The hypocrisy must end

Amidst simmering tension with Iran, the United States has deployed F-22 stealth fighters in Qatar for the first time. Washington insists that they have been deployed to defend American armed forces and interests. It is not clear as to how many hi-tech planes were deployed but a photo released to the media indicates that at least five lethal fighter jets have been readied.

The military build-up in the region has greatly worried pacifists across the world that were celebrating a de-escalation in Korean peninsula where Trump had a pleasant meeting with Kim Jong-un. It seems that the US is trying to calm one battlefield and heat up another.

The treatment being meted out to North Korea indicates that the world listens to military might. A peaceful pursuance of one’s goals is not appreciated in the world of power politics. A country that carried out nuclear detonations and missile tests, defying all international pressures and norms, is greeted with open arms while another state that adhered to international laws and honoured the nuclear agreement is punished with sabre rattling.

This attitude reflects the hypocrisy of the Western world, in particular that of the US. But what they need to remember is that it will lead to more lawlessness. It will render all international norms irrelevant besides encouraging other states to seek more military power in order to make their presence felt at international levels.

It is not the first time that the US is punishing a country for giving up its ambition to become a nuclear power. Iraq, Libya and Syria are the other examples. Iraq was first pushed towards a situation where it had to seek nuclear arms with the help of the sanctimonious West. It was later encouraged to invade Kuwait, only to be swiftly expelled from the invaded country but the story did not end there. Its retreating soldiers were ruthlessly targeted by the allied forces and the country was slapped with inhumane sanctions that not only crippled its economy but led to the deaths of close to half a million of its children.

A vigorous campaign was launched to dismantle the little nuclear infrastructure that the Arab state may have developed. A number of UN officials verified that the country did not have any weapons of mass destruction but despite all that Iraq was once again attacked. More than 2.5 million people have perished because of the illegal invasion and the sectarian war partly triggered by this aggression. Millions more were displaced but no weapons of mass destruction were ever found. George Bush, Tony Blair and their tedious acolytes who should have been in The Hague facing war crimes are now strutting around the world lecturing nations on the principles of international law, democracy and human rights.

Libya also once aspired to be a nuclear state, abandoning its plan to normalize ties with the Western world. Colonel Qaddafi, the military ruler of the country, was greeted by the biggest champion of human rights Tony Blair, after the Arab ruler decided to strike an arms deal with London. But Qaddafi’s decision to give up the ambition of acquiring nuclear arms was rewarded in a devastating way. One of the most advanced Arab states with an excellent human development index was reduced to ashes. Fanatical brigands were encouraged to occupy large swaths of the territory right under the nose of Nato and Western countries. The country turned into a hub of human smugglers. Many wonder that had Qaddafi really acquired nuclear arms, would the West have dared to attack Libya?

The ruins of Syria also suggest the same. Damascus once also harboured a desire to be a nuclear power. It was one of the most powerful Arab states in the 1960s and 1970s, inspiring Arab nationalists all over the region. Once it gave up its plan to go nuclear, it was flooded with fanatical bands of jihadis, many of whom were from Western countries. The country lost more than 500,000 people besides witnessing the displacement of over 11 million people. The ancient buildings reflecting its glorious past have been reduced to ashes. The country is still grappling with the effects of the civil war partly triggered by the Western powers. The defeated jihadis made their way to countries like Afghanistan right under the watch of the Nato troops despite facing a drubbing in their Syrian bases.

Now the West is rewarding Iran for adhering to a nuclear deal that was authored by its own people. It is turning a blind eye to Israel which is believed to have more than 200 nuclear weapons and carrying out illegal settlements in the occupied territories but it seems to have a bogged determination to teach a lesson to Tehran for respecting the nuclear treaty. The International Atomic Energy Commission and all other independent bodies have confirmed that Iran has not violated the nuclear treaty brokered by the West. Even then the US is fuelling tension in the region which might culminate in a conflagration.

Such a situation stokes fears that the world is helpless against American unilateralism. The European Union, despite being the biggest economic bloc, is unable to prevent Washington from following a disastrous path. This has created an impression that the EU just toes the line of the war-mongers sitting in the power corridors of Washington. Earlier it was the UK that would be amenable to the idea of following American dictation. During the Iraqi invasion, it emerged as an obedient follower of US policy. France and Germany expressed a little reservation but after the invasion when they were denied a share in the plundering of Iraq, they realized that they should also side with the US when it comes to the illegal acts of Washington.

Despite the fact that the Japanese shipping companies, whose tankers were recently attacked, contradict the American claims that the attack was carried out by Tehran, Germany and the UK appear ready to buy this American claim. This clearly indicates that the EU has also joined hands with Washington in targeting Tehran. This would erode whatever credibility the EU has. If it cannot defend an agreement brokered by Brussels, what else can it defend? This will make developing countries sceptical towards the tall claims of Brussels that Europe believes in respecting international law, diplomatic norms and dignity of global institutions.

The world has already suffered a lot because of Western hypocrisy, a selective use of human rights and discriminatory application of international laws. It is time that the West, the EU in particular, made hectic efforts to avoid the looming conflict in the Middle East which is already reeling under the effects of the civil wars in Libya, Syria and Iraq. The EU should not be lured into believing that the war would be short. In fact, any attack on Iran would spell unimaginable destruction. It is true that Tehran may not be able to counter the superior US military power but it has potential to harm American and Western interests in the region and elsewhere.

Any military confrontation with Tehran will quickly escalate into a regional conflict. The Shia communities in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Oman and Saudi Arabia are likely to throw their support behind Tehran. Those living in the Western world will not sit idle either and may go to any extent to protect the theocratic state – not because they love the Iranian clerics but to safeguard one of the holiest places of the second major sect of Islam. Therefore, by making hectic efforts aimed at avoiding the conflict, the West can not only save the world from a looming catastrophe but can also dispel the impression that it is hypocritical in dealing with states.

The writer is a freelance journalist.

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