America’s War On Terrorism; An Example Of Neocolonialism?

By Sanjna Sudan:

Towering skyscrapers, gigantic infrastructure, booming economy of hitherto unprecedented levels and a highly advanced technology churning out extremely sophisticated gadgetry, with unending energy requirements; that’s the United States of America, a gargantuan, colossal, energy guzzler.

In the decades after the World War II, the United States became a global influence in economic, political, military, cultural, and technological affairs. Beginning in the 1950s, the middle-class became obsessed with consumer goods. It was the era of a deadly cold war and a spectacular space race. But after the fall of Soviet Union in 1991, the U.S. has emerged as the single super power in the world.

The basic principles of the “imperial grand strategy,” which the U.S. has followed, traces back to the early days of World War II and have been reiterated frequently since. Even before the United States entered the war, planners and analysts concluded that in the post-war world, it would seek “to hold unquestioned power,” acting to ensure the “limitation of any exercise of sovereignty” by states that might interfere with its global designs. They outlined “an integrated policy to achieve military and economic supremacy for the United States” in a “Grand Area” to include at a minimum the Western Hemisphere, the former British empire, and the Far East, later extended to as much of Eurasia as possible when it became clear that Germany would be defeated.

U.S., the energy guzzler:

Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates. These are the countries which have been affected by the U.S. scheme for world domination, if not directly then indirectly, as in Libya, where the U.S. has forced its hand through the U.N. and NATO. Incidentally, these are the countries which form the OPEC or the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Perhaps we can reason that the interest shown by the U.S. in the mentioned nations because they are energy or fuel rich countries?

It has been alleged by several analysts that the primary objective of the U.S. war against Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam was to get access to its enormous oil resources. Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia. If this oil is made available to the U.S.A. by a friendly regime, the economic benefits would be enormous.

Propaganda:

In his book ‘Media Control’, Naom Chomsky, a famous international relations analyst and a professor at MIT, mocks the idea of enemies the U.S. has formed in the minds of common men. He believes that forming an enemy is a way to distract the American’s mind towards them and not let them easily see and judge the shortcomings of their own nation. The examples supporting Chomsky’s words are clear; during the years following Second World War, the Soviet Union was projected as harsh, mean and thus the ‘beast’ in the American media, but after the fall of Soviet Union, the new beast of Sadam Hussein was then visualised. But, after the suppression of the Hussein regime and the U.S. intervention in Iraq, the beast of Taliban and Osama Bin Laden was up. With the ideals of establishing democracy in Afghanistan, and overcoming the challenge of eliminating Osama Bin Laden (who we know now was safe, then in Pakistan) the U.S. occupies another fuel rich country- Afghanistan, which also has the plus point of being proximal to Eurasia, especially China and India.

Thus, the main aim was to divert the ‘bewildered crowd’s’ attention. The U.S. bombings of South Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan giving the reason of ‘their own good’-all point towards self interest. Chomsky clearly mocks the idea of ‘their own good’ and questions the U.S. strategy in these countries. Truly, the truth of matter has been buried under ‘edifice after edifice of lies upon lies.’ Many have questioned the necessity of war on Iraq and Kuwait by the U.S. just in the name of establishing peace and security. It tells how views change according to propaganda when the rulers want the masses to believe in the necessity of war. The hidden truth about Iraq democrats, who though being organised and against war in their country were ignored by the media totally. This too shows how media is controlled by United States.

Why Eurasia?

Oil is depleting, environment is in convulsions… will the U.S. with its stupendous economy eat it self out or will it reach out its muscled arms and powerful tentacles to eat into the precious resources of the rest of the world? There is an energy crisis. The answer is obvious and the scheme for world domination, it is alleged, has been in motion for years. It has been said that America’s global supremacy directly depends on how long and how effectively their preponderance on Eurasia is sustained.

Why Eurasia? Because it is also the location of world’s most politically assertive and dynamic states. All of the potential economic challenges to America have been by the Eurasians! It has been said in the past, by many critics other than Chomsky, that the ‘War on Terrorism’ is a means for America to glorify the term ‘terrorism’ and use it to control various power houses in the world. The example of Korea is clear indication of this as, the U.S. developed ties with it to keep neighbouring Japan in check. We know how Japan poses a great threat to the U.S. domination on the economic front.

Now see the strategy:

– First, armaments are sold to a regime, for example Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
– Then, this regime is demonised, linking them to certain ‘beasts’ as the time demands. The recent example of Osama Bin Laden (a ‘beast’ used since 2001) being caught in Pakistan and then killed in a very shady manner, left many questions unanswered in the minds of the people.
– There is a war, after which permanent military bases are stationed in these countries to sneak on surrounding nations, while using its energy resources (Think Iran and Saudi Arabia).
– Many even blame the U.S. for using the ‘attention diverting’ scheme in which they create a huge dramatic event and divert the global attention towards it through their sophisticated media control system, while indulging in mass destruction in the name of ‘installing democracy’. The example of diverting ‘the bewildered crowds’ attention as Chomsky puts it, towards Osama’s death while the war in Libya, especially the intervention of NATO was at its peak.

Prospects:

What can we conclude by all this? Can we link this to the U.S. giving support to Pakistan while knowing that India is against it? What can we make out of the media; an industry whose parental bodies reside in the U.S.? What can we make of this ‘War on Terrorism’? Is it real or just a drama to gain control over fuel rich countries?

The U.S. has been giving financial aid to third world countries for some time now. It can be said that the U.S. is acting like the crutch, the threat of whose withdrawal would keep the dependant and the poor nations in line with the U.S. demand for fuel and energy. Can we really trust its intention when we know that Africa is an unsettled arena of poor nations? Their poverty and their being unorganised works in America’s favour, as they surely have their hands on what they want- energy! The U.S. has its eye on China and India; it’s most progressive and aggressive competitors. What can we say about it? That gives us a lot to think, analyse and decide about, as to what kind of a reality are we living in?

Image courtesy:  http://worldwar42.blogspot.in/2011/11/war-in-afghanistan-issues-and-political.html