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Headline News 15-12-2011

  • Published in News & Comment
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Headlines:

  • American barbarians adopt new set of values not even found amongst animals
  • Eurozone crisis poses military risk, warns UK defence chief
  • US Senator wants India to send its troops to Afghanistan
  • Pakistan tries to counter US overtures to impose financial penalties


Details:

American barbarians adopt new set of values not even found amongst animals:

The Senate on Thursday evening voted 93-7 to approve a defence authorization bill that includes a provision which not only repeals the military law on sodomy, it also repeals the military ban on sex with animals--or bestiality. The Senate Armed Services Committee had unanimously approved S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act. Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said the effort to remove sodomy from military law stems from liberal Senate Democrats' and President Obama's support for removing the military's Don't Ask Don't Tell policy. "It's all about using the military to advance this administration's radical social agenda," Perkins told CNSNews.com. "Not only did they overturn Don't Ask Don't Tell, but they had another problem, and that is, under military law sodomy is illegal, just as adultery is illegal, so they had to remove that prohibition against sodomy." Perkins said removing the bestiality provision may have been intentional--or just "collateral damage". "Well, whether it was inadvertent or not, they have also taken out the provision against bestiality," he said. "So now, under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), there's nothing there to prosecute bestiality."

This is the US Army that Obama recently praised for being extraordinary in Iraq. Apart from killing, torturing, maiming and humiliating people such as the Abu Ghraib incident, America has legalised more evil for their uncivilised troops to commit against humans and animals.

 

Eurozone crisis poses military risk, warns UK defence chief:

Defence chiefs are drawing up plans to cope with the potential military fallout from the eurozone crisis, according to General Sir David Richards. It is understood that Armed Forces planners are looking at the possibility that a new global financial crash could undermine the defence forces of key British allies. The head of the Armed Forces warned that economic issues pose a "strategic risk" to Britain. Senior British commanders and officials are concerned that US plans to cut defence spending will be followed by other allies in Europe and elsewhere. Reductions in allied military capabilities could put a greater burden on Britain's stretched forces in Afghanistan and elsewhere, it is feared. The military planning work has come to light after The Daily Telegraph disclosed last month that British embassies in the eurozone have been told to prepare emergency plans for the demise of the euro and the possible civil disorder that could follow. Senior ministers are increasingly convinced that the break-up of the single currency is a real possibility. Economists suggest that the failure of the euro could cause EU economies, including Britain's, to shrink by up to eight per cent. Gen Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, said economic issues present the biggest threat to Britain and its interests in the world. "I am clear that the single biggest strategic risk facing the UK today is economic rather than military," he told the Royal United Services Institute. When Allah (SWT) intends to grant victory to His (SWT) servants He (SWT) prepares the means that lead to the victory. The global financial crisis that started in 2008 is now causing the crusaders to reduce their military capabilities as well as to focus more on domestic riots. How true then are the words of Allah (SWT):" Verily, those who disbelieve spend their wealth to hinder (men) from the Path of Allah, and so will they continue to spend it; but in the end it will become an anguish for them. Then they will be overcomed." [TMQ: AlAnfal:36]

 

US Senator wants India to send its troops to Afghanistan:

With the gradual withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, time has now come for India to send its military inside that country, a top American lawmaker has said. "It makes sense for the two largest democracies to be military allies. On Afghanistan, India, as you know, as a security establishment, is already fighting over 30 insurgencies or guerilla operations," Senator Mark Kirk said at a discussion forum organised by Washington-based think tank, Foreign Policy Initiative. "The Indian security establishment well understands this challenge. I think can correctly perceive that moving terror from North or South or general parts of Dafatan into secured bases around Kabul with the fall of the Karzai government would represent a long-term real security threat for India," he said.The US Senator said over the long term, it makes sense for India to send a key signal to Afghan politicians- "look, we know the Americans are leaving. We know the Haqqani's are bidding, but we are now stepping in here. We will bank roll you". "If you ask who the winning side is, which is the critical question in Afghanistan, it's us. We have made the decision as a country to outbid Pakistan so that this country is not a terror base against us, and the United States should encourage that," he said. Day by day, the intention of the American crusader is becoming clear. The Americans do not see any role in Afghanistan for Pakistan. Rather they want the Hindu Mushriks to play a greater role in spilling Muslim blood and subjugating them to the crusader occupation. Allah (SWT) says: "And those who disbelieve are allies to one another, (and) if you (Muslims of the whole world collectively) do not do so (i.e. become allies, as one united block with one Khalifah - chief Muslim ruler for the whole Muslim world to make victorious Allah's Religion of Islamic Monotheism), there will be Fitnah (wars, battles, polytheism, etc.) and oppression on earth, and a great mischief and corruption (appearance of polytheism)."[TMQ: Al Anfal: 73]

