A new form of Talibanism

The new world order is such that whenever an American president gets into trouble, at home, the countries perceived to be hostile to the US fear hails of bombs. Trump, following his recent impeachment, wants to do a Captain America and shore up his crumbling image in view of the next presidential election. He is all out to provoke Iran into providing him with a casus belli so that he can clear the US missile stocks nearing their use-by dates. As part of his strategy, last week, he had Iranian General Qassem Suleimani assassinated while the latter was in Iraq.

The New York Times informs us that when Trump’s top military advisers offered the option to kill Suleimani, they assumed it would be rejected as too extreme. This is hard to believe. They know Trump, and all of them are hawks. They want another bloody war to make money and show off their military might so as to make America feel great, give a boost to the US military industry and frighten the world into submission.

Following the recent US drone strike on Suleimani, Trump has threatened to unleash hell on Iran in case of retaliatory attacks. Thus, he wants Iran to take US aggression lying down. Trump tweeted that among the 52 Iranian targets the US had earmarked for attacks were cultural sites. He threatened that Iran would be ‘hit very fast and very hard’.

Iranian culture is part of the world heritage, which must be protected. Not even the Fuhrer singled out cultural sites in enemy territories for bombing raids. It may be recalled that perturbed by attacks on places of historical and cultural significance, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution, in 2017, condemning the destruction of such places. The US is no respecter of the UN or its resolutions, which only smaller nations are required to abide by.

Is there any difference between a person who is ready to obliterate world heritage sites, and the Taliban terrorists who destroyed the Bamiyan Buddha statues? Reflected in Trump’s tweeted threat is a new form of Talibanism.

Trump has incurred much international opprobrium for his plans to attack cultural sites in Iran. He has been warned that such action would amount to a war crime. The recent US drone attack on General Suleimani in Iraq, which he visited as a state guest, was a war crime in itself, and it should be treated as such. It will be interesting to see the reaction of the self-proclaimed defenders of human rights when they meet at what Trump’s America has dubbed the cesspit of political bias (read the UNHRC).

Meanwhile, Iran has pulled all the stops for its nuclear programme. Tehran has announced that there will be no restrictions whatsoever on uranium enrichment, production, research and expansion. The world is already an extremely dangerous place thanks to the existing nuke stockpiles. There must be no additions thereto. A nuclear capable Iran will only aggravate the situation, but it is not the only threat. Each and every nation with nuclear weapons is a danger. The US has already nuked two populace cities—Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The problem with the ongoing nuclear disarmament programme is that it is aimed at furthering the interests of the members of the western nuclear club, which wants to retain its vice-like grip on the world by preventing other nations from acquiring nuclear capability.

In a dramatic turn of events replete with irony, Iraqi lawmakers have voted to expel US troops. Their resolution reads: "The Iraqi government must work to end the presence of any foreign troops on Iraqi soil and prohibit them from using its land, air space or water for any reason." The countries planning to sign agreements to permit US military presence on their soil, among other things, should take serious notice of the recent US drone attack in Iraq and the aforesaid resolution passed by the Iraqi Parliament.

Courtesy-The Island