The United States need reconciliation with the Muslims to achieve peace

By S. Hewage

(August 25, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) As all indications point to a dramatic failure of the Anglo-American hegemony around the world in the 21st century, the Anglo-American politicians seem frustrated and agonized by the increasingly violent resistant to occupying forces by the Iraqi and Afghan people. In an attempt to divert international attention away from this stark reality, the Anglo-American top bureaucrats, the ever-loyal Western media, and the INGOs financed by the West are accusing other nations for so-called human rights violations. George Bush’s military adventurism has now become the Obama administration’s worst nightmare.

Yet, the international busybodies of the US State Department continue to preach other nations about the importance of “reconciliation” with the vanquished terrorist groups such as the LTTE and their sympathizers to achieve permanent peace, when national security of those nations is at stake. It is obvious for any perceptive observer that if there is any nation that urgently needs reconciliation with the rest of the world, it is the United States. The war on terror has been a horrendous experience for all Muslims across the globe regardless of their social and economic standing in society. So, why doesn’t the US do what it preaches to others? Stop harassing Muslims, and recognize the political and cultural rights of Palestinian people.

Having invaded Iraq illegally and destroyed more than a million lives, in order to plunder oil reserves of that country, the US and its allies are now struggling to establish peace and security in Iraq. According to international observers, hundreds and thousands of Iraqi civilians are without the basic necessities of life, such as clean water, food, and medicine due to various logistical obstacles created by the occupying forces. The local markets have become virtual war zones, and the farmers and traders cannot operate freely due to security blockades set up by the US forces. The essential foods items were abundantly available during Saddam Hussein’s rule, except during the period of US imposed embargo. Saddam Hussein may not have been a democrat, but he was a benevolent dictator who maintained law and order, and provided foods and other necessities for his people.

The daily carnage that is taking place in Iraq today must be giving nightmares to Bush and Blaire duo, who decided to invade Iraq thinking that it would be a cakewalk. According to some reports, the relatives of dead and injured Iraqis are cursing Americans, George Bush in particular, for their never-ending suffering.. The latest bombing killed over one hundred people and injured another two hundred. After spending billions of dollars and destroying millions of innocent lives in an illegal war, the US administration ordered its troops to withdraw from the streets of Baghdad and other major cities in their inability to quell the continuing attacks by the Islamic insurgents. The American troops are now confined to what is called the “green zone,” hoping to hoodwink the Iraqis that the Americans had left their country. This strategy has miserably failed to stifle the rising anger among ordinary Iraqis who accuse Anglo-American troops as “occupying infidels,” responsible for all their daily miseries. Iraq has neither democracy nor peace and security; the country is in the midst of a civil war, thanks to the Anglo-American democracy project, or called better yet, project imperialism.

Afghanistan is another hellhole created by the Anglo-American imperialists wanting to dominate the world. The NATO forces were struggling to establish a mere resemblance of order before the election schedule for this week so that the West can claim they have establish democracy in the “backward” Afghan society. The truth is that the West wants to create a puppet regime against the will of ordinary Afghan people who are struggling to meet their daily needs. They do not care, whether it is a Taliban or Karzai regime that governs the country. As far as the ordinary Afghans are concerned, they both are brutal and corrupt without any concern for the wellbeing of ordinary people.

If the West is concerned about eradicating Islamic extremism and the anti-Western sentiments among Muslims, the Western countries must stop harassing innocent Muslims at will. People should not be targeted to undue checking and searches at international airports and border crossings just because they have Muslim sounding names. The latest incident involving an Indian-Muslim film star in New York is a clear case of the ongoing practice of racial profiling by the US authorities. Such incidents not only violate the fundamental rights of Muslims but also heighten their sense of insecurity and injustice. Furthermore, if the US is keen on establishing democracy in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, they must withdraw their troops from those countries, and let the people to decide their own destiny. The Anglo-American interference in internal affairs of other nations has caused enormous death and destructions around the world. There will be no peace in the world as long as hegemonic objectives govern the Anglo-American foreign policies.

-Sri Lanka Guardian