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Archive for category Decline of Empires

Afghanistan yesterday, today, tomorrow Pakistan-US role by Brig.Gen(Retd) Asif Haroon Raja.

Afghanistan yesterday, today, tomorrow

Pakistan-US role

By

Brig.Gen(Retd) Asif Haroon Raja.

Part-One

 

                                      “While we all hope for peace it shouldn’t be peace at any cost but peace based on principle, on justice” Corazon C. Aquino

 

Background

Pakistan and Afghanistan never enjoyed friendly relations since the latter didn’t accept the Durand Line as an international border and laid claims over Pashtun inhabited areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan. Afghanistan has traditionally remained close to India and hostile towards Pakistan. Relations dipped during the rule of President Daud after he seized power in 1973 from King Zahir Shah. Insurgents in Baluchistan were provided safe havens and Pakhtunistan movement was fueled.

 

When Afghanistan was occupied by Soviet forces in December 1979, and 4 million Afghans became refugees in Pakistan, Pakistan under Gen Ziaul Haq condemned the invasion and decided to support the Afghan resistance forces. The US and Saudi Arabia came in support of Pakistan led covert war in June 1981. The two provided funds and weapons only. The Soviet forces accepted defeat and pulled out by February 1989 but in the ten-year gruesome war, the country was devastated and two million Afghan civilians lost their lives. Pakistan had to face KGB-KHAD-RAW-Al-Zulfiqar sabotage and subversion.

 

No sooner the US achieved all its objectives, the US not only ditched Pakistan in 1990 and put it under harsh sanctions, but to rub salt on wounds of Pakistan, it made India its strategic partner which was the camp follower of USSR. The Mujahideen eulogized as holy warriors were abandoned as a result of which civil war broke out between the warring groups.

 

 

  

 

The Taliban under Mulla Omar started their Islamic movement from Kandahar in 1994 and after capturing Kabul in 1996, they established Islamic Emirate. Taliban were in control of 93% territory till 07 Oct 2001, and only 7% in the north was controlled by the Northern Alliance (NA) comprising Uzbeks, Tajiks and Hazaras. The military wing of NA was trained by the Indian and Iranian military trainers in Iran.

 

 

 

From 1997 onwards, the Taliban regime came in bad books of Washington because of cancellation of oil & gas pipelines project of UNICOL and was put under sanctions. Al-Qaeda under Osama bin Laden that had been created by CIA to fight the Soviets turned hostile and started hitting American targets in Gulf of Aden and African countries.

During the 5-year rule of Taliban, Afghanistan was made free of warlords, crimes and social vices including rapes and drug business. People could leave their houses and shops unlocked since none dared to commit theft. Justice was cheap and quick. For the first time since 1947, Pakistan enjoyed very cordial relations with Afghanistan and its western border became safe and Indian presence in Afghanistan faded. The closeness promoted the concept of strategic depth. After the forcible removal of Taliban regime by the US-NATO forces in November 2001, Pak-Afghanistan relations have strained and Indian influence has bounced back in a big way. It was owing to their social and judicial achievements that Talibanization crept into FATA and Malakand Division in Pakistan and later give birth to TTP and TNSM.   

 

Pakistan-US relations 1954-2000

 

Pakistan-USA relations have all along been transactional in nature and never developed into deep-rooted strategic relationship based on mutual trust and friendship. The 74 years history has seen many ups and downs; the US behaving like an overbearing mother-in-law and Pakistan put on a roller coaster ride behaving like a submissive daughter-in-law, taking her barbs without a whimper. Such an unfair treatment was meted out in spite of Pakistan having put its national security at stake three times and each time suffering a great deal.

 

The US embraced Pakistan for the accomplishment of its objectives in this region and no sooner the objectives were achieved, it was unceremoniously dumped. Each time the US ventured into this part of the world, it found Pakistan to be most suitable and most pliable to serve its ends. Pak-US relations were at their best during Eisenhower-Dulles era after which the US started wooing India and forced Pakistan to lean on China.

 

During the Cold War, Pakistan was reluctantly taken on board by the US in 1953/4 to help in containing communism in South Asia after India which was the camp follower of the Soviet Union refused to become part of the US defensive arc. Pakistan joined the western pacts due to its extreme security concerns from India and Afghanistan, both backed by former Soviet Union.

 

Although Pakistan earned the title of ‘most allied ally of the US’ and became totally dependent upon the US arms and technology, but the US disappointed Pakistan when its support was needed the most in the 1965 and 1971 wars with India. Pakistan was denied the crucially needed war munitions from the US as well as diplomatic support during the two wars, while India continued to receive arms from the USSR and kept the resolution of Kashmir dispute at bay due to Soviet vetoes. 