 

Pakistan tries to counter US overtures to impose financial penalties:

The diplomatic crisis between Pakistan and the US deepened on Tuesday as both sides began moves to impose financial penalties on the other in the wake of a Nato air strike that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Congressmen pushed through a bill this week to halt $700m (£450 million) in aid to Pakistan. Whilst Islamabad considers slapping millions of dollars in tax on Nato trucks and tankers that use its roads to supply international forces in Afghanistan.

How idiotic is the leadership of Pakistan? They want to tax America, and at the same time provide the crusaders with fuel to perpetrate further attacks against Pakistan. Surely the way to hurt America is to sever all links and repel any form of aggression against Pakistan. If Iran with its much weaker army and fighting ability can disarm America's latest drone plane, what is stopping Pakistan from doing likewise?

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Beware Everyone and Anyone Now At Risk in the United States: The Terrifying New Act: NDAA

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When US Congress Representatives and Senators are sworn into office they take an oath to uphold the basic principles of the US constitution. To uphold the law and to preserve the principles of the basic guaranteed liberties including due process and habeas corpus. Yet it is these very Congress people that propose preposterous bills that trample basic civil liberties. As this is the case in the newly proposed bill; the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) could allow for the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without charge or trial in a military prison. Of course this was met with huge negative reactions towards detaining any US citizen without due process anywhere in the world if s/he is merely suspected of any terrorist behavior. Of course this definition is extremely vague and broad to the point if someone voices any government objection may be interpreted as a terrorist inclination and thus detained indefinitely without any charges. We heard some of the higher officials, especially in the Senate, voice their concerns of the dire consequences of passing this bill into law. Even a mentioning of an executive veto by the President himself who can ultimately halt this bill in its tracks.


However the threat is real and imminent. According to Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) responded, "...This bill puts military detention authority on steroids and makes it permanent. If it becomes law, American citizens and others are at real risk of being locked away by the military without charge or trial."


Yet one major point was omitted from the high level debate: the indefinite detainment of an individual in a military prison applicable to American citizens not actual combatants, just regular citizens on the street. That poses a major problem, a déjà vu of Guantanamo Bay thereby ensuring this nightmare scenario will be ever-present anywhere in the world, destroying the values of the rapidly crumbling democracy which America now falsely touts. A strikingly similar resemblance to Qadaffi's former regime and Bashar Assad's current regime.


Every Muslim or Arab or Brown person is a new potential target. What happened to "innocent till proven guilty"? The US Constitution strictly forbids this sort of action as mentioned in the the habeas procedure in Article One, Section 9, states that "The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it." Now if someone happened to look like Osama bin Laden or Anwar Awalaki will have the legal backing to kidnap, the actual meaning of detain, that person for an unspecified time subjected to military confinement. As evident in Guantanamo Bay, prisoners are held without trial or charges for almost a decade.


Does racism and hatred run deeper than ever before? Did the Civil Rights Movement not shatter these glass walls? As the decades pass, it is clear that this is far from the truth. Now every racist bigot will be able to notify the authorities of their Muslim citizens simply based on suspicion and fear be it "manufactured" or real whether that person wears hijab or grows a beard while wearing a kufi cap. This is simply based on appearance. What about the vocal US citizens who oppose foreign or domestic policies. Why not lock up 99% of the US population???


If one were to simply judge using US produced statistics, immigrant Muslims lead a far more law-abiding lifestyle than their white counterparts. They do not resort to substance abuse, looting, or vandalism during times of need and hardship. The children of these immigrant families go on to complete successful college educations and live productive lives.


Now another more alarming statistic is the profile of a serial killer or child molester or rapist. Why not propose and pass a US Bill that will contain such dangerous people thereby protecting the greater society. Well perhaps the US will have more detention centers than shopping malls and nearly 90% of the population will be indefinitely locked up for an unknown time period.


