March 22 , 2013
Re-think, Re-examine, and Self-correct
You don’t humiliate. That sows the seeds of continuing conflict. World War I led to World War II. A desire of the Allied Powers, particularly the French, to humiliate the Germans through the harsh imposition of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles bred revanchism. The mix of fury and frustration was a fertile breeding ground for feeding fascism.
Hitler encashed on it in a mesmerizing manner by appealing to the Germanic vision of martial glory, along with a stabbed-in-the-back narrative, which fused together elements of anti-Semitism and anti-Bolshevism. Restoring lost honor became a dominant common purpose and was the catalyst behind mass mobilization of the German nation with its lure to salve the wounded psyche.
The first Gulf conflict of 1990-91 led to the second Gulf conflict of 2003, and repercussions of both linger on. These were some of the over-smart schemes to reconfigure and remake the Middle East. The Anglo-American ouster of the nationalist Iranian leader, Mossadeq, in 1953, and the installation of the Shah led to the rift with the Iranian people, culminating in the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and its after-effects today.
The Arab defeat of 1967 at the hands of Israel did not end matters. It led to the recrudescence of the dormant Palestinian issue. The aftermath of conflict was more conflict. The Israeli incursion into Lebanon in June 1982, followed by evacuation of Palestinian combatants and installation of an international military force of the US, Britain, France, and Italy, sparked the emergence of Hezbollah. It is documented in Robert Fisk’s 1990 book, “Pity the Nation.”
A new public opinion survey, “Looking at Iran”, was unveiled on March 5, by Dr James Zogby on how the Arab and broader Muslim world views Iran. Iranian prestige was at its peak when it was seen as buttressing Palestinian resistance. Without this factor in play, as the opinion poll indicates, Iran’s popularity slides.
However attractive and simple it may seem to be, the brute force of danda merely exacerbates existing conflicts and generates new ones. It is seldom black or white. The color of realpolitik is often grey.
A new movie, “The Emperor”, is a partial narrative of the American occupation of post-World War II Japan under General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur had the choice to vindictively humiliate the Japanese nation or to start the healing process. He wisely opted not to oust Emperor Hirohito, who was a symbol of Japanese dignity because of his perceived divinity.
The Marshall Plan played a similar role to speed up the rehabilitation of post-war Europe, and helped steer Germany on the route to recovery.
Contrast the aforementioned with the aftermath of the 9/11 strikes. Lack of self-reflection and enraged reactions to it have only diminished the US, fueled Islamophobia as well as anti-Americanism, and widened the gap between the West and the rest.
Murderous ideologies are false everywhere. They are essentially merchants of hate and eventually implode on their own, but not before taking others down with them.
What then is the path forward? Re-think, re-examine, and self-correct what is self-destructive.
---------------------------------------------------------------
