By  Mowahid Hussain Shah

June 13 , 2014

Pitfalls of Intervention

 

When, in 1953, a clandestine Anglo-American coup ousted Iranian nationalist Prime Minister Dr Mosaddeq and implanted the Shah of Iran, it set in motion the law of unintended consequences. 25 years later, its blowback appeared in the form of the Iranian Revolution. The ramifications continue to spill over into the 21 st century.

Egypt demonstrates anew the pitfalls of hard-power intervention. Egypt’s elected president, Dr Mohamed Morsi, played into his foes’ hands through his misrule, which augmented divisions, and was not inclusive. But that didn’t justify the murderous coup that toppled him.

Now, through a sham election, former Army chief Abdel el-Sisi, in a “landslide victory”, has grabbed the presidency with a 92% majority. Only 25 million out of 54 million eligible voters participated in the May 2014 elections. The low turnout itself shreds the credibility of the poll.

The stated goal of eradicating the Muslim Brotherhood is sheer stupidity. The Brotherhood has dug deep roots in Egyptian society. The coup will succeed only in pushing it deeper underground, validating those who reject peaceful transition through the ballot box. With no stake in the system, the Brotherhood may turn out to be now an even more deadly foe. Lest it be forgotten, Al Qaeda was partially hatched in Egyptian jails.

Meanwhile, in Pakistan’s ruling circles, it is business as usual. Same autocratic mindset, same denial of merit and fair opportunity, same pampering of hate groups, same exclusive catering to family monopoly, and same pursuit of revenge and riches. But having said all that, is the so-called Opposition any better?

All of the above calls for forging a national consensus to set in place a cleansing and corrective mechanism to curb arbitrary abuse of power. A personalized push for a mere rotation of personnel hasn’t worked and won’t work. They have no idea of the carnage that may await around the corner.

A concomitant element that has wreaked havoc is the unleashing of “free” media. It gave huge platform to a semi-literate, easily suborned group to peddle half-baked ideas. The result: a bigger spiral of toxic divisions.

In politics, the choice is not always between good or bad. It can boil down to bad or worse.

A shortcut route of a putsch is seldom the answer. The same problems reemerge in different forms. The important thing is not to give too much control to too few individuals who are likely to share the same perspective.

The lesson of history is that the lessons of history are not absorbed.

Chile’s President, Michelle Bachelet, can testify what happened in Santiago on September 11, 1973, when the democratically elected government of Marxist leader Salvador Allende was ousted by General Augusto Pinochet. Hell broke loose. Michelle was jailed and tortured and her father tortured to death.

Those following the script for short-cut change are unlikely to be its beneficiaries.

Fear is not just the province of timid politicians. Fear also infects the Establishment. Like a coquettish courtesan, the Establishment is sometimes extremely nice to those who aren’t so nice to them, and not so nice to those who try to be nice to them.

 

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PREVIOUSLY


Election 2004: Decisive but Divisive

Muslim Youth & Kashmir in America

The Big Picture: Wealth without Vision

Oxygen to Global Unrest

Punishing the Punctual

Change without Change

Don’t Be Weak

Passionate Attachment

The Confidence of Youth

The Other Side of Democracy

Campaign of Defamation

Pakistani Women & the Legal Profession

A Pakistani Journey

Farewell to Fazal

Mukhtaran and Beyond

Revamping the OIC

7/7 & After

Nuclear Double-Standard

Return to Racism

Hollywood – The Unofficial Media

The Sole Superpower

The UN at 60

A Slow Motion World War?

