Nake M. Kamrany.
- Introduction
The current engagement of U.S. wars in the broader Middle East (Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia and other African countries) have spread anti-American feelings abroad and condescension at home. There does not seem to be a major national security issue of any significance to the sacrifices sustained by our servicemen and women and the billions of dollars that are being allocated ostensibly for the security of the nation, while these wars seem to be local, sectarian, have no purpose, no defined prospect of victory, and no exist strategy. If our existing strategy is not changed, these wars could go on in perpetuity.
Our servicemen are being sacrificed without defined purpose of our national security interest. The disdain of the American public to our foreign policy is explicitly evident in the United States presidential election of 2016 by the emergence of Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders in the Republican and Democratic parties which echoes the desire of electorates for a major departure from the old political order. The disdain of the American public with the existing political and economic order in foreign policy and domestic conditions is indicated by their support of presidential candidates who are outside of the old political order, shifting away from wars in foreign policy and support for social equity in domestic policy.
It is further evident to the American public that the U.S. Government has doomed the public into believing that our soldiers and servicemen are being sacrificed abroad to protect us at home. In fact our leaders are guilty of sacrificing the lives of young soldiers, imposing grief on their families (wives, parents, children, relatives, friends, and members of community) and wasting billions of dollars in wealth and resources. For instance, what did the U.S. gained after being engaged in war for 15 years in Afghanistan, 13 years in Iraq, 15 years in Pakistan Northwest region, and being engaged in Libya, Iraq, Syria, and several African countries? What would have happened to our national security interest if we had withdrawn our forces unconditionally from all of these third world countries? Given the superiority of U.S. military power, its security cannot be lessened by third world powers. Why must we think that we must project our power in these regions?
- U.S. Must Substitute war For Peace
The greatness of a country is not measured by threat system – its use of military prowess but by its ability to draw respect and propagate civility, our ideals and contribution to human wellbeing at home and abroad. The U.S. Foreign Policy in the third world countries of the Middle East and Africa currently is not promoting U.S. security Interest abroad despite enormous damages sustained by the United States in blood and wealth to promote its foreign policy aims which are ill defined. The disastrous consequences of the Vietnam War in duration, blood, waste of wealth and defeat must not be forgotten. Domestic discord and economic stagflation should have been instructive not to get engaged in third world intrigue as we have in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and a few African countries. President Obama recently admitted that the U.S. has been involved in wars with seven third world countries. The current strife with ISIS in Syria and Iraq and the Taliban in Afghanistan and several insurgent in Africa could get the U.S. involved in these wars in perpetuity with no specific objective, possibility of victory or an exit strategy.
Why are we engaged in these intrigues that are characterized by indigenous population and their social and political impasse of rivalry among warlords, drug lords, ethnic strife, sectarian divisions and local fiefdoms? Do they pose a security concern for the United States? Absolutely not, then why do we join one or the other factions? That is not a legitimate approach to project our power and prestige.
Why the U.S. implemented regime change in many Middle East countries and created instability? Why the U.S. has been supportive of the royal family of Saudi Arabia who has plundered oil revenues of the nation, propagated mosques throughout the world including the United States whose aim is to preach animosity between Moslems and non Moslems. Women there have no freedom of marriage, employment, education, inheritance, and status. They are ranked in the lower social echelon of society and hierarchy of government and have no political voice. Then why the U.S. support S.A. government?
In a recent additional 28 page report of 9/111, the U.S. government has reported the possibility of Saudi diplomats providing financial support to two 9/11 hijackers who lived in San Diego. This report was released 15 years later than the publication of the original report and it may pave the way for victims sustained in the 9/11 attack seeking damages in a U.S. court.
During the Vietnam War the political pundits argued that if we do not defeat communist in Vietnam they will be on the shores of California. Instead he Vietnamese took over the U.S. embassy in Saigon but none showed up on the shores of California. Likewise, with respect to Iraq the Bush Administration argued that there were weapons of mass destruction hidden in Iraq. None were found. We pulled out of Iraq and eventually turned over the domination of Iraq to Iran. And in Afghanistan there was a regime change – the Taliban was replaced by a puppet government who could not defeat the Taliban nor create a democratic government.