 

The US ignored India’s nuclear explosion in 1974 but promptly imposed sanctions on Pakistan in 1979 on mere suspicion that it was working on a nuclear program. However, soon after, when Pakistan’s services were needed to fight the occupying Soviet forces in Afghanistan, it once again hugged it in 1981 and doled out monetary and military assistance.

 

Throughout the 1990s, Pakistan was kept under the leash under the charges of developing an Islamic bomb, nuclear proliferation and cross border terrorism in Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK). Holy warriors were dubbed as terrorists and hounded. Indo-US relations blossomed into strategic relationship during Bill Clinton rule and thereon it kept flourishing leaps and bounds.

 

Post 9/11 events

 

Pakistan was once again taken on board by the US after 9/11 for the achievement of its short-term regional objectives in Afghanistan. From the very outset, the US intoxicated with power ignored the geography, history, culture, sociology and ideology of Afghanistan. It didn’t bother that it had been a graveyard of empires where it was easy to enter but near impossible to exit safely. Not only Alexander the great fell, but the British also failed and the USSR disintegrated.

 

Blinded by rage to avenge the 9/11 attacks and immersed in the pool of arrogance and egotism, the US and its western allies jumped into the inferno of Afghanistan with full zeal and enthusiasm, and vaulted from one plan to another in pursuit of a hollow strategy, which was never changed to correct its course.

 

Gen Musharraf accepted all 7 demands of the US since he was denied the option of staying neutral. To save Pakistan from destruction, he ditched the Taliban and provided airbases, seaport, land routes and intelligence cooperation to the invaders. The US could not have so easily toppled the Taliban regime and occupied Afghanistan in a month if Pakistan had not provided full support.

 

Completely isolated and encircled from all directions, and the traditional fallback position of FATA denied, the Taliban could fight the ground forces of NA, but couldn’t have resisted the massive air bombing for long. Hence they wisely undertook a tactical withdrawal to regain strength and start bleeding the occupiers through prolonged insurrectional war. The euphoric George W. Bush sounded the victory bugles too prematurely and took it for granted that the Taliban were down and out.

 

Mistakes made by Bush administration

 

Much against Pakistan’s advice, the US installed NA heavy regime in Kabul which was pro-India and anti-Pakistan. The puppet regime ignored the Afghan Pashtuns and started giving more space to India to make it the preeminent player in Afghanistan as was desired by the US.

 

Ignoring the heavy majority Pashtuns and relying solely on the minority NA regime was the first mistake made by Bush administration. This blunder was followed by another when it imposed the US tailored constitution upon the tribal based society. 

 

Opening of the second front by USA in Iraq in 2003 without consolidating the gains in Afghanistan was another slip-up, since engagement on two fronts diluted the war effort of the US-NATO and allowed breathing space to the Taliban to regroup in FATA.

 

Yet another error was raising non-Pashtun heavy Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) which turned into a liability.

 

CIA and NATO as well as Afghan warlords indulged in drug business which had almost been eliminated by the Taliban. These distractions loosened the grip of ISAF led by weak military commanders over Afghanistan and enabled the Taliban to recover lost space in southern and eastern Afghanistan and also earn money from drug business for their war effort.

 

Since the two land routes from Pakistan used by NATO containers passed through the Taliban dominated rural belt, the US security contractors and Afghan officials had to pay toll tax to the Taliban for passage of every container which also became a source of income for them.

 

The US dual standards

 

Misled by misconceived victory, over confident Bush instead of fulfilling the promises made to the Afghans by promoting democracy, education and development works, he gave preference to covert operations against Pakistan and forced Pakistan to fight the Al-Qaeda in South Waziristan (SW). That way, Pakistan earned the hostility of Al-Qaeda and own tribesmen.

 

Ironically, while Washington waged war in Iraq and Afghanistan to bring democracy, it stoutly upheld Pakistan’s military dictatorship.

 

While Pak security forces fought the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch rebel groups in FATA and in Baluchistan that were funded, trained, equipped and guided by RAW-NDS combine to destabilize Pakistan, they didn’t confront the Afghan Taliban whose struggle was entirely confined to Afghanistan and they never fired a bullet against Pak forces.

 

Pakistan started taking measures to protect its national security in 2008 once it learnt that CIA-FBI had gained complete sway over FATA with the help of TTP formed in Dec 2006. Blackwater was inducted in 2008 to bolster CIA-FBI in urban areas of Pakistan. Nexus of CIA-RAW-NDS-MI-6-Mossad-BND in Kabul supported anti-Pakistan proxies in FATA and Baluchistan.

 

In order to keep the supply routes to the TTP open so that it could indulge in terrorism in FATA and KP, the US rejected Pakistan’s proposal to fence the western border, or to increase number of border posts on Afghan side to prevent infiltration.

