IRAN IS NOT IRAQ MR.OBAMA

To be an ardent patriot is a good thing. To be an apostle of Universal brotherhood is great.

To hope for and to work for reaching the No.1 position in the comity of nations is ambition of any good ruler. Be it the so-called most developed nations like USA, Britain, France or Germany, be it the one at the bottom-line like the unfortunate Jamaican nation Haiti devastated by an earthquake recently or a poverty-stricken African country to aspire for being a powerful nation is not a crime. To be a powerful nation is not the monopoly of any nation.

It becomes a crime or a shameful thing when USA or for that matter any other developed country prefers to address itself a super power with excessive pride while it finds it intolerable to allow any other nation to be like it. I don’t know on which criteria it still thinks on such lines as internally and externally it is fast losing its ground in the first-half of the 21st country. Barack Obama is still inclined to dictate terms to other nations.

Scaring other nations with the threat of sanctions who try to be powerful by becoming nuclear powers with clenched fist is to put it in mild terms is immaterial in the contemporary times. It is not the prerogative of a few nations like USA, France, Britain, Russia or of developing nations like India, China, Pakistan or Israel to be nuclear powers in these turbulent times. A nation is forced to think on becoming a nuclear power when it apprehends threat to its security from an enemy country or countries. After all who don’t want to be peaceful except a few anti-social terror outfits like Al-Quaeda, Lashkar-E-Taiba, Hisbul-Mujahideen or Pak-Taliban who derive some sort of ecstasy when a nation’s social fabric is torn apart. To fight them and uproot them once and for all is a ruler’s primary responsibility. As I had already noted to be an apostle of Universal brotherhood is great.

While keeping Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in their arsenal, the nations which go angry and hysterical deserve contempt. To have a nuclear arsenal is not the prerogative of any country. Speaking from a position of strength, directing or dictating terms to the less powerful nations who aspire to reach positions of strength by augmenting their defence capability by donning the roles of nuclear powers is simply laughable. The ideal path for those dictating terms is to set an example by announcing publicly and implementing with utmost sincerity and dedication a resolve to dismantle their nuclear arsenal before the entire world. It is not at all an impossible task. One must have the generosity and intense desire to proceed on those lines. The billion-dollar question is whether anyone among them will be ready for such a warm gesture. Then all of us can witness the ‘tamasha’ and have a hearty laugh.

Iran’s determination to move ahead with enrichment of Uranium of a higher level of 20% of its own is actually the angry reaction of a West Asian nation against the unwarranted provocation of USA and its Allies. Their scare-mongering, intimidating tactics like setting up military bases in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and parading of warships in the Gulf to display its military might before the world and constant threats by USA President Barack Obama “to obey us or to be ready for dire consequences” angered Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadi Nejad, his Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini and others among the ruling elite. Soon after hearing the ultimatum from the West instead of getting scared Ahmadi Nejad took it as a challenge and ordered his Atomic Chief to forge ahead with preparations for enrichment of Uranium. USA and its allies should have remembered that gone are the days of glory and they ought to change with the times.

Iran is not Iraq. While Saddam Hussein was reigning supreme in Iraq- recall he had a cosy relationship with USA those days declared a war against Iran. Though caught unawares Iran under the leadership of its spiritual leader went on the offensive and fought a fierce battle against Iraq. Even after Saddam’s eventual defeat a determined Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini fought an eight year long war (September 1980 to August 1988). Saddam had to sweat it out to wriggle out of the deep pit he himself had dug in.

The war which broke out in Iraq by the Americans and its allies after prolonged bombardment resulting in massacre of millions, devastation of properties, the wiping out of whole Mesopotamian civilization along the Euphrates-Tigris rivers eventually and after a summary trial before a puppet court led to the hanging of Saddam Hussein- all still indelibly imprinted in the bruised psyche of the Iraqi people. A simmering Iraq to become part of history will take time thanks to George Bush and his successor Barack Obama.

Similar is the case with Afghanistan. The war still rages on. Millions flee for refuge. Taliban seems to gain upper hand even after repeated onslaughts by the troops of USA and its allies. The allies are getting fed up and are hoping for an exit route. Obama also mulling an exit strategy most probably by 2011 after a final assault.

Still the man needs further bitter lessons. Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan- the list abounds. And now targeting Iran. A ‘water loo’ there also is a foregone conclusion. It is time for introspection for all Americans. To rewind to the roots flip through the pages of its history, the liberation struggle (1775 – 1783) for its freedom from the erstwhile colonial power, The Boston Tea Party (1773), the great sacrifices of the nation’s forefathers, then a fast forward to the thirst for freedom, self-respect and self-reliance of each nation across the world. The Statue of Liberty must serve as a reminder to Mr. Barack Obama and his fellow Americans.