Hypocrisy, double speak, double standards and wars are what characterise western policy and treatment of the Muslim world. Political leaders in America and Britain suffer from "colonial arrogance" syndrome. It renders sufferers incapable of tolerating such countries having an independent foreign policy. Total obedience is required at all times, threatening military action if those countries do not toe the line. An American politician summarised it as a carrot and stick policy with the carrot being not to use the stick. Contrast that with their policy towards Israel, where violations of international law, war crimes and its oppression of Palestinians in occupied Palestine hardly raise a murmur from American and British leaders.
Moreover, do not think you can rely on the United Nations, or the International Criminal Court to redress any grievances you Muslims may have. We, the powerful nations, and our allies will simply ignore the judgement, use our veto to protect our friends, and if necessary change the law to ensure that our friends are not arrested for war crimes. The cynicism with which politicians in America and Britain treat international law is breathtaking.
British and American politicians will talk incessantly about human rights, yet, with their wars, they violate with impunity the right to life and security of millions in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. They have the superior technology to ensure that the wars they conduct in Muslim countries will have a minimum impact on the lives of their own citizens.
America and Britain have resorted to wars with obscene eagerness and they care not a jot for the millions of lives that are blighted for generations. The deaths of tens of thousands of innocents are referred to as collateral damage. The media, with some notable exceptions, have conducted no interviews with victims' family members because that might give people in the West a chance to empathise with their loss, sorrow and their blighted and insecure future; that would not do, as it would fuel the considerable opposition to futile and immoral wars that are not serving their interest.
Western politicians rely on their powerful friends in the media and those in the war lobby, to whom wars and conflict present opportunities to make profit, to sanitise wars and present them as heroic enterprises necessary for the protection of the country. The fantasies, lies, distortion and justifications know no bounds. The cries and tears of children and widows left without any means of support cause politicians in America and Britain hardly a sleepless night. On the contrary, those politicians continue to prosper after leaving office from consultancies, lecture tours and book deals, and are treated with awe and respect. Instead of being shunned and ostracised for his illegal war on Iraq, Tony Blair's views are being sought at a cost of $250,000 for a 90-minute speech. Instead of being tried as a war criminal, he was made the Middle East peace envoy, oh, the obscenity of it all.
Conducting two wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as a response to 9/11, with massive loss of innocent Muslim lives, is the dumbest thing America and Britain could have done as it has given a shot in the arm to international terrorism. Addressing genuine grievances and injustices, believing in the universality of human rights, respect for the rule of law, and avoiding double standards in dealing with nations and individuals should become the guiding principles of America and Britain. Now that, in parallel with good intelligence and effective policing, is the moral and smart way to fight international terrorism.
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