Another facet of this newly proposed bill is the resounding paranoia and fear factor that will be ever more exaggerated. Every American and non-American will do a double or triple-take on their Muslim neighbor, co-worker, and while we're at it our Muslim doctors all whom the majority of the population has had some type of relationship or interaction with, the vast majority included positive results.


In fact, Islamophobia with the backing of the NDAA will have detrimental effects on society quickly advancing the breakdown of democracy and its social fabric. Media hype will almost immediately propagate quick check-lists for possible terrorists. True that many human rights organizations will cry foul and Muslim civil liberties agencies will call upon the community to quickly and actively voice their objections to their local representatives. In the end Islamophobia will gain fierce momentum and basic liberties will have no bearing of the fate of US citizens living on US soil or any soil for that matter.


The introduction and the potential effect of NDAA will be another nail in the coffin in US democracy. What a humiliating day in US history when the US legislation signs the following bill into effect. Let's pray, if that is even possible without being detained these days, that this is not the prelude towards Muslim concentration camps. It happened before on US soil, it could happen again all in the name of "War on Terror".

 

 

Manal Bader

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Question and Answer

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Question:

 

On the evening of 12/11/2011 Silvio Berlusconi the Italian Prime Minister announced his resignation and three days previously on the evening of 09/11/2011 George Papandreou announced his resignation from the leadership of the Greek government due to the financial economic crisis that has plagued the two countries and in particular the sovereign debt crisis. And this was after the parliaments of these two countries passed austerity measures, for these two countries to be placed under the monitoring of the IMF and European negotiations so as to implement these measures to be included as part of what has been called the European rescue plan. And beside the two crises of these two countries which have reacted in the last few days there are similar potential crises that could occur in Ireland, Portugal and Spain and these have been continuous since two years. The sovereign debt crisis has even begun to stretch to France and she is one of the major countries of the Euro region just as she is one of the major states in the European Union. In addition it is interesting to note that all of these countries experiencing crises can be seen to fall in the Euro region.


The question is what is the extent of the effect of the crises upon the future of the Euro as well as the survival of its region encompassing 17 states from amongst the original 27 that comprise the European Union? And the question goes even beyond that and asks what is the future of the European Union as a whole?!


In addition does this have an effect on the other major world states, America, Russia and China in addition to Britain which although part of the European Union is not part of the Euro zone?


The answer:


1) The Greek sovereign debt crisis has affected the Euro region due to fear that Greece will fall behind in paying its debts which have reached 350 billion Euros ($482 Dollars). These debts are above its GDP by 160 % where the deficit in its budget had reached 13.6% with knowledge that the permitted deficit level within the EU is 3.5%. The European and IMF negotiations requested from Greece for it to implement austerity measures within a plan entitled the 'European rescue plan'. However Papandreou wanted to hold back from implementing more of these measures and he then called for a referendum relating to the acceptance of these measures and he was supported by five ministers including the minister of finance. However he was forced to give up the idea of holding a referendum when he was summoned by the Europeans to the French town of Cannes where they warned him that his country would not obtain any further funding if it did not implement the austerity plan. And on 11/10/2011 the international debt donors agreed to pay the sixth Greek debt payment of a value of 8 billion Euros. On 21/10/2011 the government decided to increase the austerity measures challenging the protesters and entering the country into a general paralysis as a result of general strikes and violent protests in Athens.


2) And it is known the beginning of recession and deflation was officially announced in November 2008 in Europe with the eruption of the international financial crisis from its centre America. Thereafter the financial and economic crises began to appear one after the other including a crisis in the stock markets, the collapse of companies and banks and the attempt of the states to save them by pumping huge amounts of money into them which represented a heavy burden upon these countries without solving or treating the problem and this is considered one of the reasons of the sovereignty debt crisis. Meaning that this treatment is a reason for the increase in the disease and produced symptoms which were not additional side problems only but rather fundamental main problems. The crisis of the Euro became apparent when its value began to fall against the main international currencies and specifically the Dollar. And the most recent but not the last was the eruption of the crisis of sovereign debts meaning the crisis of nations debts where the income and GDP of the states is less than the built up debts and what it issues like treasury bonds. So when the income of the state and its GDP became less than the value of these debts which are in the form of bonds for a number of reasons and which are purchased by other states, banks and international financial institutions and then this state became unable to make the debt payments causing the value of the bonds to decrease and the debt interest rate to increase in addition to the value of insurances. The general debt then increases and the confidence in the ability to repay the debts diminishes so nobody will accept its purchase but would rather try and get rid of them (the bonds), because the states possessing the bonds would not be able to repay them and as such their inability or incompetence becomes apparent. Due to this the crisis erupts affecting the whole economy of the state and even affects the political stability and the position of the governments. And this is what happened in Italy recently which led to the fall of the Berlusconi government just as this happened in Greece leading to the fall of the Papandreou government.


