Coalition accross the continents: Axis of the Apocalyptic
Axis Of The Apocalyptic
by Satya Sagar
Znet
09 June, 2003
As old, established global alliances break like empty beer bottles in
a Bombay street brawl- the War on Terror is giving birth to a strange
coalition across the continents. India-Israel-USA.
In their own words they call themselves a Triad against Terrorism. In
reality they are nothing more than the curious progeny of a spurious
theory- Samuel Huntington's Clash of Civilizations.
The Hindus, Jews and Christians versus the Moslems of the world today
and the Confucians of China tomorrow. This is nothing less than the
Axis of the Apocalyptic.
On May 8, India's National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra formally
announced its arrival at the 97th annual dinner meeting in Washington
of the American Jewish Committee, an out-and-out Zionist outfit.
To quote Mishra " a core, consisting of democratic societies" must
emerge, "which can take on international terrorism in a holistic and
focused manner ---- to ensure that global terrorism is pursued to its
logical conclusion". The India-Israel-USA triad would form the core
of this 'democratic' alliance. (He could have added that the 'logical
conclusion' will be annihilation of all those defined as
'terrorists').
Topping up his irrational exuberance over the viability of this axis
Mishra went to make a startling announcement. Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon will visit India sometime in the second week of June
this year.
Before we get into discussing the life expectancy of this newborn
creature a little bit of background first. This is an axis that has
been in the making for a while now ever since the quasi-fascist Hindu
chauvinists came to power in India a few years ago.
The Indian loony right have used 'Islamic terrorism' as the
ostensible excuse for their assiduous cultivation of both the US and
Israel in search of strategic partnership. But for those who know
them well it is also obvious they harbor grandiose illusions about
the destiny of the nuclear-armed 'Hindus' becoming a great power in
global affairs.
While Israel responded warmly to the Indian overtures right from the
start, the US was initially indifferent. It already had an old and
trusted slave in South Asia- Pakistan- the pet hate object of the
Hindu chauvinists- and was reluctant to retire it hastily.
The events of September 11 however have seen the US do precisely
that- fire Pakistan- and allow India to qualify for the post of Uncle
Sam's favorite vassal in the region. The blooming India-Israel
romance has merely helped seal this dubious deal between three very
different countries.
For the obvious question that arises is - what do the world's only
hyper-power, a nation set up by the survivors of the Nazi holocaust
and the world's largest producer of masala movies- really have in
common ? It seems, their interests do intersect on several themes.
To begin with- they are all deeply in love with Osama Bin Laden.
Seriously, in Bin Laden all three governments have found their
perfect demon- a demon with designer horns. He is Muslim, suitably
long-bearded, a religious fanatic, a confirmed terrorist and likes
living in caves. Even better he pops up once in a while on our
television screens speaking in a strange tongue. Just like the odious
villain in a James Bond flick threatening to blow up the world if not
allowed to take it over. (Heck, I thought the Talebs prohibited
music, dance and photography)
All of which makes it easier for the regimes that run these three
countries to keep their citizens perpetually scared, jack up military
spending and justify whatever economic/social policies their
corporate masters want them to implement.
Secondly, since all three nations pretend to be great democracies
(the messiest, the costliest and the loneliest) the Bin Laden bogey
allows them to squash every semblance of civil and political rights
from the lives of their citizens- while getting extreme right wingers
re-elected on ultra-nationalist, anti-terrorist platforms.
At a deeper level there is another interesting commonality emerging
between these three countries. The power elites ruling all of them
are deeply obsessed with manipulating the structures of the STATE.
The Hindu right wing is desperately trying to capture the Indian
State and cleanse it of all the secular, pluralist, democratic
elements inherited from the Indian struggle against British
colonialism (a struggle to which they contributed absolutely
nothing). They want to redefine what it means to be an Indian
completely in 'Hindu' terms and define what it means to be a Hindu
according to the Weltenschauung of a minority upper-caste. And all
this in a country where there are large non-Hindu minorities present.
Sharon's 'Likud'ationists are ruthlessly seeking to consolidate and
expand the racist Israeli State to fulfill an ultra-nationalist
vision of lebensraum for a Greater Israel.
The most audacious of all manipulations is of course the attempt by
the US elites to breakdown existing international structures and
create a completely new State- at the global level. A State that will
serve their interests and their interests alone. The 100 year
American Reich.
But is that all it is about- their common grounds ? I wish it were.