 

A coordinated Indo-Afghan propaganda campaign backed by the west was launched to defame Pakistan and its premier institutions.

 

Obama’s Nightmare era

 

Based on Obama’s Af-Pak strategy of anvil and hammer, managed by Richard Holbrook, ISAF failed to provide the anvil when Pak forces delivered the hammer in SW in 2009, thus letting the TTP militants under Hakimullah Mehsud to flee to Afghanistan. Pak forces managed to retrieve 17 out of 19 administrative units under the influence of TTP and confined its presence to the last bastions of North Waziristan (NW) and Khyber Agency.

 

But for Pakistan which nabbed over 600 Al-Qaeda senior leaders and operators and handed them over to CIA, the ISAF couldn’t have dismantled and defeated them in Afghanistan as claimed by Obama. Bulk of Al-Qaeda fighters had otherwise shifted to Iraq in 2004 and formed Al-Qaeda Arabian Peninsula after the US-NATO forces occupied Iraq in May 2003.

 

Two troop surges in 2009 raised the strength of ISAF (an amalgam of 48 military contingents) to near 1,50,000, but it proved futile since it resulted in heavy casualties of the occupiers. Adoption of rearward posture and abandonment of boots on ground strategy by ISAF after suffering setbacks in battles of Helmand and Nuristan and putting ANSF in the forefront, and thereafter putting heavy reliance on airpower, was a wrong decision made by Gen McChrystal. It enabled the Taliban to snatch the initiative and build momentum of offensive, which couldn’t be reversed by the occupying force.   

 

Tensions between the US and Pakistan kept increasing when the US adopted a highly discriminatory policy of blaming Pakistan for the failures of ISAF-ANSF, and instability in Afghanistan; subjecting it to drone war; insulting and penalizing it and constantly pressing it to do more against Haqqani Network (HN) and Quetta Shura, and at the same time covering up the sins of India and Kabul regime and going out of the way to reward them. Extreme pressure was mounted to flush out HN from NW. Discriminatory policy brought in element of distrust.  

 

2011 was the worst year for Pakistan in which Raymond Davis, Abbottabad attack, Memogate and Salala attack took place which forced Pakistan to cut off military cooperation with the US and stop the two NATO supply routes for six months.  

 

The reason behind the discriminatory behavior was that while Indo-US-Afghan-West-Israel are strategic partners and work in collusion to achieve their common objectives, Pakistan doesn’t fit into the US security paradigm or the Indo-Pacific strategy, and as such was accepted as a tactical partner to fight terrorism both inside Pakistan and in Afghanistan.

The points of friction which kept the Pak-US relations dysfunctional are Pakistan’s nuclear program, the CPEC, its closeness with China, hostility against India mainly due to unresolved Kashmir dispute, its refusal to recognize Israel, and its refusal to fight Afghan Taliban.

Initiation of peace talks by Obama in 2011 which led to opening of Taliban’s political office at Doha in mid-June 2013 lacked sincerity since whichever Taliban leader came forward for a peace deal, whether from TTP or the Taliban, was droned. Wali, Baituallah Mehsud, Hakimullah Mehsud, Akhtar Mansour, were all killed by drones. Fight and talk strategy was aimed at dividing Taliban movement.  

After withdrawal of bulk of ISAF forces by Dec 2014, the Taliban rapidly captured more territory and gained a military ascendency over occupying forces and the ANSF. Demoralization set in among the occupiers and collaborators; green-over-blue attacks as well as suicide cases increased; rate of desertions in ANSF accelerated.

Installation of a unity regime in Kabul in 2016 by Obama regime was a bad decision. Due to poor governance, corruption and power tussle between Ghani and Abdullah, writ of the government got confined to Kabul.

The Taliban gained dominance over 56% rural territory through which major supply routes pass; its influence stretched to well over 80% area where they installed shadow governments; could strike any part of the country; developed war economy; had sound command, control & communication infrastructure; fair judicial system and dedicated fighters.

The Taliban succeeded in breaking their isolation and were wooed by China, Russia, Turkey, Iran, Qatar, UAE, KSA, and Germany. China signed a $ 3 billion development project with the Taliban. It reduced the clout of Pakistan over them.

Writ of the ANSF backed by the US led Resolute Support Group got restricted to capital cities which are often attacked by the Taliban.    

   

Landmark peace agreement

After maximizing force against the Taliban and pressure against Pakistan, Donald Trump reopened the stalled peace talks in July 2018 and finally inked the historic peace agreement with the Taliban on February 29, 2020, in which the Kabul regime was excluded. The UN, Russia, China and Pakistan endorsed the agreement.

