By Sajjad Shaukat
The former Soviet Union
which had subjugated ethnic and religious communities in various provinces and
regions through its military, disintegrated in 1991. Even, its nuclear weapons
could not save its collapse. One of the major causes of the disintegration of
the former Russian Empire was that its greater defence expenditures exceeded to
the maximum, resulting in economic crises inside the country. In this regard,
about a prolonged war in Afghanistan, the former President Gorbachev had
declared it as the “bleeding wound.” While learning no lesson, in one way or
the other, the US has been acting upon the similar policies which led to the
demise of the Soviet Union.
Post-Napoleonic era in
Europe proves that it is not possible to suppress the wars of liberation
through military terrorism. In that context, Prince Metternich, emperor of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire did what he could by subjugating the alien peoples by
employing every possible techniques of state terrorism. According to Indian
historian, Mahahin, Matternich had to admit that he was fighting for a useless
cause, and the empire disintegrated, resulting in the independence of Italy,
Bulgaria and other states whose secret societies had been waging wars of
liberation. In the recent past, despite the employment of unlimited atrocities
by the President Milosevic, collapse of the former Yugoslavia could not be
stopped.
However, a recent report
points out, approximately $1.7 trillion has been spent by the United States on
the global war on terror from 2001 to start of 2016. These are supplemental
funds that are in addition to the base budget for the Department of Defense.
This different war further added to the $18 trillion US debt. It does not
include the expenses incurred by other departments, such as the FBI or State
Department, or the cost to run Homeland Security.
Various sources such as
the Congressional Research Service and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
(May 2015) state, “In the last 13 years, the United States has spent a total of
$1.6 trillion financing military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and
other theaters of the global war on terror. The U.S. government’s massive
spending sum includes the cost of military operations, the training of security
forces in Afghanistan and Iraq, reconstruction, weapons maintenance, base
support, foreign aid, embassy costs, and veterans’ health care...the
decade-long wars in the Middle East would eventually cost American taxpayers as
much as $6 trillion...training and equipment for Iraqi and Syrian opposition
forces” will further increase the US cost of war...the true cost of the War on
Terror also added to the lost jobs that could have been created with those
funds. Every $1 billion spent on defense creates 8,555 jobs and adds $565
million to the economy...another major share of the long-term costs of the wars
comes from paying off trillions of dollars in debt incurred as the U.S.
government failed to include their cost in annual budgets and simultaneously
implemented sweeping tax cuts for the rich.”
In fact, learning no
lesson from the flawed policies of Bush, such as failure of the project of
globalization, failure of power factor or force in coping with terrorists, more
terror attacks by Al-Qaeda in various regions of the world and demoralization
of the US troops in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama continued state
terrorism and extrajudicial killings of the innocent persons through
illegitimate drone attacks—assisting undemocratic forces, the return of a
military strongman in Egypt by toppling the elected government, and like Iraq,
creation of more failed states such as Libya, Syria, Yemen etc. which opened
the door for Al-Qaeda and ISIL activists. In these terms, after 14 years of the
protracted war, a perennial wave of attacks on the US and NATO installations
and ambush assaults on their military personnel by the Taliban in Afghanistan,
terror-attacks on Christians in Nigeria and other African countries including
Iraq—sectarian violence and some terror-attacks inside America, France and UK
deteriorated the global war on terror. Thus, besides reduction of the US
bargaining leverage on small countries like North Korea, Venezuela, Uzbekistan,
Cuba etc. who have rejected American undue pressure on a number of issues and
matters, and leakage of Transpacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), (An
agreement to suppress sovereign democratic rights in favour of multinational
corporations), President Obama caused political and economic instability in the
world, jeopardizing the American regional and global interests.
President Barack Obama
campaigned on defense reduction, but his spending on war on terror since 2010
is $719.3 billion, as compare to President Bush's expenditure of $921.4
billion. Deficit spending intensified. It was more than $100 billion a
year until 2012, and greater than $50 billion annually through 2016. Reducing
deficit resulted into to conflict within Congress, and in 2013, tea party
Republicans shut down the government.
A study conducted by
Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies have indicated
America’s “wastage of billions of dollars on the reconstruction of Afghanistan,
private contractors like Blackwater in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan...linked
to bribery, questionable contract awards, and outright theft...those costs have
been hidden from public view.”
