LeonardoDaVinci
13th October 2002, 14:49
Read this article,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/story/0,276...,810609,00.html (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/story/0,2763,810609,00.html)
Basically, the US has plans to establish an American-led military administration in Iraq, similar to the postwar occupation of Germany and Japan, which could last for several years after the ousting of Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein. It would be run by a senior US officer, perhaps General Tommy Franks, who leads the assault on Iraq, and whose role would be modelled on that of General Douglas MacArthur in postwar Japan.
Almost a century ago, the major colonialist powers of the late nineteenth/ early twentieth century (Britain, France and the US) carved up this strategic and oil rich region between them in order to reaffirm their global hegemony and secure their vital interests. It was a grand imperialist game in which the people of the Middle East were led to believe that their freedom, well-being and self-betterment could only be attained by allowing these developed foreigners to take full control of their governments as well as every aspect of their society. Supposedly, these foreigners were going to drag these former Ottoman colonies from the pits of backwardness that they were rotting in and herald a new age of enlightenment, development and wealth for the populace. This was a daunting yet not impossible task, for everyone in the region has been in awe at the great European civilisation, which almost effortlessly disposed of the great Ottoman Empire that reined over their land for many centuries.
There were many “modernisers” in the Arab world such as Mohammad Ali Pasha of Egypt who marvelled at the west’s rapid development and sought to emulate it at any cost. Throughout the region, royal families and members of the upper class have taken upon themselves the onus of determining their people’s future and drawing up the required development path, which will indubitably follow that of the west. Kings, Mukhtars, Pashas and Sheikhs all came to the conclusion that unless industrialisation is achieved very rapidly, the Arab states will lag further and further behind. They all sent their children, aids and executives to the best schools in Paris, London and Berlin. Hence, within a few decades an entire class of westernised modernisers was created across the Middle East, from Morocco to Iran, and they went ahead meticulously with their adopted aggressive and ambitious industrialisation plans. However, what the ruling class had not accounted for, was the simple fact that that it was a chimera to expect to achieve within a few decades what the Europeans have achieved in four centuries of continuous development. Furthermore, in nearly all Arab states, the majority of the population was illiterate, living in abject conditions and most importantly deeply distrustful of foreigners. Nevertheless, it was they who were burdened with this chimera, and it was they who were entrusted with making the miraculous leap from a backward agrarian society to a fully developed industrial state. The conditions in which they worked were intolerable, as they worked long strenuous hours, received smaller wages and almost had no rights; in effect, they were slave labour. They were broken, they were impoverished, and most of all they were fed up of working indefinitely only to see the rich upper classes reaping the benefits of their hard work. And so, they rebelled the only way they knew how to, by turning their back on the kings and Pashas and rallying around the religious leaders who long predicted that the western infidels will only bring them misery and pain. The insurgent crowd took to the streets in one Arab State after the other and challenged their leaders and challenged the ideals of the west.
However, England, France and the US decided that they cannot sit idly whilst their strategic and national interests were being threatened by these insolent and uncivilised people (the Suez Canal was of great strategic importance to both the British and the French). They decided that they must occupy and colonise these states in order to ensure that all the resources of this rich region will flow in the right direction (after all these ignorant inbreeds cannot be entrusted with such valuable resources). And thus under the guise of liberation they went in with their huge armies and arsenal, established military administrations and subjugated the people of an entire region. The insubordinate were mercilessly crushed, lands were expropriated and redistributed between the Imperialist powers and puppet regimes were installed throughout the entire region, such as the Sauds in Arabia, the Hashemite Kings in Iraq and Jordan, and the Shah in Iran. It was this first generation of cronies that started the ensuing trend of subduing and trampling on their own people, with the aid of their western educated armies who played a vital role in the perpetual suffering of the populace throughout the twentieth century.
Now with the dawn of a new century and a new millennia, these same countries are yet again the focus of a great power struggle. However, by the end of the twentieth century, the US emerged as the globe’s sole superpower. It is no longer is in competition with the English and French whose powers have been on the decline since the Second World War. The US now is the world’s sole decision-maker in the twenty first century, and its global hegemony spans from Chile to Indonesia.
With the rest of the competition now out of the way, the US has turned its attention once more to this troublesome region. And once more, under the guise of liberty, democracy and self-betterment, a global power is threatening to destabilise the entire region in order to pursue its selfish interests without a single thought given to the perpetual suffering of its people. Nevertheless, the people of this region have learned some painful lessons, and one of those is that every time a western power comes advocating such egalitarian values as freedom and democracy, then they better run for cover, for they know that whenever these blind slogans are repeated endlessly then what truly awaits them is more pain, more misery and more bloodshed. They also know that whenever they are promised a charismatic leader who upholds their values and believes and advocates liberty and equality then the likes of Saddam, Assad, Fahd and their fellow tyrants will be rubbing their hands in glee for they know that they will be the chosen ones. This is why the west has run out of supporters in the Middle East, and this is why Arabs are more willing to rally fervently behind the likes of Bin Laden and given him their full support than await redemption from the west, for they have been down that path before, and it was a disastrous impasse.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/story/0,276...,810609,00.html (http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/story/0,2763,810609,00.html)
Basically, the US has plans to establish an American-led military administration in Iraq, similar to the postwar occupation of Germany and Japan, which could last for several years after the ousting of Iraqi tyrant Saddam Hussein. It would be run by a senior US officer, perhaps General Tommy Franks, who leads the assault on Iraq, and whose role would be modelled on that of General Douglas MacArthur in postwar Japan.
