damage to the American economy.' Really! 'Fighting for democracy' is another misnomer. The Americans do not want free and fair democratic elections because of the demographics of Iraq (majority Shiite). Shiites are outsiders in most countries but they are the driving force in Iraq and the majority. Soon they may set up, much to the dismay of the United States. Iran is also a country that is dominated by Shiites. It is interesting that the United States talks of freely of self-determination and the rights of a nation to decide the kind of government that it wants and this is a concept that is not taken to heart. The former government of Iraq was predominantly Sunni Muslim, and now the risk has increased of additional alienation of Shiites by bringing back key members of the Baath party to assist in the hand over of power.
The US authority in Iraq is actively reaching out to former representatives of the cruel old government old in last-ditch attempt to reduce the American body count disbanded by Mr. Bremer a year ago in a last ditch attempt to assist in the hand over of power and reduce the American body count.
The justification given many of the "honorable men" who served would be used as senior in the new army and that they would assist in the building of Iraq. This can be compared to using SS concentration camp guards and death squad "sonderkommanders" to protect genocide survivors in the days following the defeat of NAZI Germany. Moreover, to make matters worst, the American habit of shooting first and asking questions later has aroused widespread anger across Iraq and the Arab World towards the United States, bringing both Shiites and Sunni populations together in pushing out the Americans by whatever means necessary (including joint force).
Strange Bedfellows
Do Americans know who Ahmad Chalabi is? Try asking them. Ahmad Chalabi is an international criminal with close ties to the Bush Whitehouse who thought that he could return to Baghdad with onward Christian soldiers and grab control of the post-Saddam Iraq. Chalabi, as is by now well known, was all set to play the part. As president of the Iraqi National Congress, an exile group set up in 1992 (in part with CIA money), Chalabi pushed persistently for an armed overthrow of Saddam, especially after George W. Bush was elected and some of Chalabi's chief sympathizers-most notably Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle-gained high posts in the Pentagon.
Regardless of strange bedfellows, most Americans say 'the world is safer' without Hussein.' This is what is really scary and places the world in a dangerous state of mind. Moreover, they care less and are only concerned about the pump price of fuel for their four-wheeled drive vehicles. Americans still believe that the Iraq campaign is an integral part of the international war on terrorism. It is not any part of but a new name for an old habit, imperialism. The Iraq campaign has nothing to do with the War on Terrorism.
Why did Osama Bin Laden constantly refer to '80 Years of Humiliation?' Do Americans know what '80 Years of Humiliation' refers to? It is doubtful most even have heard the statement. Now Iraq is placed in the same category of the '80 Years of humiliation' perceptions throughout the Middle East as told by Bin Laden. "Why did Osama Bin Laden constantly refer to '80?" As for the "eighty-years" statement, Bin Laden cites a commonly held sentiment among citizens of the Arab world. 80 years ago, the British carved up the current boundaries of the Middle East and proclaimed nation-states. Current attempts by the U.S. to establish a "caucus" like representative system is a futile and myopic attempt to dilute power among the Shiites within Iraq and forcefully enmesh a synthetic kaleidoscope of Kurdish, Sunni, Shiite, and local clans within the framework of one nation-state, which will act positively towards American geo-political interests. The chance of this happening under one-nation state is not acknowledged but the chances of it are being diminished everyday when more civilians are being caught up in the deadly crossfire. If a single Iraq does continue to exist, it will very unlikely act be based on the interests of the United States but on its own needs.
With heavy influence from Iranian figures, Iraq is now held by many to in the same category of the '80 Years of humiliation' perceptions throughout the Middle East as told by Bin Laden. Iraq has spurred, and is spurring many to join the resistance to coalition forces in Iraq, as well as terrorist cells outside of Iraq." Nationalism has been awaken in Iraq, and is spurring many others, including foreign fighters to join the resistance to coalition forces in Iraq, as well as to join terrorist cells outside of Iraq. Osama Bin Laden has proved himself to be a rational man in being able to anticipate the overreaction of the United States and George Bush to the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. The purpose of this attack was to bring a conflict between Islam and the United States. George Bush used this situation as a pretext to attack Iraq and the results will be devastating for many years to come. It is already becoming America's modern day Vietnam.
Bush's Plan of Attack
Moreover, everyone in the world seems to have an idea of what is going on--except the American public and those closest to the Bush administration. The newly elected Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero has ordered Spain's 1'400 troops out of Iraq. Zapatero's Socialist party defeated Prime Minister Jose Maria Anzar's pro-US Popular Party in 14 March general elections, and the incoming prime minister had pledged to withdraw troops if the UN failed to take charge of operations in Iraq by 30 June. The countdown is proceeding and other allies may follow suit. Bob Woodward of the Washington Post raises many questions over Bush's Plan of Attack with a recent book that is shaking the Washington political establishment and it has many finally asking the hard questions.
Moreover, the blind one-sided support of Israel and Prime Miister Ariel Sharon is unleashing a new level of hatred towards US foreign policy. Taken together, Israel's assassination of Abdel-Aziz Rantissi, head of the extremist Hamas group, has fuelled Palestinian anger in the occupied territories, where militants were still mourning the 22 March killing of Rantissi's predecessor, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. Nevertheless, the Bush Administration is still blinded by its own rhetoric and story line.
Democracy Stillborn
Instead of building allies, the U.S. is creating more enemies and uniting the Arab world against US foreign policy and its narrowly defined corporate interests. The insistence of having sound intelligence to back up his actions has placed the creditability George Bush on the very edge. Once sympathetic and staunch supporters are now cynical doubters, and even in some cases enemies. The defeat of Saddam has unleashed a force that may destabilize the region and other international hotspots for many years to come. Democracy in Iraq is basically stillborn and the US is making the same mistakes as what it did in Afghanistan. Like the Soviets before, effort went into a military defeat but the chaotic aftermath is held in abeyance. It is hoped that the same mistake will not be repeated in Iraq and the UN can be given a central role to play in sorting out the mess left in the wake of US and British foreign policy out of control. The lesson to be learned is that the best way to fight international terrorism is to take away the conditions that feeds that terrorism, and that power must be exercises shrewdly, a lesson that the US and some allies administration are proven not willing to learn. As Fareed Sakaria wrote in the March 1, 2004 issue of Newsweek magazine, "the lesson here is that the United Nations is not always right or competent. It isn't. The lesson is that America needs to exercise power shrewdly."
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