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http://www.jang.com.pk/thenews/oct2002-daily/11-10-2002/oped/o1.htm Jang (Pakistan) October 11, 2002 US and world peace Masud Akhtar Shaikh The writer is a retired Colonel and freelance columnist [EMAIL PROTECTED] A dispassionate analysis of some of the recent US foreign policy initiatives would lead one to the inevitable conclusion that the biggest threat of Third World War emanates from the country that claims to be the most vocal champion of world peace, that is, America. Throughout the Cold War, America kept equipping itself with all sorts of imaginable weapons of mass destruction, along with the appropriate means to launch these weapons to hit any target anywhere in the world. Even its adventures in space were mostly undertaken with the aim of keeping a vigilant eye on all possible targets on earth and to hit these targets most effectively from space. The excuse advanced by the successive US governments for consumption by the naive American people and the world at large, for building a massive military juggernaut at a mind-boggling recurring cost of trillions of dollars every year, was the bugbear of communism and the imaginary threat from the Soviet Empire. Under the same pretext, America continued its hunt for military bases located at some of the most strategic points all over the globe. Military and financial assistance was used as the main instrument of foreign policy in order to win over the friendship of countries in which such strategic points were located. The ruse of military pacts was also employed for the same purpose. When countries like Cuba showed reluctance to oblige the Americans, military pressure and bullying tactics were used unabashedly to cow down the countries concerned. Also, keeping in view the strategic importance of oil in both peace and war, America tried its level best to bring all the oil wells of the so-called "free world" under its direct or indirect control. Similar tactics were employed for this purpose as well. America's guilty conscience forced it to adopt certain measures it thought were necessary to convince the taxpayers and the allies that the Soviet Union and communism did in fact pose a real threat to world peace. For this purpose, the US commandeered its massive propaganda machinery for non-stop maligning of the Soviet Union and the doctrine of communism throughout the world. In addition, America remained on the lookout for some opportunity to show the world how detrimental communism had become to the interests of the capitalist countries. For this purpose, it did not hesitate interfering even in the internal affairs of independent countries that showed the slightest trend of preferring communism to capitalism. This was the policy under which American armed forces were stoked, first in Korea and then in Vietnam, to fight long-drawn wars against communism. Whether American participation in these two wars did or did not convince her allies that communism was the greatest monstrosity facing the capitalist world, the American people were certainly not convinced. People do not want to lose thousands of their kith and kin fighting other people's wars in far off lands for years on end. It is a pity that subsequent US governments did not learn much from their misadventures in Korea and Vietnam. After the Soviet penetration into Afghanistan, the US government was quick enough to poke its nose again in a third country, though it did that in a covert manner. Rather than sending its own troops to that country, it enticed Pakistan for picking the American chestnuts from the fire in Afghanistan. Then came the demise of the Soviet empire, primarily due to the collapse of its economy, and not as a result of the so-called pre-emptive operations launched by America -- operations that had been endangering world peace every time these were launched. However, the US obsession for launching pre-emptive military operations against other sovereign states continues unabated even after the end of the Cold War. The selected new victims of such US aggression are countries arbitrarily classified by America as her potential enemies that are liable to pose a serious threat, either to the US security or to world peace that America claims to have taken upon itself to preserve. In fact this is tantamount to a robber forcibly assuming the responsibility of ensuring the security of the people of a town! At least that is what the performance of the US governments during and after the Cold War indicates. To meet such imaginary threats, America insists upon creating a national anti-missile defence system in violation of its previous international commitments, despite violent objections from some major world powers. It is obviously for the same reason that America has also come out with certain reservations regarding the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, for the ratification of which it has been exerting unwarranted pressure on many other countries that were reluctant to ratify it. The aggressive behaviour of the US governments since the end of the Cold War shows that the American rulers are not content with their country being just the sole super power of the world; instead, they want to become the real and exclusive masters of the whole globe. The agenda they have been following since the collapse of the Soviet Union is an abundant proof of this ambition of theirs. In this connection, the US agenda that has revealed itself so far, targets the Muslim countries. The aggressive American actions against Libya, the last US attack on Iraq and occupation of its vital territories, combined with the permanent stationing of the US armed forces in the region, the attack on Afghanistan and occupation of the whole country under the guise of the multi-purpose excuse of penalising al-Qaeda followers, the planned all-out aggression against Iraq with the declared aim of ousting Saddam Hussein from power, preparations for bringing Iran to its knees, significant hints attributing hostile intentions to Saudi Arabia in order to provide some justification to turn the American guns on an overly loyal friend -- all these are links in the same chain. The reason why America has picked up on these countries is the oil that they produce. If it succeeds in subduing all of them one by one, it will have under its control a major part of the world oil output. With that strategic commodity in its fist, America will be able to blackmail Japan in the East and the European Union in the West, particularly its two headstrong members, Germany and France. These are the three countries the US government fears the most on account of their strong economies that pose a threat to the US economic interests. By withholding oil supplies to these countries from the oil wells of the Middle East, America can bring their industries to a grinding halt whenever they raise their head in protest against the ever-growing aggressive acts of the US government. Keeping these malicious, long-term plans of America in view, it would be in the best interests of the European Union as well as of Japan, to join hands now and prevent America from committing aggression against Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, thus preventing the oil resources of the region from becoming the exclusive preserve of the United States. They must act quickly, for tomorrow it may be too late. The first step in this direction should be a demand for the removal of George Bush from the presidential chair because, as the most aggressive US President, with an unlimited quantity and variety of weapons of mass destruction at his disposal, he is a very serious potential threat to world peace in general and the security of Japan, Germany, and France in particular. These countries must ensure that Bush is not allowed enough time to launch a pre-emptive attack against them to satisfy the itch that seems to have become habitual with him. __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? 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