Wikileaks shows our own duplicity
Last Updated on Tuesday, 29 March 2011 21:16 Wednesday, 01 December 2010 01:26
Wikileaks has caused uproar with the release of thousands of U.S. diplomatic cables in the last two days. And that's only the tip of the iceberg. Wikileaks has millions more documents to release before it is finished, and possibly, the founder charged with espionage by a White House aghast that it's most sensitive correspondence and policies should be laid bare before it's citizens.
If governments were as straightforward with their people as they are with diplomats, the controversy that is now erupting might have been avoided. Take for instance the situation with Iran. Through cables dealing with China, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, a complex picture emerges of a country, the U.S., turning a blind eye to activities that only result in the Iranian situation growing progressively worse. America is failing to address the root cause of the conflict and talk of 'bombing Iran' is only a reaction rather than a solution to a middle east problem.
The cables reveal Saudi Arabia's concerns about Iran. Through a series of cables, Saudi Arabia makes clear its fears about Iran's foreign policy and its nuclear weapons program. Saudi Arabia made appeals to the U.S. to stop Iran's nuclear program and even wanted the U.S. to launch a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.
In addition, Saudi Arabia suggested the stationing of American nuclear weapons in the gulf to serve as a deterrent to Iran and was willing to work with China in addressing its energy security in return for Chinese support to prevent Iranian proliferation.
The content of the leaks will come as a surprise to many of Saudi Arabia's Muslims that their King should be asking America to bomb another Muslim country. In the event that happens, Saudi Arabia will be top of the list calling for 'restraint from both sides' while secretly giving the U.S. the nod and wink to go right ahead. Kuwait and Bahrain also supported strikes on Iran.
But it's not just foreign countries that tell their citizens one thing and do another. America is equally as guilty at speaking from both sides of her mouth. While America is listening to Saudi Arabian concerns, the cables also show the main financiers of al-Qaeda are none other than - Saudi donors. Shouldn't America be insisting Saudi Arabia tackles its own citizens support for Al Qaeda, an organisation that has taken countless innocent lives, before it entertains Saudi Arabia's concerns on Iran?
Crucial to the middle east is Israel. Iran has repeatedly suggested that it desires a nuclear bomb because it feels threatened by Israel. Israel was, and is willing to hit Iran to preserve its status as the only nuclear country in the middle east - while still vowing to keep UN weapons inspectors out of its facilities. After all, what applies to Russia, America, England, France, Germany and every other nuclear nation (bar North Korea), should not apply to Israel. Right? Seemingly, America agrees.
How can the causes of the middle east conflict be solved if America is only willing to tackle one side of the issue? Israel's insistence that it be allowed 'steal' Palestinian land and bomb any other country that dares to follow Israel's own trodden path of nuclear weapons development is absurd. One the one hand, Iran cannot have a bomb. On the other, Israel can, even though it too refuses to adhere to UN regulations and resolutions.
Which is it for America? Either countries can have nuclear weapons in contravention of UN resolutions and grab as much of their neighbors land as they want, or they should do neither. At the moment, we are applying two different standards to two different nations, and the government is hoping the little people are too preoccupied with American Idol to notice.
China has been playing a blinder keeping the United States fighting fires in the middle east while it levers advantage to outgrow and asset strip America.
In February of 2010, Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, asked China to act on intelligence that Iran was trying to buy gyroscopes and carbon fiber for ballistic missiles from Chinese companies. Nothing was done by the Chinese. Other cables show that China failed to act on U.S. requests to stop shipments of ballistic missile components from North Korea to Iran via Beijing airport in 2007.
All very straightforward so far from the U.S. and nothing of surprise there. The importance of China in world affairs is becoming ever more clear the more one reads these cables. America's relationship with China is like a wife beaten by the husband. On the one hand, China supplies much of America's enemies with components for missiles and their nuclear programs. Iran being a case in point. On the other hand, China purchases billions of American debt. We're dependent on China not to call that debt in, to not bankrupt us as a nation. In return, America has to put up with China strengthening America's enemies, which further weakens America as we become embroiled in yet more regional conflicts. So China grows stronger, America grows weaker.
