Skewed foreign policy

I guess the theme for this year would be skewed foreign policy or rather screwed foreign poilcy. Well atleast thats true for the US. The Bush administeration in all its eagerness to wipe out terror didnt stop to think. Afghanistan,Iraq,Lebanon, now Iran and maybe South Korea. Afghanistan or rather the Taliban had it coming. The military action was justified and did seem like the right thing to do. Of late its is becoming increasingly evident that all the war on terror did to the Afghani's was to give them hope and nothing else. The US grossly underestimated the Taliban ressurgence. NATO was equally unprepared with less committed nations. All support for infrastructural development and for stabilising the fragile economy were ill planned. As of now even hope has withered away and the black veil of oppression is being draped across the faces..the only thing blooming in the harsh lands is poppy..plenty of poppy..The use in its Kabul centric view has done nothing to control this menace which is actively supported by the Taliban and corrupt warlords who are now part of the govt. President Hamid Kharzai no longer seems like the man with the vision.He is more accomodating than ever allowing rampant corruption to take root and flourish. Massive military and economic operations need to be launched in the south of the country.It is very evident that the Taliban sympathisers in pakistan sheltered and supported the group. Take care of this reagion and half the battle is won.
The less said about Iraq the better..its all there in print..hundreds dead everyday..CIVIL WAR..theres nothing the US can do now.But if they pull out it would be a huge morale boosting victory for the 'ENEMY' so basically they cant swallow their pride..in any case this wasnt a war worth fighting..saddam hussein even with all his barbaric acts bottled up the grotesque sectarian violence which is spilling onto the streets as we see everyday. Mr.Bush just uncorked this bottle. A war without reason..if that makes sense..then Iraq is just that..
Hezbollah got what they deserved.Not the civilians though.Atleast not most of them. Israel has every right to fles its muscle and they did just that. This war opened the eyes of the world to a new scenario. A chilling fact that Hezbollah isnt just your run of the mill terrorist organisation. They are a proffessional fighting force and the humanitarian arm..ironical but true..seemed much more capable and willing to help restore the shattered lives of the lebanese people..no foreign aid agency has been able to match their effort or intent. Nevertheless Hezbollah is not a legit fighting force nor is it an elected representative of the people. Sadly the Lebanese government exists but has little or no power to control the militia and many in the parliament openly support and are part of the political unit of the force. Hassan Nasrallah is smart,deadly smart.But did he under estimate Israel? The military action was ruthless and probably destroyed most of Hezbollah's infrastructre..Nasrallah may not have anticipated such a strong response..Nevertheless,Israel did not achieve its objectives, instead the Arab world silently hailed it as a victory for hezbollah against the goliath,Israel. Ofcourse its is very evident Hezbollah could not have done it without the two master minds,Syria and Iran. They armed and supported the fighting force on several levels with experts imparting training to the group. What could the US have done in such a situation? Their ploy of letting the Israeli's have a free run at Lebanon didnt quite work and was not well recieved across the world. It was shockingly evident from the delayed response of Sec.State Condoleeza Rice, reaching Beirut almost after 2 weeks of bombing and not coming out with a concrete plan to end the devastation. The European Union didnt do much. Agreed Israel did have every right to do what it did.But it didnt work.Thats the gamble.And yet again US seems to have egg on their face even though they want to make a perfect omlette.Sigh..the problems of being a super power...
IRAN..now thats different..stable economy..technologically advanced..educated men and women..nuclear power...radical islam..now thats a killer..add in 1/3rds of the oil flow through their hands and you have an issue..a serious issue. The US cannot barge in there without Tel Aviv taking a hit.Sanctions? for what??..developing nuclear power?..not convincing enough a reason..radical islam?..these guys are less likely to have al-qaeda prowling their streets..bottomline..its insecurity..the US is higly insecure..agreed 9/11 is a good enough reason..but is this the way to do it..skewed foreign policy..thats what it is..

Pakistan...why in gods name are the americans still persisting with double talkin musharaf??..taliban now calls it their home..al-qaeda recruits from the madrasas there..open hatred for the us exists..daily protests against the zionists and americans...and still F-16's make there way to Pak...

China..invisible manipulators..the darfur crisis should be evident enough of the power of the next superpower to be..when theres and immediate need for an international peace keeping force to be present in sudan china threatens to veto it and supports the african corps who are woefully short of manpower ,arms and funds...why??..coz china has economic ties with the sudanese govt and do not want to harm this equation..across africa,chinese goods flood markets..their policy unlike the west is one of economic support..or so they claim..we will do business with you without intruding in your affairs..that seems to be their message...but is it really that simple?..is china interested in lending a helping hand to the poorest of the poor?..silence from beijing...

In this polarised situation with half the world agaisnt the USA where does India stand?..is NAM a viable option??..we have suffered equally as Israel yet we go on daily as if nothing happened..we get feeble support..and our government.. no matter who is in power.. is spineless..agreed an 8% growth rate is very important..and a strong economy will solve a lot of problems..but will it prevent another malegaon or mumbai??..some say involvement will fuel the fire..i say non involvement is worse..we are sitting ducks and we dont scream...let me rephrase that as selective involvement...if we are to be a superpower(i wonder if its worth it !!) we need a proactive foreign policy, similar to china's but more vocal..sort important national matters like the naxalite movement out as soon as possible..matters like kashmir have to be dealt with a stong hand..we need to find the courage to say NO MORE and mean it!!..thats when we'll be a superpower..garner more support..no more skewed foreign policy..the buck stops here..