Its interesting to watch “Diplomacy” . Nobody supported the US in its dominating brute force to bomb Syria.
UK Refused , The G 20 refused , UN refused , the Polls showed that the majority of people in US oppose a strike against Syria – and then suddenly Mrs Clinton wakes up and appears with a possible solution that if Syria returns its Chemical weapons then the matter could possible be resolved.
I am making an assumption here – but I feel that a lot of bombs in the US armory are reaching their expiry date . The Iraq, Afghanistan wars are over and the Arms lobby is itching to keep the factories humming. A war has always been good for the US economy and a Democrat President supporting the Arms lobby is a slap in the face for the Republicans – so its a double winner.
Obama has been an extraordinary individual and leader – but his ( or was it Kerry) war mongering has taken many by surprise. The image he has built till date is that of a sensible , logical , mature leader. Not a Texan cowboy who screams that he will ” smoke em out of their holes”
So is Obama a genius who has played a masterstroke. Till date no President has taken congressional support before launching military action – Reagan did not seek authorization in 1983 before the invasion of Grenada , Bush did not seek authorization before attacking Panama in 1989 , even Bill Clinton did not seek approval from Congress before authorizing airstrikes in Yugoslavia in 1999. So why is he seeking Congress approval this time ? Is it the fear of Guilt, or is he just playing a brilliant games and winning popularity from all quarters.
The Syria war is nothing but a power struggle between Iran (Shia) and Saudi Arabia ( Sunni). Iran threatens the power of the Saudis, it is a bigger threat to Israel & and the US is more than happy to join the party – and project itself as a saviour of the world. 9 / 11 was caused by bombers from Saudi, UAE , Egypt – but Afghanistan was bombed. There were no WMD in Iraq , but on mere suspicion Iraq was hammered . Its the same story now about Syria.
Whats the US track record on Chemical weapons. Not very healthy. Way back in 1966 the US used Chemical weapons in Vietnam. Israel attacked Palestinian Civilians with White Phosphorus in 2008 – 2009. Washington attacked Iraqi Civilians with White Phosphorus in 2004. But did you hear of the UN or the Global Media make any noise about this
(Read about all this & more in http://www.policymic.com/articles/62023/10-chemical-weapons-attacks-washington-doesn-t-want-you-to-talk-about)
Which brings me to the topic of Leadership Vs Dictatorship.
When you think of a Dictator – the first names that comes to your mind are Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini , Pol Pot , etc.
But what about Churchill , Indra Gandhi , Margaret Thatcher, Putin – they are or where equally powerful in crushing dissent and ensuring that their will was always enforced. I wonder what makes them men & women of steel and not dictators.
Who is not a dictator or desires to be a dictator. 99 % of Indian Husbands are dictators at home, Ask a teenage girl and she will say her mother is a dictator, the CEO of every company just has to raise his voice or glare and dissent vanishes – he is also a dictator. Almost every CM in India has shown dictatorial powers. Every MP , MLA , Zamindar, every Panchayat & Ward leader have exhibited strong tendency of being dictators. Like the TISCO ad we may say ” there is a little bit of a dictator in every one of us”
Its natural that every leader wants to dominate and get his way …. always , so whats the difference between leadership & dictatorship.
The world despises dictators – we shun them – its even a crime to praise them. The Indian media and the INC say that Modi shows dictatorial powers. So shun him.
Then we should shun the powerful rulers of the Middle east – they are dictators , they don’t even give freedom to the women in their own country. We should not allow the roads in Delhi to be named Aurangzeb Marg – after all he was a notorious brutal dictator. So was every Mughal King. So was Tipu Sultan. So were the Hindu rulers of J&K . So why do we hold them in respect – every King has been a ruthless dictator. We should ban them from the pages of history rather than eulogize them.
In conclusion its all about diplomacy , real politik and who controls the media. the US can attack Syria and use their dictatorial might over the world to get away with it. Its all about how you position it and spin a story – finally the line between Leadership & Dictatorship is indeed very fine.
