American foreign
policy
Sir,
Colin Powell spoke
the language of Pervez Musharraf. It recalls to
my mind Alexis De Pocqueville who wrote in 1839
in his book ''Democracy in America''. It is very
difficult to ascertain at present what degree of
sagacity the American democracy will display in
the conduct of foreign policy of the country; and
upon this point its adversaries, as well as
advocates must suspend their judgement.''
American foreign
policy has always remained a bewildering
ever-shifting kaleidoscope. American politics,
flowing from English models, french inspiration
and native experience has ever been an exalted
epic of debate among free men in search of truth
and petty comedy of provincial prejudice and
greedy self seeking. I cannot be wrong in
asserting that Americans worship at the alter of
mammon and are devotees of game of chance,
unearned income, pecuniary emulation, and
conspicuous waste. Some say that Americans
cherish liberty and justice above all values. As
judged by the timeless standards of the
Jewish-Greek christian tradition, inherited by
America, from a remote past, the Americans dream
is at times a nightmare of ignorant avarice and
at others a vision beyond stars, summoning all
mankind to climb a stairway into heaven.
American foreign
policy is a mirror of these competing purposes
and pressures. To achieve its nefarious designs
American policy has always been of creating
Frankestainian monsters. If we go back to 1956
alone, America having forbidden Israel, France
and Britain to ''cut Jamal Abdul Nasser down to
size'' by force, the USA sought to achieve the
same and through favours and fraud early in 1957
by cultivating Nasser's potential rival for Pan
Arab leadership. The white House invited king
Saud of Saudi Arabia to a state visit to
Washington with crown prince Abdullah of Iraq
Simultaneously. The joint Eisenhower-Saud
communique on February 8, 1957 was full of
amiable generalities about ''friendship'',
cordiality,'' ''cooperation'', ''independence'',
''self determination'', and opposition to all
aggressions, plus a pledge of more American arms
to Saudi Arabia in return for a further five year
extension of the accord of June 18, 1951 for
American use of the Dhalran Air Base. Purpose for
bombing the Soviet Oil fields of Irans- Caucasia.
The same is being
done by the USA vis-a-vis Musharraf. She has
always been exploiting fundamentalists for her
own ends. The Americans were happy to arm and
encourage the Islamists of Afghanistan against
the Soviets. The people they call terrorists now
were then called freedom fighters.
Let Americans
beware that Anwar-al-Sadat, tried to use Islamic
Brotherhood as a political power base, the Israel
Government initially created Hamas to undermine
PLO, they became a frankestenian monster to shall
be Pakistan for them as Osam bin Laden has
already become.
Yours etc...
P.K. Joseph Dhar,
Jammu.
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