Almost a century ago, the major colonialist powers of the late nineteenth/ early twentieth century (Britain, France and the US) carved up this strategic and oil rich region between them in order to reaffirm their global hegemony and secure their vital interests. It was a grand imperialist game in which the people of the Middle East were led to believe that their freedom, well-being and self-betterment could only be attained by allowing these developed foreigners to take full control of their governments as well as every aspect of their society. Supposedly, these foreigners were going to drag these former Ottoman colonies from the pits of backwardness that they were rotting in and herald a new age of enlightenment, development and wealth for the populace. This was a daunting yet not impossible task, for everyone in the region has been in awe at the great European civilisation, which almost effortlessly disposed of the great Ottoman Empire that reined over their land for many centuries.
There were many “modernisers” in the Arab world such as Mohammad Ali Pasha of Egypt who marvelled at the west’s rapid development and sought to emulate it at any cost. Throughout the region, royal families and members of the upper class have taken upon themselves the onus of determining their people’s future and drawing up the required development path, which will indubitably follow that of the west. Kings, Mukhtars, Pashas and Sheikhs all came to the conclusion that unless industrialisation is achieved very rapidly, the Arab states will lag further and further behind. They all sent their children, aids and executives to the best schools in Paris, London and Berlin. Hence, within a few decades an entire class of westernised modernisers was created across the Middle East, from Morocco to Iran, and they went ahead meticulously with their adopted aggressive and ambitious industrialisation plans. However, what the ruling class had not accounted for, was the simple fact that that it was a chimera to expect to achieve within a few decades what the Europeans have achieved in four centuries of continuous development. Furthermore, in nearly all Arab states, the majority of the population was illiterate, living in abject conditions and most importantly deeply distrustful of foreigners. Nevertheless, it was they who were burdened with this chimera, and it was they who were entrusted with making the miraculous leap from a backward agrarian society to a fully developed industrial state. The conditions in which they worked were intolerable, as they worked long strenuous hours, received smaller wages and almost had no rights; in effect, they were slave labour. They were broken, they were impoverished, and most of all they were fed up of working indefinitely only to see the rich upper classes reaping the benefits of their hard work. And so, they rebelled the only way they knew how to, by turning their back on the kings and Pashas and rallying around the religious leaders who long predicted that the western infidels will only bring them misery and pain. The insurgent crowd took to the streets in one Arab State after the other and challenged their leaders and challenged the ideals of the west.
However, England, France and the US decided that they cannot sit idly whilst their strategic and national interests were being threatened by these insolent and uncivilised people (the Suez Canal was of great strategic importance to both the British and the French). They decided that they must occupy and colonise these states in order to ensure that all the resources of this rich region will flow in the right direction (after all these ignorant inbreeds cannot be entrusted with such valuable resources). And thus under the guise of liberation they went in with their huge armies and arsenal, established military administrations and subjugated the people of an entire region. The insubordinate were mercilessly crushed, lands were expropriated and redistributed between the Imperialist powers and puppet regimes were installed throughout the entire region, such as the Sauds in Arabia, the Hashemite Kings in Iraq and Jordan, and the Shah in Iran. It was this first generation of cronies that started the ensuing trend of subduing and trampling on their own people, with the aid of their western educated armies who played a vital role in the perpetual suffering of the populace throughout the twentieth century.
Now with the dawn of a new century and a new millennia, these same countries are yet again the focus of a great power struggle. However, by the end of the twentieth century, the US emerged as the globe’s sole superpower. It is no longer is in competition with the English and French whose powers have been on the decline since the Second World War. The US now is the world’s sole decision-maker in the twenty first century, and its global hegemony spans from Chile to Indonesia.
With the rest of the competition now out of the way, the US has turned its attention once more to this troublesome region. And once more, under the guise of liberty, democracy and self-betterment, a global power is threatening to destabilise the entire region in order to pursue its selfish interests without a single thought given to the perpetual suffering of its people. Nevertheless, the people of this region have learned some painful lessons, and one of those is that every time a western power comes advocating such egalitarian values as freedom and democracy, then they better run for cover, for they know that whenever these blind slogans are repeated endlessly then what truly awaits them is more pain, more misery and more bloodshed. They also know that whenever they are promised a charismatic leader who upholds their values and believes and advocates liberty and equality then the likes of Saddam, Assad, Fahd and their fellow tyrants will be rubbing their hands in glee for they know that they will be the chosen ones. This is why the west has run out of supporters in the Middle East, and this is why Arabs are more willing to rally fervently behind the likes of Bin Laden and given him their full support than await redemption from the west, for they have been down that path before, and it was a disastrous impasse.