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Aug. 24, 2005 A lot has changed since 9/11 and the destruction of the two trade towers. Afghanistan has been subdued and Iraq is in the throes of a problematic post Saddam reality. Saddam Hussein himself languishes in jail, with the probability of a future death sentence hanging over him, while around 130.000 US troops patrol the streets of Baghdad and Iraq—in constant fear of their lives, from the very same Iraqis who were supposed to welcome them with open arms as liberators from a cruel regime. In Guantanamo Bay, political prisoners are still held without trial and their every movement and word is minutely examined and analyzed by “area specialists”. So the U.S. is far safer than before 9/11--right? Wrong! The U.S. and its world-wide profile has been weakened and tarnished by American foreign policy, without gaining any tangible benefits or real protection from future acts of terrorism. The U.N. has been defanged and exposed as a poodle of U.S foreign policy…much to the chagrin of the U.N. itself and of the United States, which has always been expected to pay all the big bills in return for U.N. compliance and support on important policy matters. Relations with most European powers have also deteriorated--and at least ninety per cent of Arabs worldwide, have come to despise the U.S. for double standards that seem to be bent on the persecution of the Islamic religion. The American-French relationship has suffered particularly, because of fundamental differences over opinions about the legality of the war in Iraq. Relations with Britain, Italy and Spain have also become tenser--in spite of ostensible support for America’s foreign policy on the part of the governments of the latter nations. The ordinary people in all these countries have been consistently against the interventionist policies of the U.S., even if the governments have wished to be seen supporting a strong and influential ally. The inherent contradictions in these relationships have already largely unraveled, with the withdrawal of Spain and Italy from the Iraqi coalition and the discrediting of the British P.M., Tony Blair, who was only able to win another election in Britain—with a greatly reduced majority—due to the total disintegration of any viable alternative party of government. It is probably true to say that America’s foreign policy, post 9/11, has alienated many previous allies without gaining any significant new support. The United States is certainly no safer due to this controversial foreign policy. Iraq has become a training ground for new extremist zealots in much the same way that Afghanistan was the breeding ground for Osama Bin Laden and his ilk, during the Russian occupation of the 1970s. As hundreds of American deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq turn into thousands, there is a growing belief, both at home and abroad, that the war on terror in Iraq is as unlikely to lead to permanent change, as the Russia armed presence in Afghanistan led to any permanent change during the 1970s. Meanwhile, the hatred against the US among the world’s disenfranchised increases steadily—making yet another significant terrorist attack on U.S. soil, ever a greater probability. ------------ About the author Jon Aristides: Read, 'The Black Scarab of Amun-Ra'. Visit www.jon-aristides.net Email: aristidesjon2001@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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