3) France and Germany are working to solve the problems of the Euro zone however it appears that there are differences between them and these have been considered to be fundamental in relation to how to manage the crisis and how to deal with it and between those who have accepted its suggestion! This has been especially so because the subject of economy clashes with the subject of the sovereignty of nations. This is because France and Germany consider themselves the two great heads and leaders of the European Union. As such there is a competition behind the scenes between them concerning which one of them will have the main say within this union. This was remarked upon at a previous time by the chief of the office of the European Council for foreign relations in Berlin Ulrike Geurot when she directed these words to the states of the Union: "If you have come from two completely different directions then it is a certainty that they will clash with one another. However I hope that a positive dialogue can occur".(Reuters 20/05/2011).


And in accordance to this the difference between France and Germany has appeared in terms of their proposed treatments. France has presented the establishment of an Economic government as a treatment for these crises however Germany has proposed the establishment of an economic management meaning the establishment of structures and frameworks of work and the imposition of punishments and they did not agree to an Economic Government because it gives the impression that there is a higher entity than the will of European Governments which would dictate a specific economic policy upon everyone which would mean the causing of irritation to other states who would say that this would erode their sovereignty. For this reason this suggestion has yet to see the light of day. There is also a dispute in regards to economic growth as Germany has made hard adjustments to stimulate exports which had caused imbalances in the trade budgets which the European regions have not been able to cope with. And specifically Germany is recording large economic benefits whilst at the same time other states including France are showing a trading incompetence in the region of billions of Euros. Due to this France has requested from Germany to strengthen local demand and decrease taxes to encourage imports whilst Germany requested from the other states that they follow its example by lowering wages. There is also a difference in relation the European stabilisation fund and increasing the support for it. Germany had increased its share in it from 123 Billion Euros to 211 Billion Euros after the German parliament agreed to this on the 29/09/2011 which indicates that Germany is very keen for the Euro to remain and is working for its continuance through support from the states of its region made up of 17 states. And the European states have agreed to strengthen the stabilisation charter which is supposed to limit the deficits however this collapsed within the crisis. And amongst the suggestions made by Germany includes the freezing of international support to states which have permitted deficits to increase in their budgets a great deal. The European commission thought about this however they saw that this would not solve the problem but rather only prolong it. Germany also suggested freezing the voting rights of these states for a number of years as a minimum in relation to the decisions which are made at the level of the European Union which would render the role of the states experiences difficulties in the Union to become ineffectual. Germany also suggested that the other states follow its example as well in limiting the deficit ceiling within their constitutions and to lay down procedures for announcing the bankruptcy of states which are suffering from large debts and which would have no choice except to leave the Euro zone.


However these suggested solutions require a change in the Lisbon Treaty that governs the European Union which only came in to existence after a difficult birth due to the sharp differences between the Union states which were keen to maintain sovereignty for themselves as independent states within the Union and they are not ready to make concessions for the interests of the collective. Due to this it is not easy to bring the Germany suggestion into reality. The last German suggestion was put forward by the German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble when he called to:"Moving more of the political international and local jurisdictions from the states of the Euro Zone up to a European level so as to solve the sovereignty debt crisis" where he indicated that: "The central European bank has an independence which qualifies it to adopt a policy that would look after the interest of the group so that a state's interests are not considered at the expense of the other states". However he added to this saying: "That he has not until now reached an agreement about a shared (unified) European policy" (DBA 12/11/2011) and he admitted what it was facing in regards to Greece what he described as: "A mountain of problems". Prior to this there were statements from the Prime Minister of Germany Angela Merkel warning in them about the future of the Euro zone and she confirmed that: "Germany does not want to bankrupt any state because that would mean the bankruptcy of them all".She repeated this again on the 14/11/2011 saying in front of the conference of her Democratic Christian Party in Leipzig: "That Europe is living in its most difficult time since the second world war... and if the Euro failed then Europe would fail" which all indicates the existence of concerns towards the Euro and the cohesion of the Euro Zone.