The Taliban agreed not to allow Afghan soil for terrorism against the US/allies, reduce violence, desist from attacking western targets in Afghanistan, sever ties with al-Qaeda, and to open inter-Afghan dialogue for a comprehensive political settlement. The US agreed to pull out all troops by May 1, 2021 and to refrain from attacking the Taliban. 5000 Taliban prisoners and 1000 ANSF prisoners were to be released within 3 months after start of intra-Afghan talks on March 10, 2020, and Taliban leaders removed from the UN blacklist. 

Intra-Afghan dialogue got delayed due to Ashraf Ghani’s reservations and foot dragging over prisoner exchange. Firefight between the Taliban and ANSF supported by the US continued in which former had an upper hand.

Trump was keen to end the longest war and make a clean break from Afghanistan and he reduced the US troop level to 2500 only.  

To be continued

The writer is a retired Brig Gen, war veteran, defence & security analyst, international columnist, author of five books, 6th book under publication, Chairman Thinkers Forum Pakistan, Director Measac Research Centre, takes part in TV talk shows. Email: asifharoonraja@gmail.com     

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The CIA and the Media: 50 Facts the World Needs to Know by by James F. Tracy, Global Research

The CIA and the Media: 50 Facts the World Needs to Know

by James F. Tracy
Global Research,

Archive Article

20 January 2018

 

 

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Archive Article – American Democracy on Trial: Trump vs. Biden Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

American Democracy on Trial: Trump vs. Biden

Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

 

 

President Trump’s Fault lines and Delusional Concept of Power

 

America is entrenched in deep political crises of multiple dimensions. The working of political institutions, politicians, human character, morals and responsibility signal rituals of evil eye paradigms and a future of miseries of innumerable multitudes. The snapshot of American democracy and a rethinking moment in time appears shrouded by unknown purpose of catastrophic political consequences. Aftermath of the presidential election and an opportunity for great transformation to a peaceful change looks unpredictable between the end of the old delusional concept of power and the beginning of the new. Tonight (January 3, 2021), the CNN is playing an hour long audio tape of President Trump’s conversation with Brad Farrensperger (Georgia Secretary of State) asking: “ I just want 11,780 votes  …one more vote” to victory and  “find” votes to “tilt the 2020 election” and you can “recalculate” the election.  Carl Bernstein and other US media analysts demand immediate resignation of Trump and interpret it as a political conspiracy to invalidate the Joe Biden presidential election. Others call it a “bomb shell” and a crime against American democracy just as it was the “Watergate” planned by Nixon.  President Trump claims victory in other states and again calls it a “stolen election” from his candidacy – a highly contentious image of political time left at the White House. It seems that love of power is at the heart of incomprehensible claims of dreadful mystery. This formidable evidence could prolong the systematic and peaceful transfer of power as a destabilization factor in American modern history. In an endless self-repeating false rhetoric, the refutation of Biden presidential confirmation at the Senate on January 6, could lead to widespread public outrage and unrest in time and space unheard of in contemporary American politics.

 

Brad Farrensperger sounds unwilling in audio to accord any substance to Trump and his illogical demand. He tries to clarify the election authentication process and its legitimate outcome in favor of Joe Biden- the President Elect. The 2020 American Presidential election should have been a springboard for planned peaceful transfer of power and political change for future-making. Despite legal authentication of the election outcomes and declaration of Joe-Biden, the President Elect, Mr. Trump continues to search for morally and intellectually forbidden vicious tactics to undermine the US systems of democratic norms.  The road to egoistic political hell is paved with good intentions without any reality. Assumingly, no American court or tribunal could prosecute political wickedness and obsessed crimes against democracy. If all goes to favor the poisonous politics of the few and 140 coerced GOP Republicans by Donald Trump will challenge the public verdict to oppose the Biden -President Elect confirmation on January 6 at the US Senate confirmation. It could be interpreted as a hybrid political culture of cataclysmic end in modern history.

 

Global Community Watching the American Political Quagmire

The world will watch with alarmed curiosity – how America and its acclaimed liberal democracy are vulnerable to unthinkable change and unpredictability for the future generations. It would affirm that US textbooks on a working democracy are incomprehensible to the “Common Sense” and rational understanding.  There appears to be “No Goodwill” active political bridge builders in current extreme American emotional and intellectual decadent upsurge. Those invested with public trust are far from any logical pursuit to speak out truthfully any bipartisan political language of the time. Joe Biden and the Democratic Party appear mature, resilient, intellectual and morally conscience and self-disciplined without erratic behavior to ensure that American systems of political governance should work for the good of WE, the People of America. It could be a political crime to dislodge Joe Biden from assuming the presidency on January 20th, 2021. The Republican leadership under Trump appears delusional and intellectual exhausted and making conflicting statements to assert their own verdict of “fraudulent election” when all the 50 states and territories have confirmed the winner – Joe Biden as President Elect. President Trump failure is more of a blindfolded person leading the blinds as there is always inconsistency in politically delusional adventures.