According to U.S. government, the U.S. has spent more funds in Afghanistan than the entire cost of rebuilding Europe after World War II under the Marshall Plan. Instead billions of dollars of the American taxpayer’s money has been ripped off by American contractors and Afghan officials. After `15 years of occupation and Billions of Dollars of expenditure, there is no sign of any improvement in employment or reduction of poverty. We have lost thousands 3000+ American soldiers in the conflict, caused disability to thousands of American veterans, killed and tortured thousands of innocent Afghan villagers- traditional natives, and have engaged in torture and have taken sides in local disputes without having a clear objective or any defined purpose. Our air force has dropped 30,000 pound bombs on villages that have been blown up into the sky the entire village, the size of a football field and have killed all inhabitants including human beings, animals, insects, trees and vegetation. The U. S. actions and approach has been disgraceful, illegal, immoral and repugnant especially for a superpower with the most powerful military in the world and support by 48 NATO members…
- HOW THE U.S HAS CREATED DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN RADICALIZATION
Unfortunately our security policy is still dominated by our reaction to the tragedy of 9/11. We are still preparing for recurrence of 9/11- something that will never happen again. Our policy represents a security phobia emanating from Bin Laden’s cult which was nothing but an improbable fluke and an extraordinary failure of the entire free world’s intelligence apparatus to foresee and prevent 9/11… It is doubtful that 9/11 will ever be repeated. The only security risk now could emanate from “lone wolves,” INSURGENT GROUPS who resist U.S. hegemonic behavior abroad that appear to them to be UNFAIR AND CRUEL.
Likewise, the failure of the U.S. government in law and order and to end frequent killing of black young men by white policemen on the streets of U.S. cities over minor traffic violation is cruel and violate their constitutional right to life, inhuman, a major disgrace and antipathy of a democratic society. Police’s authority to employ gun in response to traffic violation must be modified to prevent loss of life of human beings and prevent racial divide in the society.
The POLICY OF Obama administration compares ISIS and other radical groups to cancer and defeating the extremists by way cancer is defeated is the wrong approach. That analogy is misguided and has been proven to be wrong. Take a hard look at Afghanistan. Obama applied the same strategy with NATO members for 15 years (2001 – 2016+) in AFGHANISTAN and it is being defeated despite U.S./NATO incessant bombing, destroying thousands of villages and killing millions. Obama’s strategy has produced more Afghan refugees emigrating out of Afghanistan than the other nations except Syria.
U.S. strategy has also radicalized many Afghans including governmental soldiers who are on U.S. payroll. Recently an Afghan soldier shot and killed TWO NATO soldiers and went ON TV with no regrets and said that over the last 15 years U.S./NATO has done nothing but kill, torture and destroy in Afghanistan. That incident was not the first, at least hundreds of NATO soldiers over the last years have been shot by Afghan government soldiers who are on U.S. payroll and are supposed to fight along the U.S. forces with the U.S. They are radicalized as they find U.S./NATO military operations unfair and forbidding.
Our policy have contributed to the growth and emergence of radicalization and a sense of opposition that arguably justifies and legitimizes radical responses such as suicides bombing. IDE explosions, and explosion on the part of local citizens who are willing to sacrifice their own lives in response to our military operations and attacks. In the final analysis indigenous groups take pain when their country men, women and children are being killed by foreign powers.
Given the free flow of people, the internet, flow of information and communication locally and internationally plus incitement and reinforcement by leaders of Al Qaeda and ISIS and/or in response or in retaliation to incessant U.S. drone and air attacks even the average citizens decide to retaliate turn to “lone wolf” take action at their own risk and they do. Our military offensives do contribute to radicalization, anger and revenge by individuals who turn “lone wolves.” However, such probability could be checked –minimized or eliminated – by a shift in U.S. policy to rapprochement and reconciliation with these groups.
As a superpower the U.S. should endeavor to guide rather than fight these insurgent in the third world nations toward economic development and education. And adopt a policy of live and let live. They are not hopeless as we think they are. We have to reorient their view on the value of life and create hope for the future.
