Rulers of all nations, arm yourselves!
by Harald Schumann
The US war of aggression and its blatant infringement of
international law is going to provoke a global race for the acquisition
of weapons of mass destruction. This war does not strengthen democratic
tendencies but radical islamists from Morocco to Indonesia. And those
nations will know how to protect themselves from future attack.
Osama bin Laden and his killers have a new date for future anniversary
celebrations. Today, on 20.3.03, George W. Bush and his neo- imperialists
are proving that they will break any law when they feel so
inclined.
It is true that the UN Security Council is an undemocratic body. Its
members are determined by chance, the power of veto is a consequence of
hopelessly outdated structures. The Security Council is in urgent need of
reform.
Nevertheless, international law is one of the most significant
civilizatory achievements of the last century. The UN Charter and its
prohibition of wars of aggression has provided basic security against
external attack. Any state infringing this elementary principle had to
face the ire of the Security Council and the great powers.
This basic legal principle has been invalidated as of today. The
arrogance of absolute power evident in such action is exactly what Bin
Laden and other fanatical America- haters have accused Washington of.
America's leaders do the opposite of what they claim as justification for
a pre- emptive strike against a suppressed people that has lacked the
capacity for threatening anybody for years. From Morocco to Indonesia
this action does not strengthen the democrats of the Islamic world but
their sworn enemies- clerico- fascists and prophets of terror advocating
Holy War against 'crusaders and jews' which is how Bin Laden describes
his mission. They are now certain to attract many more young men prepared
for violent action.
Consider Pakistan for the consequences of US ignorance of the need for
repect for islamic culture and political autonomy. The religious Right
now has the backing of the majority of the population. The strongest
political force in the country, it has just organized the "March of
One Million" in Karachi, in protest against this war.
There have already been the first gun battles between US and Pakistani
soldiers, and it is blatantly obvious that a democratic Pakistan would
become an enemy of the US.
How much is on the line here has been clearly expressed recently in a
sermon by one of the country's religious leaders: "Allah has told us
to build nuclear weapons. America tells us not to. Fellow Muslims, who
should we follow, Allah or America?" This message has been published
on cassette and is available all over the country. "America's
strategic shortsightedness may well make Pakistan ungovernable - the only
Muslim state armed with nuclear weapons", warns the Pakistani
physicist and pro- democracy campaigner Pervez Hoodbhoy.
Iraq is a target precisely because Saddam doesn't have the bomb.
This danger is not limited to Pakistan. There is a perilous message in
this war of George W. Bush: Arm yourselves. This must be the highest
priority for all governments and military planners unwilling to trust in
eternal US benevolence. There is a fatal logic in the invasion of Iraq.
Saddam Hussein isn't under attack because he owns weapons of mass
destruction. The opposite is true. The Americans are invading precisely
because the Butcher of Baghdad does not have access to such weapons. Even
two or three ballistic missiles tipped with nuclear warheads would make
this war an incalculable risk, with Israel's very existence on the
line.
It is therefore inevitable that strategically- minded heads of government
and military planners should conclude that the only guarantee against
forced subjugation is the perverse Cold War logic of nuclear deterrence.
This is precisely why a war against North Korea is not an option - its
regime constantly shows off the reliability of its ballistic missiles.
Such a threat deters even the greatest military power on Earth, as the
consequence of war would be the annihilation of its ally South
Korea.
Iran's attempts at obtaining weapons- grade uranium from their own
enrichment plant make perfect sense. Marked out as part of the "Axis
of Evil", Tehran is the next target for Bush and his apologists,
although the local youth and academic and business elites are agitating
for more democracy, not Holy War against the "Great Satan" like
Chomeini in the past. Today Iran has to take the threats of the American
Right at face value. Consequently not even Iranian democrats will argue
against nuclear armament.
Such considerations won't be limited to Tehran. Surely the strategy of
nuclear deterrence is being debated in Riyadh and Damascus. And even in
the most populous Muslim nation on earth, Indonesia, generals will have
to reconsider their options. During the Asian financial crisis Indonesia
was humiliated by American banking institutions and the IWF, and was
ignored and abandoned during its subsequent troubles. More recently,
Indonesia is seen as a hotbed of terrorism- the leaders of this great,
proud nation will feel the need to secure their long- term security
against outside intervention.
Thus current American policy is destroying all trust in international
law, leaving only the protection provided by nuclear deterrence. This war
won't make the world safer- it'll cause a spiral of
proliferation."
