IVAN DENISOVICH NEVER MENTIONS NEEDING SUN SCREEN:

The Sad Saga of American Democracy (Dr. Habib Siddiqui, 2008-09-10, Ovi)

There is no denying that terrorism has become an important phenomenon in our time and needs to be eradicated. Nothing can justify or excuse an act of terrorism, whether it is committed by hate groups, religious or ideological fundamentalists, private militia - or whether it is dressed up as a war of retaliation by a recognized government. As Arundhati Roy had argued, the U.S. bombing of Afghanistan was not revenge for New York and Washington; it was yet another act of terror against the people of the world. It is high time for the human race to dig into its wells of collective wisdom, both ancient and modern, to find a way out of this spiraling morass of terror and brutality that threatens us today.

As is well-known a great nation simply can neither hide behind its past glory nor can it afford to behave irrationally and irresponsibly. It must weigh in pros against cons before every major action it takes. It also needs adhering to a higher moral compass to demand respectability of its actions and positions. Unfortunately, with her unlawful invasion, wanton murderous campaigns and destruction, and despicable records of human rights abuses and tortures in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Guantanamo Bay (rightly called the Gulag of our time), and willful loathing of international laws, America can no longer claim higher moral ground. With phony trials and exoneration of some accused U.S. service men that have committed Mai Lai type massacres, premeditated murders and gruesome tortures in Iraq and Afghanistan, America has lost that moral fortitude essential for sustaining an empire. She has exposed that no genocide, no murder, no torture, no abuse, no rape, nor any crime can be laid at her door. She is simply above the law. Her war criminals are untouchable by courts – foreign and domestic. In so doing she forgets that it took less than thirty years for the British Raj to collapse since the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre of 1919.

Obsessed with the all but nonexistent terrorists, America has forgotten some basics about what had made certain empires survive longer than others, and conversely, what made some to succumb to pre-mature death. She has miserably failed to learn from other's experiences, especially those of the Brits who had a long experience dating back at least to early 20th century in matters of dealing with terrorism in India and Ireland.

Nevermind that our experience dealing with tribal terrorists dated back much further, it is indicative of just how effective American terror has been that the "Gulag of our time" holds about half as many prisoners as there were camps in the Soviet Union. The comparison of the few hundred Qaedists in Cuba to the 24 million victims of Leninism would be amusing if it didn't indicate such contempt for the latter.

Posted by Orrin Judd at October 5, 2008 9:33 PM