USA — The Super Power

USA is the lone Super Power. Land of opportunities, land of future-minded people home of nationalities, leader of free enterprise, bedrock of creations, America is revered by all. For many however, America is not the same after 9/11, not even for the Americans, America is the same after 9/11 tragedy.
It all started after the collapse of the Soviet Union, US became lonesome, subjective and inner-directed. American Administration now appears more excited, is showing less tolerance and is increasingly more stubborn on matters involving considerations, discussions and negotiations.
USA is on a crusade. The obsession for having an over-protected America surrounded by an allied world that stands in complete agreement with its economic and strategic interests, the inexplicable desire of securing overwhelming control over resource centres of the world and finally wiping out any known or anticipated opposition to its short and long-term interest, is being uncompromisingly pursued. The world is caught in the web of inevitability crippled with the demands of silence, people rendered as minions, the world led by the US is not the same that existed earlier.
With the withdrawal of the Soviet Forces from Afghanistan in late 1980s, the foundations of the Soviet Union had been badly shaken. The Union started crumbling soon after. Afghanistan, Pakistan with the help of USA had destroyed the might of the Soviet Armed Forces. Disintegration of the Soviet Union thus subsided the threat US faced from Communism as an ideology. US is unfavourable toward ideologies. Therefore, following these events, the US had now the task of building a free thinking capitalist world based on the principles of democracy and market economy and as leader of the free world, her immediate concern to establish economic and strategic control over the rest of the world made US Administration the defacto government of the world. Ten years into managing the affairs of the world US has not been able to make the world any freer or safer. Another more ruthless more menacing enemy, terrorism, stands nakedly in defiance. USA’s security concerns have multiplied. Notwithstanding, Bush administration’s reactions to security threats look over-stated, overweening and in fact intimidating. Immediately after 9/11, Bush administration distanced itself from the Muslims of Middle East and South Asia showing suspicion about Islam and its ideology. US fears another clash with ideology. It must therefore, prevent and for that it must, pre-empt by engaging people and countries where from the Islamic ideology draws its strength. US now plans to deploy its military and diplomatic resources to counter the intellectual and spiritual force of this ideology, focusing on changing perceptions, bringing in comparisons between conservatism and liberalism/modernism and between progressive approach and medieval approach.
Conclusions drawn from the 9/11 tragedy are far reaching in implication. Muslims as a community and Islam as Faith are being considered as part of the problem of terrorism and related security issues. US and its allies are preoccupied with symbolizing Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan as powerful forces behind the scene radicalizing generations of Islamic youth. Pre-occupied with Islamic terror, the force of Islamic ideology is considered to be much more formidable than the Communist ideology. Faith, fatalism and passionate appeal in morality being the motivating forces that make this ideology an oddly nostalgic kind, undeterred by diplomatic manoeuvring or economic manipulation or military authoritativeness. US cannot, under the circumstances disengage itself from this region neither ignore further impoverishment of the people. US has thus decided on hands-on management style, patronizing strong leadership and involving these countries in profitable business activities. The crisis precipitates an evolution more sensitive than ever. The internal dynamics of the force of this ideology it is considered is not only dangerous to the people of this region, possibly more dangerous in influencing others. USA’s forward leaning policy has ominous implications therefore. USA cannot ignore history. Persian civilization by historical record is a living civilization. It has all the indications of a living civilization having indigenous mineral and oil resources, water, land, homogenous population, common culture and common faith. Neighbouring Afghanistan is a nursery for warriors and invaders. People of Afghanistan are traditional and share a common heritage. They are deeply religious and nationalistic. People of the sub-continent belong to a river based civilization. They are essentially peace-loving, intectually and spiritually more advanced. West always thought sub-continent was a softer target. Following partition in 1947, sub-continent was left alone to exhaust fighting among themselves over unresolved issues. It was not envisioned that partitioning on the basis of religion could mean a change of a whole new way of life. It would affect a permanent divisioning in the thinking of the two people. Kashmir, the unfinished agenda of partition, though served the interests of the West, would become a source of hatred and permanent divide in logical thinking. Beginning as a human rights issue, the liberation of Kashmir is now a religious obligation and a Jihad against repression and injustice. West has realized its folly of not addressing the issue on its merit. Had they done so earlier the problem would not have taken a different course. After all people of the sub-continent had lived together for over 1000 years. Tension and congeniality existing side by side. Enmity with the worst of fears is feared to have been implanted to serve greater interests of the West. Only after history has taken a complete turn, today the West is fearful of the level to which the enmity and hatred among the two nations has reached. The crisis of an impending clash of ideologies with the potentials of its growing into clash of cultures and clash of civilizations is showing its signs. The likelihood of the secularists and the idealists clashing is now not a remote possibility.
The message of US securing physical control over resource centres of the world may finally be getting through to the rest of the world. US has rejected the notion of treaties and agreements. US intends stationing its forces for logistic control over Middle East and Central Asian Oil sources. Control in Middle East should give USA the leverage to watch over Iranian and Iraqi oil production and supply. Control in Central Asia strengthens US posiiton vis-a-vis Russian, Chinese, European and Japanese positions over international economic affairs.
Suffice it to say, USA has a huge responsibility towards the rest of the world. The world is not perfect either and there are many contradictions. Some say economics is more important than ideology and some say without ideology civil society would disintegrate. Management is a high-risk affair. Goodwill gesture go nowhere without justice and respect for human rights. How will USA continue to consume more than half of the world resources and not expect the rest of the world to rise in protest. Could at the same time, US ignore the requiremrent of meeting the increasing demands of its economy and the growing needs of its people. Limitations and imperfections are reducing US options. It has to beat back the attitudes of its “Vietnam generations”. Clash between values cannot be risked to inaction either. Such are the kinds of problem US is loading itself with. Will it remain sustainable for her, is a huge question.
With all due respects to the American people, one cannot ignore the far-out ideas of futuristic models of states and nations. If one were to go by the theory of Ibne-Khuldun, 12th Century Muslim scholar from Morocco whose writings compiled in the book “Muqqadima”, theorizes that civilizations/states have a life span like the life span of a human being. He says that human beings have a life span of 120 years (approx) and in contrast civilizations/states have life span three times the life of a human being. Thereby meaning that civilizations/states live for 300-400 years (approx) before fading out. Some civilizations after they fade away become dead civilization like Aztec civilization of Central America. Others like Persian, Indian, Chinese, Egyptian etc are living civilizations capable of rising again. This might create a stir, but by this account USA has gone past its zenith and could be on the decline now. It might take 100 - 150 years more before USA fades away as a state/empire.
The theory reflects an evolution in arranged thinking but it cannot vouch for a perfect future. Our faith in progress, nevertheless, must remain steadfast and our immediate concern, so long as USA reigns as the only Super Power, should be to keep hoping that USA works for the good of mankind and will not let the world get engaged in conflicts of ideological, cultural and civilizational nature.