The large number of suggestions from Germany and its warnings beside its support for the European Stabilization Fund and its agreement over raising the budget of the fund from 440 Billion Euros to a Trillion Euros all together indicates the extent of their concern in terms of treating the problem as well as the extent to determination to keep unified European currency the Euro as well as to preserve and protect the Euro zone and even more the stability of the European Union as a whole. So it can be understood from this that Germany will not give up on or free itself in the foreseeable future from the Euro, its zone and the European Union whilst acknowledging that the Euro is the secret to the success of this Union and its downfall would mean the downfall of the Union or its failure.


4) From another angle this crisis has presented an opportunity to America for it to exploit the crisis to turns the attention away from its own troubled financial and economic situation and that she is the real original source of the crisis. From a second angle it seeks to shake the confidence of the Europeans in regards to their Union and their currency and it is working to cause its downfall and failure with its Euro currency so as to diminish the international European influence which competes with her and especially in terms of economics and international politics. Indeed she wants to make it follow her and walk in its shadow and according to that it has began the work to aid her at a moral level so that she remains following her or so as to make her proceed under its shade. And America refused in the G20 Summit which was convened at the beginning of this current month the suggestions to increase the funds of the International Monetary Fund by double so as to move towards a solution for the Euro Zone. The secretary of state for finance Timothy Geithner before the convening of the finance ministers of the G20 states declared: "He supports supporting the Fund for Europe however what is has remaining of funds is sufficient to solve the problems of its debts" and he said: "That the United States of America are amongst the nations that are eager to continue the pressure upon the Europeans to take firm measures to end the debts crisis which has continued since two years" (Al-Jazeera 14/10/2011).


In addition famous credit rating companies like the institutions 'Standard and Poors' and 'Moody's and Fitch' are American companies that play a role in destabilizing the trust in the situations of these financing states where it has lowered the rating categorizations of Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece just as the company Moody's lowered in 7/10/2011 the rating categorization of quite a number of European banks which numbered 21 including the larger banks. The IMF has estimated that the losses of the European trading Banks total approximately 200 Billion Euros as a result of the Euro crisis since the last year in addition to the loss of assets being estimated at 100 billion Euros. And when attention is placed back to the credit rating then attention is also placed upon the rising level of unemployment in states where redundancies have increased in line with the financial crisis and to the increase in private sector debts and budget deficits.


5) As for the position of Britain which is a major member of the EU, she stands on a corner on the edge of the Atlantic monitoring the European situation whilst working to protect itself from disasters of this Union and the financial crisis ramifications that it has also been struck by. She does not want to take part in the solving of the problems of the Union in the same way as she is seeking to make gains and spoils. She did not enter the Euro zone and did not give up its currency in addition to not showing any desire to adopt it. As such the Euro issue does not concern many and there are voices within Britain which are calling for it to exit from the EU so that pressure is not put upon her to join the Euro or to integrate further into the Union. Indeed she showed satisfaction at the expense of the Union when the foreign minister William Hague declared that: "The Euro will become a moment in history noted for its collective folly (stupidity)" and he compared the Euro zone to: "A burning building that has no fire escape doors" and he said that he was repeating what he had previously stated in 1998 as head of the Conservative party. And he said in an encouragement to the Germans to free itself from the Euro: "It has specified that the Germans provide the support for the weak member states like Greece for the entirety of its existence!" (BBC 28/09/2011). The Prime Minister David Cameron said:: "The Euro crisis does not only represent a danger to European economy alone but rather the world economy in its entirety" (BBC 02/10/2011) and the European politicians are well aware of the extent of the British contempt. The Head of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso indicated this when he said: "It is upon the states of the Union which are not supportive of joining the Euro to not work to stand in the path of those states that wish to make progress in that direction" (Al-Jazeera 10/11/2011). Despite all of this Britain does not intend to exit from the EU as long as it remains standing because it is working to achieve economic gains from it in addition to the political gains on the world level when it works to pull Europe to take decisions which are in line with its interests. Its exit would be harmful to it and she had worked hard for many long years to enter it in the first place. Upon this the Prime Minister Cameron said: "The exiting of Britain from the European Union would not be in its National interests. If we were to find ourselves outside of the European Union we would be in situation similar to Norway meaning that we would be exposed to (and affected by) all of the decisions that are being issued from Brussels without being able to take part in making those decisions" (Eitar Tas Russia 14/11/2011) and at the same time he rejected giving up British Sovereignty when he called to: "The handing over of a large portion of the European Commission powers in Brussels to the national governments". So Britain does not want to exit from the European Union and at the same time it does not want to enter in to the Euro zone!


