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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (44702)	9/27/2003 4:34:17 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

Wearied thoughts Daily news is very tedious to follow because of the hype involved to keep the public interested and spirited in issues, whose conclusion is already predetermined. I think the key for any good weblogger is to discern the underlying trends rather than merely commenting on daily news, which are outdated the next day. Blogosphere is vigorously discussing General Clarke however it's very futile since it is obvious Bush will be reelected hands down if only because the American public won't change horses mid stream. There is such a myopic focus on the daily events that it is very rare to see a comprehensive overview of where the world is and case in point is Iraq. The mounting coverage of "suicide attacks", when only 79 American lives have been lost since the liberation campaign (an anamoly in the history of warfare) belies the success underpinning the campaign. Iraq has been set on a course, which has fundamental geopolitical ramifications, but the media seems intent on reporting the minutiae of Iraqi life, which has no geo-strategic relevance. Of course there's going to be a rough transition period and it was pretty a no-brainer that the weapons of mass destruction were going to be hard to find but Iraqi liberation has a domino effect much in the same way the campaign of Afghanistan significantly strengthened Pakistan. An intelligent observer will discern the reassertion of Baghdad's legacy as the capital of the Islamic world. When Arab dissidents search for refuge it will be in Iraq and ultimately the nation is being groomed as the intellectual capital of Islam. Five years hence Iraq will be the doyenne of Arabia and will be an anchor much in the same Japan is for East Asia. America built guided East Asia to economic dominance and reconstructed Europe to emerge as the anchors of stability (the shortterm tensions between EU and the states is anamolous and can be disregarded) and that is the genius of American geo-political strategy since it nutures regional anchors to ensure global harmony. To borrow a particularly insightful thought from my father, "American power is soft power" and its imperialism is never in the form of conquest. This is the fundamental departure of the "American Empire" from its previous counterparts since America conquers through the promotion of her culture and the way of life. The Iraq bulwark is meant to integrate the Middle East into Pax Americana by allowing Iraqis to introduce Middle Easterners to quintessential American values and products. America does not need to conquer Saudi Arabia but it will be when and it might have already I'll have to review the data) the latter nation is importing American products and allowing American companies on its soil. The military exercise is tangential when it comes to disseminating American influence rather it is effected by trade and culture. The EU may shrilly protest but it's economic interdependence on the United States is to the degree that it has already integrated into Pax Americana without realising it. The American economy is so huge that it is dependent on no single nations but virtually every nation and region in the world depends on it's success. Rational actors may not consciously acknowledge this reality but will subliminally be forced to incorporate this reality when drafting policy decisions. "American imperialism" has been to secure every critical region of the world and isolate pariahs. It has done admirably and Iraq is not a departure from this policy because every nation in the Middle East is a god damn pariah. Israel was too alien to the Middle East to serve as a regional anchor of stability and has a very limited influence on neighbouring populations and powers. Such is the anathema and isolation that ultimately Israel is an European enclave in an Arab land and will be unable to integrate into the ME landscape. The only way for America to secure the ME is to establish a willing foothold from to palpably demonstrate the American way of life. Rather than continue the disastrous and destructive policy of Israel project pax Americana to the Middle Easterners it is better for the Arab street to see it the effects of American benevolence on their indigenous Arab Iraqi kin. Zachary Latif 09:21