 

What is Next out of American Political Chaos?

America is in desperate need of moral and intellectual leadership. In situations of adversity and crises, leaders represent self-confidence and optimism for change, not egoistic agenda and belligerent outbursts as the nuisance of individualistic political indoctrination. President Trump is pursuing an unsurpassably intense political conspiracy to degenerate the present and future of American political governance. Trump is a warrior without any characteristics of true wisdom and political vision.

Comforting the major paradoxes of history as Arnold Toynbee (A Study of History) described warrior as dreamers devoid of moral and intellectual imagination when they come close to stagnation they jump to irrational outbursts and conclusions about the facts of life. Wrong people, glued to wrong thinking, do the wrong things without any rational sense of time, people’s interest and history. Trump failed to see the interests of the America people and global community to a peaceful approach to conflict management through dialogue and non-rhetoric belligerent statements. Naïve egoism and one-sided complacency to individualistic interest cannot further the cause of peace within America.

Biden and his team would urgently need rethinking and men of ideas and creative strategies to undo the harm and distrust that fractured the American political stability. The new administration if installed on January 20th, should articulate a Plan enriched with wisdom, vision and forbearance to pursue political, moral and intellectual pursuits for change. Would Biden and his team give priorities to dogmatic concepts of power and exploitation of truth or the forgotten – We, the People? In a recent article: “America at Crossroads: Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy” (Uncommon Thought Journal, USA: 12.14.2020), this author envisaged the following agenda for Biden and team to take urgent action: https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2020/12/14/america-at-the-crossroads-the-presidential-election-and-the-clash-of-democracy.php

  1. Plan, organize and set your strategic priorities in writing – like the statement of top objectives and monitor and achieve success by doing the best. The WHO, Global Warming ( a time bomb in waiting) Climate Summit and Global mankind is waiting for you and so are the neglected people targeted victims of colors, ethnicity and creed- all leading to more man-made disasters.
  2. The COVID-19 Pandemic is a critical issue and a priority to be dealt with cautiously and scientifically for the good of the masses.
  3. Mankind looks for Hope, Unity, Peace and Co-existence amongst the divergent cultures and nations of the world. You take initiatives to bridge gaps between cultures and civilizations, including Russia, China, the Muslim world and others abhorred and hated by Trump presidency. If Immanuel Kant’s ‘Perpetual Peace’ was taken seriously, today’s America and Europe would have been at peace, not wars within themselves and with the global community.
  4. Trump lacked imagination and visionary foresight and neglected advice and reasoning in all official endeavors. He opted for transgressors, killers and morally corrupt dictators, kings and princesses across the globe. You Mr. President (elect) will have the opportunity and time to take corrective actions to enhance human equality, human rights – be it in America’s Black Life Matter, Kashmir, Palestine, Myanmar-Burma, China or elsewhere and take initiative to legislate changes to ensure participation of the indigenous, black and people of colors as equal citizens in American political systems.
  5. Your Chief Justice will administer the official oath in the name of God –The Beneficent – The Merciful – the Creator of the World – Who created the human being from a living sperm and sustained life on Earth – and you will perform the art of leading mankind as being part of mankind on a living Universe and Earth as we are accountable for all of our commitments and pursuits.
  6. Be a peacemaker, not a warmonger as there is much evil and much good in the creed of human optimism. True leaders create new leaders and always listen and accept readily intelligent advice from people of knowledge and wisdom. Every beginning has its end as America is at the conclusion of an unpredictable age, not the end of world. Your vision and leadership initiatives will reframe the historic time for a progressive and changing America for the best of people and humanity.

 

 

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America and Turbulent Democracy Look for Change Written by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

America and Turbulent Democracy Look for Change

by

Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

 

 

The Unthinkable Insurrection on America Powerhouse

America and its politics find itself at the tyranny of reason of which it appears to be unconscious either by design or by choice. The living thought of American political harmony does not seem to exhibit an ideal scenario of democracy as acclaimed by its political proponents. The perplexities and despotic character are rooted in the making of modern democracy. American constitutional sense of liberty, freedom and justice appear tainted and dislodged by individualistic Trump’s cult and the planned mob violence against the epicenter of political governance in Washington. D.C. on January 6 -Wednesday. It exposed an ugly and forbidden truth about the American political thought, values and plastic configuration of piety of democratic values. The gangsters upsurge denied the normal functional of the working seat of political governance to verify the results of the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. The seditious crowd chanted “Hang Pence” against the Vice President, “take hostage” the enemy of Trump victory, the election was “fraudulent” and “ Trump won” the election, the encompassing chaos echoes the worst upcoming epoch in contemporary American history. In all rational observations, it was an authoritarian sponsored coup against We, the People who had systematically elected Joe Biden- President Elect in November 2020. There were silenced pleas and indifference by Republican top leadership who shared the Trump belligerent stance on the outcomes of the presidential election. Is it a wake-up call for rethinking of the American emotional outburst or an opportunity to reflect intelligently as to what went wrong on that historic day? Rowan Wolf (https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2021/01/06/if-you-think-that-trump-will-not-continue-to-push-a-coup-then-think-again.php: 1/06/21) highlights the following facts:

It is critical that we take seriously the impact of the lies, propaganda, and actual coup attempt that is occurring. Trump and the GOP have colluded in creating a narrative that has left a large portion of our population believing that 1) there has been significant fraud in the vote; 2) that the Biden win is illegitimate; 3) that the actions taken by Trump and the GOP are legal, legitimate, and “saving” our democracy. The truth is the obverse of this. In fact, we have a larger portion of the people and virtually the whole of the GOP throwing democracy and the Constitution into the ditch in order to establish an oligarchy, a dictatorship. They are attempting to throw out the votes of tens of millions of people in a coup.

The mob violence and killing of five American signaled deficient security arrangements to safeguard the sanctity of the Capitol complex, members of Congress and Senate who were discharging their legal duties to address the agenda of verification of the election results. It represented lack of planning and distorted image of American official planning on security and protection of human lives. If there were responsible and rational officials, the security plan should have met the challenge of the day but there was nothing to stabilize a trivial emerging security catastrophic emergency. Strangely enough, few weeks earlier, The Black Lives Matter protest was met with police brutality, rubber bullets and cordoned off the Capitol premise. President Trump incited the mob for an appalling way forward to undo the congressional verification of the President Elect, Joe Biden. Would President Trump be held accountable for his insurrection and violation of the tenets of the US Constitution? Or would he go unpunished for the next ten days?

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Responding to this formidable challenge, Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House is calling for “impeachment” of President Trump and demands invocation of the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution to dismiss Trump from his office. The time and opportunity for a reasoned dialogue was lost by Trump and the Republican Party leadership. The followers of Trump’s cult performed the stage the drama to appease the emperor and his complicit supporters. Cynicism about American politicians is endemic across the board. Could the present American leadership restore a sense of political normalcy in a highly turbulent crisis that engulfed the nation to greater risk of insecurity and survival for a sustainable political future? This author noted the following observations in “American Presidential Election and Democracy Look for Change, Moral and Intellectual Leadership.” (UncommonThought: 11/19/2020.): To glance ahead, America and its claim to a working democracy will haunt future generations with suspicion and extended discard. Trump and his coercive puppies could not think of America as part of the global community except as conforming to their own fantasies, phobias, prejudices, policies, practices and preferences, favoring Israel and Netanyahu and nothing else for the pandemic entrenched people of America. History will tell of this time when Trump plagued the body politic with the deliberate misinterpretation of the election and outrageous futuristic hypotheses leading nowhere in a civilized society. The sudden and inexplicable democratic plunge into self-geared wickedness must be catastrophic for future generations

Did America’s War Abroad Generate the Evolution of Domestic Terrorism?

Is there a connection to America’s global warmongering and the domestic “terrorism” advanced by the Trump cult? In every political culture there is peculiar psychology to see its own pros and nothing else. If America and its democracy will ignore the imperatives of living Time, its articulation of futuristic Time will be totally unlike its own – a contradiction covered by adroit instinct. Could America and its political leadership see the mirror and do some soul-searching? “There are the times that try men’s soul”, noted Thomas Paine in his famous “Common Sense”, the lifeline to American independence.

For two decades, the continued American led bogus War on Terrorism had wide ranging impacts on the America political and intellectual psyche. Americans are in the frontline of terrorizing the global mankind, not searching for strategic rethinking – what went wrong with one of the most cultured and intellectually enriched nations of the world. We the People continued to witness countless emerging catastrophic developments both man- made and natural to impact the Living Earth and human lives. According to Sherwood Ross: “US Sponsored Genocide against Iraq 1990-2012 killed 3.3 million including 750,000 children.” (Global Research: 12/06/2012). During The Bush-Obama administrations, US drone massacred some 25-30 thousand innocent Pakistani civilians in Northwest tribal belt of Pakistan adjacent to Afghanistan under a false pretext of “war on terrorism.” It is estimated that more than million Afghan civilians were killed and forcibly displaced enlarging the scope of forgotten graveyards.