Besides, support to the
rebels, Kurds, Al-Qaeda and ISIS (Islamic State group) terrorists in Iraq,
Libya, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the world, including covert operations of
the CIA worsened the US financial crisis.
The Department of
Defense has
spent more than $2.7
billion—some $9 million per day—since the US began operations against the ISIS
in 2013 which reached $14 million per day to combat ISIS in fiscal year 2015.
As the military campaign
against the Islamic State expands into Syria, its cost will increase as well.
According to one defense spending expert, “The United States’ war on the
militant group could now be costing taxpayers up to $1.5 billion a month. The
training and equipping the Kurdish ground forces and moderate militants of
Syria and those in Saudi Arabia to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will
cost more than $ 5 billion.”
Some recent developments
have clearly exposed the double game of the US-led West. The Russia-led
coalition which have successfully been achieving its objectives have broken the
backbone of the ISIS terrorists, Al-Qaeda’s Al-Nusra Front and the rebels who
have vacated most of the areas of Syria and Iraq. On February 3, this year,
Syrian troops backed by Russian warplanes cut the last supply route, linking
rebels and ISIS militants in Aleppo city. Aleppo is near the Turkish border
from where with the assistance of the US-led west (Especially, UK and France),
Turkey has also been supporting the rebels and ISIS terrorists, while Saudi
Arabia and some other Gulf countries like are funding them to oust Assad.
Meanwhile, rift has also
been created between the US and its close NATO ally Turkey, when on February
10, 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out at the US over its
support for Syria’s main Kurdish group, saying, “The failure to recognise the
Democratic Union Party (PYD) as a terrorist group is creating a “sea of blood”
in Syria. He explained, “The PYD, on which the US relies to battle so-called
Islamic State in Syria, is an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party.”
Notably, by concealing
their clandestine aims, the US and its European allies were blaming Russia to
sabotage Geneva the talks on Syria. Meanwhile, big power agreed on February 12,
this year at Munich to seek ceasefire and a nationwide “cessation of
hostilities” in Syria. But, Turkey continues its massive shelling against
Kurdish targets in northwest Syria. Now, Washington and Paris have called on
Ankara to stop bombardment and vacate the Syrian air base recently retaken from
Islamist rebels, pointing out that it will disrupt the Munich settlement. At
the same time, with the covert backing of the US, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are
planning to start a ground offensive in Syria. In other words, escalation of
the conflict will further increase the cost of the US different war.
Besides, in the
post-Paris attacks of November 13, 2015 in wake of the anti-Muslim developments
like the propaganda of the so-called threat of Islamophobia, persecution of the
Muslims in the US, Europe and some other western countries, exaggeration of the
threat of ISIS terrorists etc., America and its western allies (NATO) have
united against Russia. Now, as part of their ambivalent approach, American jet
fighters and those of its western coalition are targeting the ISIS terrorists
in Iraq and Syria. However, coupled with the double game towards Al-Qaeda and
ISIS, such an irresponsible approach of the US-led western politicians will
expand the course of the different war—will invite more terror attacks in the
US and Europe, giving a larger setback to the economy of their countries, and
being the largest economy, the US which have already been facing fiscal crisis
will be badly affected.
Taking cognisance of the
grievances of the international community, and the sole superpower’s
injustices, Russian President Vladimir Putin is rapidly restoring the balance
of power in the world. In this context, a new cold war between America and
Russia has started in the world. In this connection, Russia which also has
China’s support, though Beijing does not openly show, is in better position
than the US and its western (NATO) allies who are also entangled in Afghanistan
and the Middle East. This cold war will enhance American expenditures by
deepening the US momentary problems, while it is already been becoming difficult
for the sole superpower to maintain its military bases abroad.
It is noteworthy that on
August 16, 2007, during the annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO), their leaders displayed strength against the rising
dominance of the US in the region, and called for a multi-polar system in the
world. President Putin had even proposed defense cooperation among the member
states. Participating in the Summit in 2015, Pakistan and Iran got permanent
membership of the SCO which is seen as anti-American club.