Elite vs. Street

Iqbal Today

Macedonia to Multan

Defending our Own

2006 & Maulana Zafar Ali Khan

Error against Terror

The Limits of Power

Cultural Weaknesses

Aggressive at Home, Submissive Abroad

Global Storm

The Farce of Free Expression

The Changing Mood

Condi & India

Xenophobia

Looking inward

Re-Thinking

A Tale of Two Presidents

Close to Home

Flashpoint Kashmir

The Spreading Rage

Confronting Adversity

The Illusion of International Law

Other Side of Extremism

Five Years after 9/11

The Educated Ignorant

The Decline of Humor

Icons

Six Years of Insanity

The War Not Being Fought

Munir Niazi

Compliance & Defiance

Counter-Message

Miscast

The Goddess of Wealth

The Meaning of Moderation

The Tora Bora of Fear

Clash of Civility

The Early Race

Challenge & Response

Will & Skill

Zealotry

Movie-Media and Pakistan

Hug with a Thug

Quest for Integrity

Unconquered

Vanity

Bringing Back the Past

Stuck in Iraq

Islam, Science and the West

Turmoil over Turkey

Leaders versus Leadership

Might Does Not Make Right

Kursi First

Vision & Will

Battle of the Billionaires

Assassination Alley

Extremism and Change

Rosy Expectations

Short-Term Gain, Long-Term Pain

Not Winning

Beyond Baghdad: Five Years after

The Hijab of Democracy

Hate, Fear & Hope

Weapon of Words

Hide N’ Seek

Yanking in the UN

Obama’s Breakthrough

Let Lahore Be Lahore

National Mood & Sports

Flirting with Fire

Trips Abroad

Georgia on the Mind

Duel for the White House

Zia to Zardari

Palestine: Avoiding the Unavoidable 

Not Working 

In the Ring 

Obama’s America

Smiles & Dreams

Quiet Deeds of Good

Crime and Indifference

Journey of Understanding

VIP-hunting

Terror via Counter-Terrorism

Umpires or Vampires?

The Long Road

Yesterday’s Reminder

Appeasement and the Real Threat

Israel’s Washington Agenda

New Challenges

Cairo and Beyond

Re-fighting Old Battles

America ’s Super Villains

Activism in America

Style without Substance

Overcoming Barriers

Ashes to Afghanistan

The Looming Change

Fear and Possibilities

What Is Not Debated 

Hired Guns

Rampage at Fort Hood

Manmohan in Washington

The Long Duel

Green Nukes

Vision and Division

Avoiding Why

Striving to Matter

Shame-proof

Anxiety and Opportunity

Putting Iraq in America

The Right Strategy

Looking Beyond

Rot at the Top

Strategic Folly

Daring & Caring

Over-Stepping on Turkey

Sudan : Perils of Provincialism

Old Fears, New Target

Europe ’s Stain

The US-Pakistan Enigma

The Status Quo Is Unacceptable

9 Years after 9/11

License to Steal

US Muslims at the Crossroads

Tumor of Terror

An Arab Voice

Disastrous Decisions

Double Game

Sticky Wiki

What Quaid Was Not

Money Conspiracy

Pharaohs & Pirates

Greed and Cricket

Change & Challenge  

Forty Years after 1971

Abandoning Our Own

Rewarding Failure

Osama and Obama

Tsunami of Tolerance

Representation and Presentation

Meek and Weak

Change or the Same?

No Easy Exit

Nation to Non-Nation

10 Years after 9/11

Shining India?

Big Power, Small Politics

Rule of the Gun

Proxy of the Powerful

Fight for Fairness

Republican Race

Actors or Directors

Speaking out

Professional Sycophants

More Provinces?

Too Much Information

Soft Separation

Soft Poison

Unemployment & Over-Population

Seize the Day

The Arab Awakening

Ben Bella

At University of Gujrat

Good People Behaving Badly

Playing Over-Smart

Do Less

Resisting the Resistible

Performance, Not PR

Home-grown Havoc

Salutation to the 65 th Year

Plague of Provincialism

USA Elections 2012

Rage

Fight or Flight

Rift and Drift

Obama II

Me and We

Small Role or Small Actors?

On Losing

Who Will Guard the Guards?

Loyal to Their Loot

Prevail or Fail

Perceptions and Reality

Toll of Occupation

Re-think, Re-examine, and Self-correct 

The Washington Tribe

Voice and Vision

Moral Slump

Wall of Illusion

Under One Banner

Bitter Harvest

Gallows and the Throne

Scent of Power

At a Standstill

Leaders and Leadership

The Deadline

Fighting Darkness

Distant Connections

Governance: The Long View

Discussion in DC

Darkness in the Mind

Killing Kennedy and Liaquat Ali

Yahya Khan Speaks on 1971

Quaid & Xmas in Washington

150 Years of FC College

Tyranny of Money

50 Years of Ali

A Dose of Truth

Little Guy, Big Impact

A Reassessment in Washington

Crimea & Kashmir

Democracy or Oligarchy?

Afghan Elites: Blaming Pakistan


2001

 

Editor: Akhtar M. Faruqui
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