Category Archives: Politics

“ISIS & USA” By F. Sheikh ( Brief Thought)

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USA has jumped again in Middle East to take a lead in war against ISIS.  Again there is no clear end game, and it may turn out to be as disastrous as our previous endeavors in Middle East.

ISIS originated out of blue as a consequence of Iraq war when our backed ex-PM of Iraq Mr. Al-Maliki refused to accommodate Iraqi Sunni in the Government and embarked on revenge killings. The situation has not changed much even with the election of new PM of Iraq. The Iraqi Sunni still prefer to back ISIS than Iraqi Government. The Kurdish Army is still poorly equipped. Many nations have promised to join the fight, but they, especially Gulf States, will provide fig leaf support as in the past.

Even if we are successful in eradicating ISIS, then what will follow?  There is a strong possibility some other extreme group will rise to fill the vacuum because there is no strong legitimate Government that can effectively govern the area grabbed by ISIS. We are betting on moderate Syrian rebels, but as history dictates, they may not turn out to be as moderate as we think.

At present it is a civil war and we have jumped into a civil war. We should have let it play out and when other neighboring states were threatened, these states should have taken the lead against ISIS and we should have just supported them. These States deliberately did not take the lead, because they knew USA will jump in. Now we have become the face and target of this war and these Middle East states will take a back seat and blame USA to appease their masses. It will further fuel anti-USA sentiment and terrorist activity.

Although recent barbaric beheadings by the ISIS is an evil act, but in many other aspects it is just a matter of toss of coin to differentiate between ISIS and many current Middle East states. If we have let this civil war play out, ISIS and these states may have been busy settling their scores among themselves, and most likely USA and other Western States would not have become the target.

We may become a party in this civil war, but we cannot prevent this civil war. Let Middle East stand for itself or face the music.If we are doing this to prevent the oil fields falling in the wrong hands, the corrupt rulers has the same incentive to prevent their source of income fall in the wrong hands-and it may force them to defend themselves.

“All Political Systems, Including Democracy, Are Liable To Decay”

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A worth reading book review by Sheri Berman on” Political order and Political Decay “ by Francis Yukuyama.

“ Yet if the United States illustrates how democratic states can develop, it also illustrates how they can decline. Drawing on Huntington again, Fukuyama reminds us that “all political systems — past and present — are liable to decay,” as older institutional structures fail to evolve to meet the needs of a changing world. “The fact that a system once was a successful and stable liberal democracy does not mean that it will remain so in perpetuity,” and he warns that even the United States has no permanent immunity from institutional decline.

Over the past few decades, American political development has gone into reverse, Fukuyama says, as its state has become weaker, less efficient and more corrupt. One cause is growing economic inequality and concentration of wealth, which has allowed elites to purchase immense political power and manipulate the system to further their own interests. Another cause is the permeability of American political institutions to interest groups, allowing an array of factions that “are collectively unrepresentative of the public as a whole” to exercise disproportionate influence on government. The result is a vicious cycle in which the American state deals poorly with major challenges, which reinforces the public’s distrust of the state, which leads to the state’s being starved of resources and authority, which leads to even poorer performance.” 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/books/review/francis-fukuyamas-political-order-and-political-decay.html?ref=books&_r=0

Posted By F. Sheikh

“Pakistan On Edge” By F. Sheikh

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( Brief Thought)

Since last elections Sharif brothers continue to rule in old ways without realizing that Pakistan’s political landscape has changed. Imran Khan badly wanted another bite of the apple while he is still popular and did not want to wait for the next elections. Tahir ul Qadri wanted mayhem to prove his credentials. All this brought Pakistan to a collision course resulting in needless loss of innocent lives and bodily injuries.  All the politicians, and a Pir turned politician, used masses for their personal devious designs in the name of democracy.

Army is having a meeting of its core commanders today. I hope Army does not use this irresponsible behavior of politicians and violence in the streets to grab the power and impose Martial Law. No matter how terrible and irresponsible behavior of politicians, Martial Law is never the solution. It puts the country back to square one. The politicians have made this mess and they have to learn and clean this mess. This does not put country in danger. A Political process, no matter how messy, does not put country in danger. Such slogans are made by opportunistic forces. Let this process play out and have politicians find the way out.

 

Where are the marches against the Islamic State?

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Yasmine Bahrani raises a valid question in her article in Washington post. If protests against the Israeli killings of innocent Gaza civilians was right thing to do, then what about protests against ISIS for killing innocent civilians? Indonesian Government has spoken out against ISIS and asked all Muslim nations to unite against ISIS.  Does it matter how ISIS was created and who is responsible?  It still needs condemnation from all Muslim quarters because Islamic State is committing crimes against humanity (F. Sheikh)

This summer, many Muslims marched in the streets of London, Parisand other cities to condemn the deaths of Gazans at the hands of Israel . Of course it makes sense to protest the bombing of schools and residential buildings. I marched in the streets against Israel’s invasion of Lebanon when I was a student, and I marched against the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. But, inexplicably, there have been no similarly large-scale demonstrations against the Islamic State for its horrific acts against Christians, Yazidis and even its fellow Muslims in Iraq and Syria. And there certainly haven’t been any marches protesting the beheading of innocents . It’s not hard to organize a march. So where are the demonstrations?

This is not the first time this question has occurred to me. For years, I have wondered about this absence of public outrage. When I asked about the murder of Iraqi civilians by Sunni and Shiite gangs, my fellow Muslims dodged my questions: “Why did the United States invade Iraq in the first place?” Yes, the U.S. invasion was a mistake. But why is it so hard to take a stand against the killing of women and children? I never got a straight answer.

To be sure, many Muslims have spoken out against the Islamic State, and some clerics have condemned this gang of terrorists; Qatar-based Islamic scholar Yusuf Qaradawi, for instance, said the Islamic State violates sharia law and declared “null and void” the group’s declaration of a caliphate in Iraq and Syria. But their words merely echoed those of non-Muslims who have called for an end to the violence. Surely we can do better. Don’t Muslims have a responsibility to speak out more loudly than others? We need the world to see anti-Islamic State marchers taking to the streets with the passion that we saw at the Gaza rallies in London and Paris. Mainstream Muslims must express our rejection of extremism in clear terms, while doing whatever we can to stop young people from radicalizing.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/where-are-the-marches-against-the-islamic-state/2014/08/29/531f6052-2ed0-11e4-994d-202962a9150c_story.html?hpid=z3