generalspeaking

Political Realities

This computes spectacularly peculiarly. American President Barack Obama, having suffered quite a political set-back in his agenda for the future of a new America, soothes his fractured confidence by setting out on an international trade promotion. To vastly populous countries only just emerging from third-world status, to secure their confidence in signing contracts for multi-billion-dollar contracts, and mostly for armaments.

The military-industrial complex in the United States thrives on conflict. The government of the United States seems content enough to produce situations where armaments manufacturers can remain busy producing new technologies and new systems of warfare. The strange thing here is that the executive administration appears to be getting its signals confused. Faced directly with threats that have and may further destabilize the country, it strikes back elsewhere.

When al-Qaeda planned its 9-11 attacks on New York, it was comfortably ensconced in Afghanistan, under the Taliban government. The Taliban were the creatures jointly conceived of, encouraged, trained and armed by Pakistan and the United States. Pakistan's aim was control of Afghanistan, the U.S.'s was the defeat of Soviet plans to control Islamism too close to its vulnerable borders.

(America's great oil confidence in Saudi Arabia was enough to have it turn a blind eye to the Wahhabist funding of madrassas in Pakistan and Afghanistan (let alone throughout the rest of the world) to produce radical Islamists. Most of the senior attackers of 9-11 were Saudis. Saudi Arabia is being rewarded by huge arms sales from the U.S. Indonesia is next on the agenda; from a mosque there President Obama will once again address the nation of Islam.)

U.S. coffers were regularly emptied through the generosity of the State Department and the CIA, in support of shoring up the Pakistani military and its Secret Service, both of which were heavily invested in continuing to support the Taliban, even while the United States and its NATO allies were cleansing Afghanistan of the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

The massive dollar investments the U.S. was making over the years in Pakistan to secure it as a putative 'ally' in the 'war against terror' in fact immensely aided the terror war. It funded the jihadist training camps scattered on the border regions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and it gave a dollar impetus to intractable Islamists' attacks against Indian Kashmir.

Now, the Obama trade mission to India is convincing the Government of India that it should invest in huge dollar-contracts with American defence contractors. The U.S. is funding and encouraging two powerful, nuclear-armed adversaries, thus helping to make the world a better and a safer place for all its inhabitants.

The United States has an unenviable past record of seeming somehow to always back the wrong administrations. Currying favour with dictators and autocrats while passionately vowing its interests are in promoting democracy. If ever a morally, ethically-conflicted state existed, it is exemplified by America. All the vast good it does in the world, balanced lop-sidedly against the evil it also promotes.

This is the administration that caters to and seeks to pacify militant Islam, while readying itself to sacrifice principles and friends alike to its fixation on the idea that if it is 'nice' to those who promote, support and engage in vicious bloody attacks on the West and primarily the United States, courtesy and withdrawals will be reciprocated.

While India invests in civil infrastructure as the largest regional aid donor in Afghanistan, Pakistan invests support-funding it receives from the U.S. to undermine the government of Afghanistan, and aid and support the Taliban whose IEDs grow increasingly sophisticated and capable of killing greater numbers of American and NATO soldiers.

This provocative and conflicted game the U.S. is playing in a geography that has always been rent by foreign powers focusing on gaining control, exercising autonomy, securing monopolistic trade opportunities, is an old one fraught with danger. Only this time the invading foreign interests cannot just withdraw and leave intransigent regional adversaries to their own devices.

This time, in a world become far more condensed and far more linked, where communications and travel and technology have conveniently familiarized a great swath of humanity to their own opportunities and potentials, casual withdrawal is no longer an option.

Without inviting repercussions.

Labels: Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Political Realities, United States

posted by Pieface @ Sunday, November 07, 2010