Many US media outlets including guests on CNN and Wall Street Journal op-ed writers have opined that the world is on the brink of being engaged in a quasi third World War, the argument being that terrorists are targeting all states and nations, hence the brewing of a global war. Giving examples of terrorist acts in Spain, UK, USA, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, France, Turkey, Africa and Middle East they emphasize, indirectly, that Islamic extremist elements are on one side and the rest of the world is the other group. If we accept this, then this is a war of civilization- a concept presented in Samuel Huntington’s book ‘War of civilization’. For the sake of discussion, let’s accept these arguments and believe that the world is in a state of a Third World War. Now, let us analyze how this war is fought and what will be its implications.
The USA considered the act of 911 as a strike at its values of capitalism and democracy. Declaring itself as the aggrieved party, the USA being the world’s sole super power with unmatched economic and military strength, could not resist waging a war against an invisible enemy termed as Islamic terrorists. Ssince these terrorists did not belong to one country and were rather scattered in many different countries, this led the way for USA’s aggressive stance against Muslim populations at large. America’s war on terror has expanded from Afghanistan to Iraq to Lebanon, causing extensive destruction to attacked countries, claiming many lives and hungering for more. And worst of all, the crisis in these countries has deepened and the conflict has become more fierce.
In this new volatile situation, the West, a largely Christian society, is in armed conflict not with a particular state but with extremist Muslim organizations like the Hezbullah, Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda. Since these organizations have no sovereignty but are operating hidden among the masses of different nations, various methods are employed by the West to crush them. First, there is the approach of military operations against states that are considered sympathetic to extremist elements, including, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran. Second, there is the tactic of pressurizing Islamic states, like Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to weed out extremist elements from among its population, and be awarded economic incentives and lifting of sanctions. Third is the racial profiling of Muslim immigrants in western societies through special registration, deportations and monitoring of religious places. Countries enforcing such actions include, Britain, US and France.
In last five years, if we consider 911 to be the starting date of this war, the results are more troublesome than comforting. There has been a tremendous loss of civilian lives which is diplomatically often termed as collateral damage. The states cooperating with the West in cleaning up their societies of extremist elements are increasingly in danger of being upturned by the masses that are getting sympathetic to these religious organizations. The Western media’s labeling of all terrorists as Muslims is fueling resentment for the West. Racial profiling is fostering radical sentiments among second and third generations of Muslim youth. We have seen this in recent riots in Paris and terrorists acts in Britain. The US has so far prevented this to happen because of its successful integration of Muslim immigrants in its society. But these integration efforts got a jolt when special registration was announced for Muslim immigrants and the Patriotic Act was introduced which has allowed authorities, besides other things, to detain terror suspects for longer terms without court orders.
Usually a war ends when both parties are exhausted after incurring heavy loss of life and resources. We have seen this happen in two World Wars, the US invasion of Vietnam, the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and all other conflicts. This new war will be no different. Sadly, the United Nations, which is bifurcated in two worlds, will not be able to play any role here and will be as ineffective as it has been to solve other conflicts. Five permanent members who have their vested interests in all major conflicts in the world today control the main body of the UN, the Security Council. Recently there has been much talk of adding more permanent members to the Security Council but, unbelievably, the potential candidates do not include even a single Muslim country despite the fact that Muslims form almost 25% of the world population. This injustice will result in continued ineffectiveness of the UN. For the world to achieve lasting peace it is important that Muslim world get fair representation on this major world body. Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia- any one of these countries can capably represent the Muslim world.
Instead of resorting to armed intervention and racial profiling, West should engage with the Muslim world through its main organization, the Organization of Islamic Conference to reform the troubling societies and states in the Muslim world. Without this dialogue, peace will be uncertain and continued global conflict. All is still not lost if we make genuine efforts to attain peace and accept that each culture has to evolve their own system of governance based on their values developed over centuries.
Third World War in the offing? Many US media outl…
August 30, 2006 at 11:07 pm · Filed under Political Commentary
Third World War in the offing?