6) In regards to China and Russia then it is in their interest for the Euro to remain and that is so that it can stand in the face of America and in the face of the Dollar and its dictator like position in the world economy. However they are both not doing much for its sake because the position of the Euro beside the position of the EU as a whole is not positive towards them as this region and the Union impose upon them restrictions upon their trade and economic movement. Due to this they do not work energetically to aid it and the Chinese President Jintau who attended the recent G20 summit in Paris on the 3rd and 4th of this past month did not indicate any Chinese will to increase its investments in Europe and to buy treasury bonds from the Euro zone states and in particular the five most affected states: Italy, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Ireland and bought a small number of them to please Europe. Rather its president Jintao said when meeting the French President Sarkozy on the margins of the Summit of the G20 that it: "Is necessary for Europe to solve its crisis relying upon itself" (Reuters 06/11/2011) indicating in this statement the implicit refusal of China to support Europe which had requested from her (i.e. China) to support the 'European Stabilization Fund' which had raised its value to one Trillion Euros and was working to increase it to even more than that. This is at a time when China has supported the American economy through purchasing 1.14 Trillion Dollars of American Treasury bonds whilst they have reserves of the American currency to the level of 3.2 Trillion Dollars as studies have shown. In contrast America granted it large trading relaxations. However this political influence that America was able to employ so that China was able to support its economy is something that Europe does not have in regards to China.


7) In light of this the European Union has fallen under the stress of financial and economic crises as a result of the capitalist economic system and it is also falling under the threat of collapse and disintegration due to these continuing crises which if they afflict a certain place do not just affect that place but rather its harms are spread through the whole globe because the whole world is intertwined as a network in the capitalist economic system. A system which is making the people suffer under the weight of its crises and its repercussions. It is not possible to fix this system from the inside because its foundation is corrupted and rotten and it is not possible for a sound system to arise from it and as such it is necessary to look at a solution from outside it and indeed it is necessary to search for the correct system which emanates from a correct belief which complements human nature.


The world is in need of a system that is sound in its foundation and branches and this is not found except in the system that the creator of everything has placed before us, the Lord of the all creation who knows what is correct for his creation and this system will provide them with a tranquil economic life and replace the system that keeps man in worry and anguish:


فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكًا


"Whosoever follows My Guidance, will not lose his way, nor fall into misery. But whosoever turns away from My Message, verily for him is a life narrowed down." [Taha 123-124]

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America's Decline and the Future of Two Political Systems

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The fall of America doesn't have to be a complete collapse -- it is, after all, a country that has managed to reinvent itself many times before. But today it's no longer certain -- or even likely -- that everything will turn out fine in the end. --Der Spiegel


The world as we know it is embroiled in a protracted political crisis that threatens to reshape the existing political order for decades to come. At stake is the fate of two political systems that are inextricably linked and are slowly unravelling on opposite sides of the globe.


In the West, the mighty European Union, once a bastion of stability and power is teetering on the brink of implosion. The euro-debt crisis that has engulfed the European continent threatens to unleash dark forces of nationalism that have remained dormant for sixty odd years.


In the East, the Arab world enslaved by the autocratic regimes implanted by the old European powers are falling like dominoes, and unveiling forces of change that are dynamic and untested.


These events when seen through the lens of optimism are interpreted positively by some; Europe will emerge stronger and more united than before, and the Arab world will be transformed into an oasis of liberty and democracy.


When viewed through the prism of realism a completely different picture emerges. The post-modern European experiment is fast coming to an end, and the Arab world is finally freeing itself from the vicious shackles of colonialism by dislodging pro-Western autocratic regimes. The demise of both political systems is no accident, and is tied to America's global decline. In many ways, the political systems of Europe and the Arab world are a product of American hegemony and ingenuity.