If America cannot deal with its own domestic problems of unusual violence, killings of the innocents, and fear-mongering politics, how could it be helpful to others in the globe. One wonders, what went wrong with America? William Boardman (“A Country At War With An Illusion.” Information Clearing House), spells out that America is at war with itself: We are waging war on terrorism even as we embody terrorism. …No wonder we seem sometimes to be at war with ourselves, and have been for most of the 21st century….No American Under 12 Has Lived In A Country At Peace….America’s Main Enemy Is Nameless, Shapeless, “Associated Forces”… The American Enemies List Is Decided Anonymously and Secretly.

Could America Look for New Ideals in a Changing World?

True wisdom needs soul searching and tranquility of human behavior – the manifestations of true wisdom. If Americans are intelligent, they should listen to voices of Reason and Wisdom before it is too late. Its pains, horrors and cruelty are within itself. America and its democratic manifestations are prone to change under conditions of time, space and waking consciousness. The primacy of imperative is Reason. Those entrusted with power and responsibilities within the Republican Party echelon do not appear to understand the need of change, time and interest of the masses.View it aconjectural or cautious optimism, leadership in the Republican Party is exploited by Trump and his supporters and the powerhouse is closer to anarchy than reasoned dialogue.The Divine messages of the Qur’an and Holy Bible REMIND to Man – the Chief Creation of God on Earththat continuous wars, greed, killings and man-made disasters are prelude to staunch punishment from God – so be accountable and do not transgress in the lands. If you go thousands of miles away and commit massacres and destroy the God-given human habitats with your feeble minds and machinery, do you think, this trespassing will not usher dire consequences for you?

We reside on a living Earth that sustains life and a living Universe that takes account of all human deeds- our history making is intricately linked to our knowledge data and the Nature of Things – Man’s history and the Self, and be aware that in every ideal of the Self, there is both conjecture of man and his action and how all visible and invisible events shape our thoughts, wisdom or future in waiting. It is a time and an opportunity out of the American crises to look into the known and unknown conscious experience for a comprehensive picture in a mirror- who they were and where they are the underlying rational purpose for a navigational change to elucidate the path of fair and systematic change for We, the People future making.

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 12/2019.

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American Democracy on Trial: Trump vs. Biden by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

The Times

Wednesday, January 6, 2021 6:56:05 PM

World

Tue Jan 5, 2021

American Democracy on Trial: Trump vs. Biden

  • Written by Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD.

President Trump’s Fault lines and Delusional Concept of Power

America is entrenched in deep political crises of multiple dimensions. The working of political institutions, politicians, human character, morals and responsibility signal rituals of evil eye paradigms and a future of miseries of innumerable multitudes. The snapshot of American democracy and a rethinking moment in time appears shrouded by unknown purpose of catastrophic political consequences. Aftermath of the presidential election and an opportunity for great transformation to a peaceful change looks unpredictable between the end of the old delusional concept of power and the beginning of the new. Tonight (January 3, 2021), the CNN is playing an hour long audio tape of President Trump’s conversation with Brad Farrensperger (Georgia Secretary of State) asking: “ I just want 11,780 votes …one more vote” to victory and “find” votes to “tilt the 2020 election” and you can “recalculate” the election. Carl Bernstein and other US media analysts demand immediate resignation of Trump and interpret it as a political conspiracy to invalidate the Joe Biden presidential election. Others call it a “bomb shell” and a crime against American democracy just as it was the “Watergate” planned by Nixon. President Trump claims victory in other states and again calls it a “stolen election” from his candidacy – a highly contentious image of political time left at the White House. It seems that love of power is at the heart of incomprehensible claims of dreadful mystery. This formidable evidence could prolong the systematic and peaceful transfer of power as a destabilization factor in American modern history. In an endless self-repeating false rhetoric, the refutation of Biden presidential confirmation at the Senate on January 6, could lead to widespread public outrage and unrest in time and space unheard of in contemporary American politics.

Brad Farrensperger sounds unwilling in audio to accord any substance to Trump and his illogical demand. He tries to clarify the election authentication process and its legitimate outcome in favor of Joe Biden- the President Elect. The 2020 American Presidential election should have been a springboard for planned peaceful transfer of power and political change for future-making. Despite legal authentication of the election outcomes and declaration of Joe-Biden, the President Elect, Mr. Trump continues to search for morally and intellectually forbidden vicious tactics to undermine the US systems of democratic norms. The road to egoistic political hell is paved with good intentions without any reality. Assumingly, no American court or tribunal could prosecute political wickedness and obsessed crimes against democracy. If all goes to favor the poisonous politics of the few and 140 coerced GOP Republicans by Donald Trump will challenge the public verdict to oppose the Biden -President Elect confirmation on January 6 at the US Senate confirmation. It could be interpreted as a hybrid political culture of cataclysmic end in modern history.