As well as shipments of ballistic missile components, some cables as recently as last May reveal Clinton relayed America's 'concerns' to China that Chinese companies were supplying Iran with precursors for Chemical weapons in contravention of U.N. sanctions. China's capabilities in cyber warfare are also the substance of some internal cables. One cable from the U.S. embassy in Beijing says that the Chinese Politburo itself ordered the attack on Google and U.S. government computer systems.
The U.S. ambassador in Kyrgyztan went as far as challenging her Chinese counterpart, Zhang Yannian, over information from a Kyrgyz official that China had offered the country $3 billion in aid if they closed a U.S. airbase there. "Visibly flustered, Zhang temporarily lost the ability to speak Russian and began spluttering in Chinese to the silent aide diligently taking notes right behind him," reads the cable.
We allow China to supply hostile governments with missile components that could wipe life off the face of the planet. Then, we allow Israel to continue illegally kicking people from their homes and installing Israeli settlers in them. When people in the middle east get angry and support an undemocratic regime like Iran developing nuclear weapons, we then engage in firefighting the manifestation of the problem - Iran, rather than tackling the underlying causes of the problem - Israel's 'bullying' in the middle east and Chinese support for provoking the situation further.
So, Iran then becomes the main show. Iran becomes the enemy, because it too wants to have a bomb like Israel, built with Chinese parts. We focus all our attention on Iran, instead of tackling Israel and China. At some level, what those 'allies' do is fine with us, because they supply oil, or they buy our debt, but in reality, all they are doing is allowing America to dig a deeper hole for herself. Their actions continually chip away at our nation, but we're too busy fighting fires to tackle the sparks that ignite them.
Let's be clear. If it wasn't Iran, it would be some other country. That's not saying that Iran is without blame, it's absolutely an undemocratic and illegal regime that has denied its citizens a fair and free vote. But there will be Irans popping up long into the future until we decide that America needs to be the beacon of freedom to which we once aspired to. It's not acceptable for China to supply weapons to Iran. It's not acceptable for Israel to act the middle east bully with a big nuclear weapon, all with our support. Until we hold ourselves to a higher standard, we'll continue being a puppet and chasing the next Iran to rear its head.
Israel is solvable. The middle east problems are solvable. But not until we decide that America will not tolerate wrongs perpetrated by her allies, just as we do not tolerate wrongs committed by her enemies. We cannot lecture others and turn a blind eye to our own activities. America needs to develop some backbone and resilience to the threats of a bully. The people of America need to be prepared to go through some tough months of oil scarcity until Israel ceases its illegal activities. With America insisting that Israel bring itself up to the standards expected of any sovereign nation, the cause of support for rogue regimes and terrorist organisations is much reduced, and the end result is that America is no longer the superpower supporting illegal activities. It might even be the case that without the injustices perpetrated by regimes supported by America, people in the middle east might focus their attention on their own governments and how they have swept away the freedoms of their own people. If America acts rightfully, we kick away a crucial leg that perpetrates the myths peddled by terrorist organisations and rogue regimes to their people - that America is responsible for much of their misery and the injustices that take place on their doorstep.
With the middle east situation calmed, China is without a reason to supply illegal weapons to Iran. China only supplies weapons because of the potential to keep America embroiled in conflict that generates further debt and weakens American power. That story is replicated in North Korea, albeit to a lesser extent because China does not want a war breaking out on its border. We cannot fight actual wars in the middle east and economic wars in the far east. That's the situation we are attempting at the moment. Its a no-win situation and its directly as a result of our willingness to hold different countries to different standards.
Without the need for massive deficits generated by the 'war on terror,' the White House can turn her attention to tackling the economic weakening of the country by unfair currency manipulation by the Chinese. Until we decide that an injustice is an injustice, whether committed by an ally or foe, we're doomed to be dragged further into the mire. Our own actions allow others to continually chip away at our strengths - until we come to the point where there isn't much left to chip away. The middle east problem will still be there, the root causes of middle east conflict will still exist, only America will be reduced to a bankrupt and broken nation. The solution is to hold all countries to an equal standard, to speak plainly and forcefully with our 'friends' on their own actions, something we patently do not practise, despite what our politicians tell us. The alternative is to continue as we are doing, speaking from both sides of our mouth, holding different standards for different countries, and being sucked deeper into futile fire fighting.