The Marshall Plan provided the edifice for America to control Europe's propensity for war and curb her ambitions to seek and maintain colonies abroad. Post World War II, American leaders sought to diminish Europe's domination of the world. As the historian John Lumberton Harper put it US President Roosevelt wanted "to bring about a radical reduction in the weight of Europe" and thereby make possible "the retirement of Europe from world politics" (Harper, American Visions of Europe: Franklin D. Roosevelt, George F. Kennan, and Dean G. Acheson, Cambridge UK, 1996).


Under the shadow of American economic aid and security architecture, Europe ravaged by war charted a new route towards a postmodernism-a break from the warring nation state which had consumed the continent in the past. Eventually, the European Union (EU) was born, where nationalism was finally suppressed and national sovereignty gave way to a transnational authority that presided in Brussels.

 

Europeans marvelled at their postmodern creation and touted it as the natural evolution from the nation state model. A foremost proponent of this model, Robert Cooper an advisor to former Prime Minister Tony Blair, said, "The postmodern system in which we Europeans live does not rely on balance; nor does it emphasise sovereignty or the separation of domestic and foreign affairs. The European Union has become a highly developed system for mutual interference in each other's domestic affairs, right down to beer and sausages...It is important to realise what an extraordinary revolution this is (The new liberal imperialism, The Guardian, Sunday April 7 2002)." However, the birth of the postmodern state came at a cost. The EU was no position to challenge America's primacy in the world and lost many of its colonies to the US. America employed several means to subdue the EU, especially its most powerful member Germany: the enlargement of NATO, the expansion of the EU to include new member states, and the use of the single currency i.e. the euro.


Through this approach, America was able to control levers of economic and military power in Europe. This continued until the collapse of Lehman brothers, which brought the onset of the current economic depression. The American financial crisis is the real cause behind Europe's economic and political turmoil. It is precipitating the collapse of the EU thereby undermining sixty years of American primacy over European affairs. Probably, Germany will arise from the EU rubble as a major power capable of not only thwarting American interests in Europe, but supplanting her as the main provider of peace and security on the continent. The euro-crisis and not Germany's militarism has handed Berlin a carte blanche to cast European politics in its own image.


Another portent is that within the context of European history the postmodern experience is truly an anomaly. Europe's disposition is to eschew peace and engage in inter-warfare fuelled by unbridled nationalism and the quest for ascendancy over other nations.


The present day Arab world owes much of its political structures and institutions to the old European powers that colonised it. However, after 1945, America emerged as the world's leading state and entered the Arab world with the intention of displacing British and French influence, and usurping the oil fields of the Middle East. The US state department described the find as "[the Middle East is] a stupendous source of strategic power, and one of the greatest material prizes in world history."

 

America had no intention of dismantling the despotic regimes; rather she sought to place her own agents to run these regimes while making false pretences about delivering freedom and democracy around the world. America armed with the "Truman Doctrine" proceeded to deprive the Arab world the freedom from tyranny and the ability to rule for themselves. She covertly buttressed these regimes to keep the Arab population imprisoned and subdued. But in 2011, popular revolts erupted throughout the region, removed a few tyrants, and destabilised the political order America had so painstakingly put together.


Today the political landscape is no longer dominated by secularists; a new wave of Islamic revival has hastened to fill the void. In Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt political Islam is on the ascendancy and its dominance pervades the political medium. Most probably Libya and Yemen will follow suit. Nothing epitomises the Islamic trend better than the stir caused by the moderate Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali who referred to the present time as "a divine moment in a new state, and in hopefully a 6th Caliphate," and that "the liberation of Tunisia will, God willing, bring about the liberation of Jerusalem." If the moderates possess grandiose designs to resurrect the Caliphate then one can only image what most of the Arab masses covet.


The nation state concept is alien to the Arab world, and was imported to the region by European powers. The natural inclination of the Arab masses is to gravitate towards the caliphate-a political system that kept them united under a single leader for well over a thousand years. And certainly the Arab world is firmly on that trajectory, no matter what the American government contrives to portray.


As America struggles to manage its decline, the fate of two political systems is about to change for good. The world will then return to the pre-1945 model-a multipolar world, dominated by different centres of geopolitical influence, with the caliphate at its helm.

 


Abed Mustafah

 

 

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