The age old adage that “history repeats itself” has been a maxim to those that are attempting to understand how we can change the future - and in the face of conflicts developing throughout the world, how we can implement a peace process that will be achievable and sustainable. The task is daunting, but it can be accomplished with an effort that spans the world, not just a loose assortment of peace activists that do not have the power or resources to achieve their goals. This is a task that must become a worldwide effort, and hopefully, some of those objectives could soon become reality.
The Mainstream News Media, our own government, and even some of the brightest political minds in the country are missing the picture as a whole, and instead are concentrating on individual nations they believe threaten peace – when in reality, there is a much broader issue developing, and it’s the broader challenges we must tackle to make any meaningful impact on achieving peace. To understand how to change our future, it’s necessary to thoroughly examine the past, analyze similar situations, and develop a strategy based on past experiences that effectively targets those issues that threaten peace on a global basis. Ignoring history has been the fault of humankind for ages – and to survive, we cannot keep making the same mistakes.
The broader issue I speak of is specifically four nations, whose governments are unstable, and in each nation, the people themselves are becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their leadership – and the cries for change are being muffled by their respective nations as best they can – although to a large degree, those efforts are becoming ineffective and the governmental heads of state are scrambling to bring calm and find ways to quell the dissatisfaction of their respective populations. This is where our knowledge of history and the probabilities for war can be found, and knowing how they have been addressed in the past can offer insight as to how to address the situations in a manner that will not turn into a global conflict.
Consider the internal strife that is present in the United States, Israel, Iran, and Pakistan:
The United States: President George W. Bush and his Vice President, now commonly referred to as Darth (Dick Cheney) Vader have lost the trust of a nation, have reshaped a nation that was once a leader in democratic principles, and now both stand in defiance of Congress, the Geneva Convention, and the people themselves. America is now effectively a fascist nation, and the people have no control over their destiny, which is decided by corporations and the dynasty families that have enriched themselves off the backs of the less fortunate. For all practical purposes, democracy is now dead in America.
Israel: Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is in trouble. His support in public opinion polls is somewhere around one or two percent. More support is given to Arkady Gaydamak, a Russian billionaire who made his money selling arms to one side or another in Angola’s civil war, is wanted for tax evasion France, and under investigation here for money laundering. Gaydamak’s popularity derives from his high profile ownership of a sports team, and contributions to distressed groups that have fallen through the government’s welfare nets.
Olmert’s most immediate problems come from an announcement by the official commission investigating last year’s war in Lebanon. It will make an interim report next month that will include personal comments about the figures who took prominent roles in the decisions to go to war, and to manage the war. One can wonder why the commission is giving such advance notice about what is likely to be a damning report. It has prompted a month-long period of speculation about the worst. Politicians are upping their attacks on the prime minister and the defense minister, and positioning themselves to take over. MORE
Pakistan: WASHINGTON (CNN) — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf — a key U.S. ally — is less popular in his own country than al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, according to a poll of Pakistanis conducted last month by an anti-terrorism organization.
Additionally, nearly three-fourths of poll respondents said they oppose U.S. military action against al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan, according to results from the poll conducted by the independent polling organization Terror Free Tomorrow.
“We have conducted 23 polls all over the Muslim world, and this is the most disturbing one we have conducted,” said Ken Ballen, the group’s head. “Pakistan is the one Muslim nation that has nuclear weapons, and the people who want to use them against us — like the Taliban and al Qaeda — are more popular there than our allies like Musharraf.” MORE
Iran: The powerful Ali Akbar Velayati, the diplomatic adviser to the Supreme Leader, said he didn’t like the replacement one bit. Even worse: regarding the appalling record of the Ahmadinejad presidency when it comes to the economy, all-out criticism is now the norm. Another former nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, told the Etemad-e Melli newspaper, “The effects of the [UN] sanctions are visible. Our situation gets worse day by day.”
Ahmadinejad for the past two months has been placing his former IRGC brothers-in-arms in key posts, like the presidency of the central bank and the Oil, Industry and Interior ministries. Internal repression is rife. On Sunday, hundreds of students protested at the Amir-Kabir University in Tehran, calling for “Death to the dictator”
As if anyone needed to be reminded, the buck - or rial - stops with the Supreme Leader, whose last wish on earth is to furnish a pretext for the Bush administration to launch World War III. (Emphasis added) If Ahmadinejad now deviates from a carefully crafted strategic script, the Supreme Leader may simply get rid of him. LINK
An important factor in Iran’s internal politics is that the youth of Iran are extremely pro-American – a fact the MSM in America fails to delve into and understand. President Ahmadinejad, much like Bush and Cheney, has failed miserably in fulfilling his campaign promises and instead, has squandered Iran’s wealth on Nuclear facilities and advanced weapons systems. Sanctions are working, and given enough time, a popular revolt of the people remain a real possibility, especially if the US and Israel are smart enough to allow Ahmadinejad to destroy his support, much alike Bush and Cheney have.
Iran does present a particularly troubling problem to Middle-East security, as any nation that is ruled by religious fanaticism is apt to be more dangerous if the driving principle of the religion is to instigate a world war in the hopes the Prophet Mohamed will fulfill his prophesy of returning to earth; this notion is kept alive by the “hard-liners” and is not shared by the majority of the populace of Iran.
This is where we examine history, and there is where we can see how situations like this have been dealt with since time began, and nothing has ever occurred to stop the cycle of war that is perpetuated by governmental leadership, not by the people themselves. It’s a safe statement to say that generally speaking, the world at large wishes to live in peace; it is those in power that cause the strife, misery and war, not the people themselves.
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