Dumping American democracy

The US has a plan for the Middle East. Unfortunately it is not successful

Waiel Awwad Delhi
Bush spin wants us to believe that the recent elections in Iraq are a major success and a step toward the path of redemption and democracy that the neo-conservatives, led by the president himself, drafted, and that they are winning the war. The Bush-led private war turned Iraq into a haven for extremists and sectarian violence which then leads to the next step in the compelling logic:  Bush to argue that he will "not leave Iraq before achieving victory". The ambiguity of this statement has resulted in confusion about the common word "victory".  Repeating the word "victory" in the face of the track record of the invading votaries of civilisation and human rights has not helped clarify matters. The series of disclosures is unending: the black deeds in the Abu Ghraib prison, British undercover agents masquerading as Shi'ites, white phosphorous and depleted uranium used by the US forces, the latest "renditions" of CIA suspects for torture to unspecified places, selling of pro-US articles in the Iraqi media in praise of the occupation forces fuelling sectarian conflict in Iraq by talks of annihilation of the other community. Still the war machine grinds on.

What victory is Bush talking about? Iraqis are strongly resisting American-led occupation. The US propaganda is
working overtime to equate the national resistance with foreign missionaries carrying terrorist activities. Or it must be the victory of creating a framework of civil war in Iraq. Who knows what constitutes victory for a president who publicly admits to eavesdropping on the conversations of his free constituency. Coming to the much-acclaimed elections in the cradle of civilisation, they were held under the shadow of guns and amid violence, threats and insecurities. Candidates did not feel secure in campaigning. Yet, some contestants entered the fray, some votes were dropped in the ballot boxes, and that made a historical event for the hawkish hawkers of electoral democracy.

Iraq is only a part of a larger context. Many believe that the American policy toward the Middle East is Israel-centric. The ccupation of Iraq was part of the redrawing the map of a (Greater) new Middle East to ensure the dominance of Israel politically, militarily and economically. An agreement was reached with the Likud government that Israel will deal with the Palestinians by suppressing the will of the people and eliminating the resistance to Israeli occupation by using the Israeli military arsenals after which the US will intervene.  Iraq, Syria and Lebanon opposed the new American policy toward the Middle East. September 11 is the excuse for the two countries to have a common vision or rather Washington adapting the Tel Aviv visions of "Islamic terrorism". Since then US has never looked back, and carried out the policy of Israel in the region against the wishes of the vast majorities of US citizens and friendly Arab Middle East countries. This will explain the recent trends of violence in Lebanon and the plot to implicate Syria in those crimes so that to fake a case against it and then target Syria militarily followed by re-invasion of south Lebanon by Israel and the restructuring of the whole region. Syria was always the target of such forces because it is the centre of Arab Middle East nationalism and the first capital of Islamic state during the Umayyad period. It consistently rejected foreign interference in the region and called for a broad-based Arab stand to challenge the enemy of freedom and progress. It has cautioned the  Arab Middle East world to not be cheated by the slogans of American-led "new democracy" executed by invading forces who divide up the Arab world so that the field can be clear for American multinationals and profiteers.

The neocons are crusading Afghanistan, Iraq and spreading to Syria, Iran and Lebanon. The Arab Middle East world is looking for something that will take it out of its history of colonialism, oppression and subjugation. It is not eager for more humiliation and destabilisation.

Dr Waiel Awwad is a senior international correspondent based in Delhi