Global Community Watching the American Political Quagmire

The world will watch with alarmed curiosity – how America and its acclaimed liberal democracy are vulnerable to unthinkable change and unpredictability for the future generations. It would affirm that US textbooks on a working democracy are incomprehensible to the “Common Sense” and rational understanding. There appears to be “No Goodwill” active political bridge builders in current extreme American emotional and intellectual decadent upsurge. Those invested with public trust are far from any logical pursuit to speak out truthfully any bipartisan political language of the time. Joe Biden and the Democratic Party appear mature, resilient, intellectual and morally conscious and self-disciplined without erratic behavior to ensure that American systems of political governance should work for the good of WE, the People of America. It could be a political crime to dislodge Joe Biden from assuming the presidency on January 20th, 2021. The Republican leadership under Trump appears delusional and intellectually exhausted and making conflicting statements to assert their own verdict of “fraudulent election” when all the 50 states and territories have confirmed the winner – Joe Biden as President Elect. President Trump failure is more of a blindfolded person leading the blinds as there is always inconsistency in politically delusional adventures.

What is Next out of American Political Chaos?

America is in desperate need of moral and intellectual leadership. In situations of adversity and crises, leaders represent self-confidence and optimism for change, not egoistic agenda and belligerent outbursts as the nuisance of individualistic political indoctrination. President Trump is pursuing an unsurpassably intense political conspiracy to degenerate the present and future of American political governance. Trump is a warrior without any characteristics of true wisdom and political vision.

Comforting the major paradoxes of history as Arnold Toynbee (A Study of History) described warriors as dreamers devoid of moral and intellectual imagination when they come close to stagnation they jump to irrational outbursts and conclusions about the facts of life. Wrong people, glued to wrong thinking, do the wrong things without any rational sense of time, people’s interest and history. Trump failed to see the interests of the America people and global community to a peaceful approach to conflict management through dialogue and non-rhetoric belligerent statements. Naïve egoism and one-sided complacency to individualistic interest cannot further the cause of peace within America.

Biden and his team would urgently need rethinking and men of ideas and creative strategies to undo the harm and distrust that fractured the American political stability. The new administration, if installed on January 20th, should articulate a Plan enriched with wisdom, vision and forbearance to pursue political, moral and intellectual pursuits for change. Would Biden and his team give priorities to dogmatic concepts of power and exploitation of truth or the forgotten – We, the People? In a recent article: “America at Crossroads: Presidential Election and the Clash of Democracy” (Uncommon Thought Journal, USA: 12.14.2020), this author envisaged the following agenda for Biden and team to take urgent action: https://www.uncommonthought.com/mtblog/archives/2020/12/14/america-at-the-crossroads-the-presidential-election-and-the-clash-of-democracy.php

  1. Plan, organize and set your strategic priorities in writing – like the statement of top objectives and monitor and achieve success by doing the best. The WHO, Global Warming ( a time bomb in waiting) Climate Summit and Global mankind is waiting for you and so are the neglected people targeted victims of colors, ethnicity and creed- all leading to more man-made disasters.

  2. The COVID-19 Pandemic is a critical issue and a priority to be dealt with cautiously and scientifically for the good of the masses.

  3. Mankind looks for Hope, Unity, Peace and Co-existence amongst the divergent cultures and nations of the world. You take initiatives to bridge gaps between cultures and civilizations, including Russia, China, the Muslim world and others abhorred and hated by Trump presidency. If Immanuel Kant’s ‘Perpetual Peace’ was taken seriously, today’s America and Europe would have been at peace, not wars within themselves and with the global community.

  4. Trump lacked imagination and visionary foresight and neglected advice and reasoning in all official endeavors. He opted for transgressors, killers and morally corrupt dictators, kings and princesses across the globe. You Mr. President (elect) will have the opportunity and time to take corrective actions to enhance human equality, human rights – be it in America’s Black Life Matter, Kashmir, Palestine, Myanmar-Burma, China or elsewhere and take initiative to legislate changes to ensure participation of the indigenous, black and people of colors as equal citizens in American political systems.

  5. Your Chief Justice will administer the official oath in the name of God –The Beneficent – The Merciful – the Creator of the World – Who created the human being from a living sperm and sustained life on Earth – and you will perform the art of leading mankind as being part of mankind on a living Universe and Earth as we are accountable for all of our commitments and pursuits.

  6. Be a peacemaker, not a warmonger as there is much evil and much good in the creed of human optimism. True leaders create new leaders and always listen and accept readily intelligent advice from people of knowledge and wisdom. Every beginning has its end as America is at the conclusion of an unpredictable age, not the end of world. Your vision and leadership initiatives will reframe the historic time for a progressive and changing America for the best of people and humanity.

 

Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in international affairs-global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: One Humanity and the Remaking of Global Peace, Security and Conflict Resolution. Lambert Academic Publications, Germany, 12/2020

 

 

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