On the other hand, Russia is an atomic superpower and has invaded a couple of its former satellite state. China is an economic superpower. China is allocating 2.1% of its GNP for defense in contrast to 3.5% by the United States. However, China’s figures are based on fixed exchange rate not market exchange rate. According to IMF, the total value of China’s GDP is now higher than the U.S. and the figure 2.1% by fixed exchange rate underestimate its real expenditures on military budget.
Nevertheless, in the election of 2016, the U.S. defense expenditures should focus on Russia and China not on third world nations and rely upon its superior military technology without instigating “cold war” precepts or “hot war.” A better alternative is to promote world peace and tranquility, the same strategy that was followed by President Eisenhower during 1952 – 1960.
- The U.S. faces major Domestic Policy Issues
On the domestic front, the U.S. faces several major issues as priority of the 2016 election shifts towards social equity. Candidate Burnie Sanders, whose candidacy failed, has articulated many of our domestic ills that need immediate attention including healthcare, student loans, incarceration, and homelessness, private and public debt.
The rate of U.S. incarceration is also a national disgrace. For every one person that is incarcerated in western European countries we incarcerate 70 people. This is largely due to our ineffective criminal justice system as the police, the prosecutors and judges incentives are served by conviction although a majority of those who are being incarcerated are drug addicts and individuals who suffer mental health. They should be treated in clinics as they are in Europe instead of being incarcerated. Resources in many states are being re-allocated for building prisons instead of schools.
By the same token our distribution system is lopsided. The relative percent of poor and underprivileged now exceed those of Europeans which means that we must revise our distributional system. It is diabolic that 1.5 million families in the U.S. live on $2 per day per person. The World Bank has designated $2/day/person for less developed countries.
Obamacare has failed to control and reduce the cost spiral of charges imposed by hospitals, physicians, pharmaceuticals, and laboratories. We must adopt the Canadian or the French system and enroll everyone into Medicare and control the cost of Medicare to coincide to and are in line with the movement of consumer price index (CPI). The oligopolistic -cartel type of pharmaceutical pricing must be found illegal and controlled by the government.
Another white elephant that has emerged in the U.S. Is the cost of college education? Once again as compared to the European countries where there is no tuition or very modest amount, we have our students take a heavy mortgage type loans for their education which put them into long term debt ranging from 10 to 30 year of loans.
The average annual student loan in 2015 for private college education has reached $31,231 while the total student borrowing bill has reached $1.19 billion. The worst aspect of student loan is the annual interest rate that students are charged. In 2015, the average annual interest charges for student loan is the highest in the country 11.455% as compared to 8.39% for credit card, 3.36%% for mortgage loans and 2.51% for auto loans. Student college cost will defy the distributional objectives of the nation and will contribute to keeping the poor out of college. Ostensibly these figures are contrary to President Obama’s push to lower student’s education costs.
It follows that the U.S. shall seek a new U.S. domestic and global order to rectify the above inequities and dissentions. President Dwight Eisenhower who relied on U.S. atomic power superiority kept the U.S. out of foreign intrigue during 8 years of his presidency. Currently the U.S. military budget is a multiple of the Russian and Chinese budget and as long as we maintain our superiority in military technology then we should be able to cut the military budget appropriately to reduce our annual deficit and national debt. Student loans should have an upper limit of no more than $10,000 for four years of college at zero percent interest rate subsidized by the government.
We should revise minimum wage law to “living wage” in such a way that the living wage would support the wage earners’ living cost including room board, health, education, entertainment, adequate facilities and clothing.
All of the above indicators are currently being provided in many European countries. The United States is the richest and most powerful country in the world and it must lead the rest of the world in all of these indicators. It implies redistribution of wealth and income and re-allocation of public funds to social and educational needs. The reforms suggested herein have no relevance to THE OLD DEBATE OF ISMS – the issue of ISM – SUCH AS CAPITALISM OR SOCIALISM. It is cultural movement towards equity and HUMANISM…