While, in case of
Afghanistan, there are several groups of Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Taliban like the
Afghan-based Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Some of them are being
used by secret agencies like CIA, Israeli Mossad and Indian RAW to obtain the
collective and individual designs of their countries against Pakistan and
Middle Eastern countries. India and Israel which
want to prolong the stay of the US-led NATO troops in Afghanistan which have
become the center of covert activities, are manipulating their dual policy,
particularly of America against Pakistan, China and Iran. Terrorists of ISIS
and TTP which are strategic assets of the CIA have claimed
responsibility for several terror attacks inside Pakistan, including at
Charsadda’s university of Pakistan and recent ones in Afghanistan. In these
adverse circumstances, especially, American strategy to boost up the defence of
India to counterbalance China will fail, as instability in the region will give
a blow to the US interests.
On February 2, 2016, US
Secretary of Defence Ash Carter announced the US plans to increase
significantly its military presence in Europe to (Eastern Europe), saying that
it would lead to a quadrupling of funding to 3.4 billion US dollars in 2017 for
the US force posture in Europe, and would be a timely and significant
contribution to NATO’s collective defence, and security of Europe.
On the other side, while
describing financial problems like sharp decline in stock prices, less
available credit etc., the US Federal Reserve
Chair Janet Yellen made clear in congressional testimony on February 10, 2016
by stating, “The United States have recently become less supportive of
growth...she sees an economy that faces
increased risk.”
It is of particular
attention that there is a co-relationship of the US internal and external
policies. In this respect, on January 12, 2016, John W. Whitehead wrote in The
Huffington Post, “Only 1 in 5 Americans trust the government...the majority of
the people are not quite ready to ditch the American experiment in liberty.
Indeed, Americans may not approve the jobs being done by their elected leaders,
they are working themselves into a frenzy over the upcoming presidential
election, with contributions to the various candidates nearing $ 500 million...the
government has shown itself to be corrupt, abusive, hostile to citizens who
disagree, as Barack Obama’s tenure in the White House shows...no matter how
much hope and change were promised, what we’ve ended up with something worse:
an invasive, authoritarian surveillance state armed and ready to eliminate any
opposition. The state of our nation has become more bureaucratic, more
debt-ridden, more violent, more militarized, more fascist, more lawless, more
invasive, more corrupt, more untrustworthy, more mired in war, and more
unresponsive to the wishes and needs of the electorate...the government’s
arsenal is growing. While the Obama administration is working to limit the
public’s access to guns by pushing for greater gun control, it’s doing little to
scale back on the federal government’s growing of firepower and
militarized equipment. The national debt is growing. In fact, it’s almost
doubled during Obama’s time in office to nearly $20 trillion.”
He elaborated,
“Meanwhile, almost half of Americans are struggling to save for emergencies and
retirement, 43% can't afford to go more than one month without a paycheck, and
24% have less than $250 in their bank accounts preceding payday...over half a
million in the U.S. are homeless and half of them are elderly, the American
police state’s payroll is expanding. The prison population is growing at an
alarming rate...the nation’s infrastructure...railroads, water pipelines,
ports, dams, bridges, airports and roads...is rapidly deteriorating...the
expense of those endless wars in Afghanistan and Iraq will cost taxpayers$ 4
trillion to $ 6 trillion.”
Nevertheless, the cost
of these long-term military engagements purely in terms of dollar will
accelerate multiple problems of Americans, including casualties and frustration
in troops and their families, which will further add to the internal problems
of America, especially backfiring on the ordinary Americans.
It is notable that the
US is homeland of various communities, divided on ethnic, religious and
linguistic lines, having affiliations with their own groups. In this regard, in
his book, “Who Are We? The Challenges to America’s National Identity,” Samuel Huntington opines, America was founded by
British settlers who brought with them a distinct culture...the English
language, Protestant values, individualism, religious commitment...the waves of
immigrants later came to the United States gradually accepted these values and
assimilated into America's Anglo-Protestant culture. More recently, however,
our national identity has been eroded by the problems of assimilating massive
immigration from Latin America, especially Mexico might lead to the bifurcation
of the United States.”
Returning to our earlier
discussion, the President Gorbachev had called Afghanistan a “bleeding wound”
which culminated into collapse of the former Russia. In the same sense, global
war on terror is likely to prove “bleeding wound” for the US which is moving on
the Soviet Union’s tract of disintegration.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on
international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants,
Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email:
sajjad_logic_pak@hotmail.com
Courtesy Veterans Today
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