Many US media outlets including guests on CNN and Wall Street Journal op-ed writers have opined that the world is on the brink of being engaged in a quasi third World War, the argument being that terrorists are targeting all states and nations, hence the brewing of a global war. Giving examples of terrorist acts in Spain, UK, USA, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan, France, Turkey, Africa and Middle East they emphasize, indirectly, that Islamic extremist elements are on one side and the rest of the world is the other group. If we accept this, then this is a war of civilization- a concept presented in Samuel Huntington’s book ‘War of civilization’. For the sake of discussion, let’s accept these arguments and believe that the world is in a state of a Third World War. Now, let us analyze how this war is fought and what will be its implications.
The USA considered the act of 911 as a strike at its values of capitalism and democracy. Declaring itself as the aggrieved party, the USA being the world’s sole super power with unmatched economic and military strength, could not resist waging a war against an invisible enemy termed as Islamic terrorists. Ssince these terrorists did not belong to one country and were rather scattered in many different countries, this led the way for USA’s aggressive stance against Muslim populations at large. America’s war on terror has expanded from Afghanistan to Iraq to Lebanon, causing extensive destruction to attacked countries, claiming many lives and hungering for more. And worst of all, the crisis in these countries has deepened and the conflict has become more fierce.
In this new volatile situation, the West, a largely Christian society, is in armed conflict not with a particular state but with extremist Muslim organizations like the Hezbullah, Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda. Since these organizations have no sovereignty but are operating hidden among the masses of different nations, various methods are employed by the West to crush them. First, there is the approach of military operations against states that are considered sympathetic to extremist elements, including, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Iran. Second, there is the tactic of pressurizing Islamic states, like Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to weed out extremist elements from among its population, and be awarded economic incentives and lifting of sanctions. Third is the racial profiling of Muslim immigrants in western societies through special registration, deportations and monitoring of religious places. Countries enforcing such actions include, Britain, US and France.
In last five years, if we consider 911 to be the starting date of this war, the results are more troublesome than comforting. There has been a tremendous loss of civilian lives which is diplomatically often termed as collateral damage. The states cooperating with the West in cleaning up their societies of extremist elements are increasingly in danger of being upturned by the masses that are getting sympathetic to these religious organizations. The Western media’s labeling of all terrorists as Muslims is fueling resentment for the West. Racial profiling is fostering radical sentiments among second and third generations of Muslim youth. We have seen this in recent riots in Paris and terrorists acts in Britain. The US has so far prevented this to happen because of its successful integration of Muslim immigrants in its society. But these integration efforts got a jolt when special registration was announced for Muslim immigrants and the Patriotic Act was introduced which has allowed authorities, besides other things, to detain terror suspects for longer terms without court orders.
Usually a war ends when both parties are exhausted after incurring heavy loss of life and resources. We have seen this happen in two World Wars, the US invasion of Vietnam, the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and all other conflicts. This new war will be no different.
Sadly, the United Nations, which is bifurcated in two worlds, will not be able to play any role here and will be as ineffective as it has been to solve other conflicts. Five permanent members who have their vested interests in all major conflicts in the world today control the main body of the UN, the Security Council. Recently there has been much talk of adding more permanent members to the Security Council but, unbelievably, the potential candidates do not include even a single Muslim country despite the fact that Muslims form almost 25% of the world population. This injustice will result in continued ineffectiveness of the UN. For the world to achieve lasting peace it is important that Muslim world get fair representation on this major world body. Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia- any one of these countries can capably represent the Muslim world.
Instead of resorting to armed intervention and racial profiling, West should engage with the Muslim world through its main organization, the Organization of Islamic Conference to reform the troubling societies and states in the Muslim world. Without this dialogue, peace will be uncertain and continued global conflict. All is still not lost if we make genuine efforts to attain peace and accept that each culture has to evolve their own system of governance based on their values developed over centuries.
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