Really. Quite frighteningly, all three regimes are today run by
people who will not show a moment's hesitation in using weapons of
mass destruction against anyone they dub their 'enemy'.
The repeated pronouncements in recent times by the United States that
it 'reserves the right' to exercise the nuclear option, even for a
first strike, is to be taken seriously. Particularly as it comes from
a nation that is the only one on this planet to have ever carried out
a nuclear attack anywhere.
Israel, the middle-east's only nuclear power, has also repeatedly
threatened there will be 'devastating consequences' for countries
that dare to strike Israel even with conventional weapons. Surely a
clear signal of their willingness to use WMDs.
The Indian Minister of Defense George 'loose cannon' Fernandes, has
in the past year said publicly several times that if there is a
nuclear exchange between India and Pakistan ' We will lose a few
million people but Pakistan will be wiped out completely'. (I want to
know the names and addresses of these few million people he is
willing to sacrifice)That a senior minister of any government will
even talk about such a possibility so casually shows the material
these madmen are made of.
Wait, it gets worse. What is even more horrific about this emerging
Axis of the Apocalyptic is that all of them today harbor elements who
have classic Nazi-like intentions towards Muslims (in the abstract).
In the US there are those who talk of 'nuking Mecca' who are
dangerously close to the powers-that-be. In Israel the extreme
rightwing would like to ethnically cleanse the West Bank and Gaza of
its Palestinian people.
In India the state sponsored pogrom against Muslims in the western
Indian state of Gujarat two years ago showed the world the true face
of Hindu fascism. Over 2000 Muslim men, women and children were
systematically killed by Hindu mobs while state authorities looked on
or even joined in. A clear attempt was made by the Hindu fanatics to
push the entire Muslim community out of the province by destroying
their sources of income.
At the national level, echoing the practices of the Nazis, the
current Indian regime, has systematically rewritten history text
books and cooked up archaeological evidence to suit its fanciful
theories about India's past, persecuted religious minorities and sent
storm troopers to physically intimidate its critics.
In fact, talking about the Nazis - the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
(RSS), a militarist, so called 'cultural' organization, which
mentored many senior leaders of the current Indian government, is a
vintage fascist organization. The Prime Minister Atal Behari
Vajpayee, considered a 'moderate ' (and believe me he looks like one
compared to the rest) among the Hindu Hawks, has been a life-long
member of the RSS. And I do not use the term 'fascist' as an abuse
word (I have choicer words for that purpose) but to refer
specifically to the political ideology spewed up by Mussolini in
Italy of the 1920s and later 'developed' so devastatingly by Herr
Hitler in Germany. But there will be no irony at all when Ariel
Sharon shakes hands with his Indian counterpart later this month.
Unfortunately, the man presiding over a nation built to say Never
Again to the Nazi holocaust (built on somebody else's land of course)
will be very comfortable in bed with this bunch of Indian
Nazi-lovers. Sharon's visit to India at this juncture will be just
one more episode in the relentless realpolitik of the Zionists that
has seen Israel transform from a land of the 20th Century's greatest
victims to one of its most reviled oppressors.
India's Hindu fundamentalists too will see no contradiction in
admiring Hitler and Sharon in the same breath. With their paranoia
about 'Muslim terrorism' and their own vision of a Greater India the
proponents of an Indian fascism are ardent fans of Sharon- for his
willingness to use disproportionate force to put down the rebellious
Palestinians, his contempt for both international and human rights
laws and his ability to make the monkey (s) in the US White House
dance to his tune.
Coming back to how this new Axis is likely to fare in the future it
is obvious that there are glaring contradictions within its fold.
Contradictions, that have to do with the sheer mismatch in the
abilities and ambitions of India and Israel on one hand and the
United States on the other.
The simple fact is that while India and Israel delude themselves
about being invited to sup with the Superpower for the latter they
are both a highly dispensable duo. Mere client-states to be disposed
off with when their utility is over.
Israel, as the United State's best bulldog in the turbulent Arab
world, to keep an eye on those precious oil reserves. India the dumb,
short-sighted elephant to be suckered into conflict with the Chinese
dragon someday. And both to seek, hunt and destroy subversive Muslim
militants on behalf of Uncle Sam.
So, on closer observation, this Axis of the Apocalyptic turns to be
not a single creature but a strange menagerie of a bulldog, elephant
and the man-eating tiger that the US has currently become. A tiger
that has always had permanent interests, never permanent friends.
Together in the short run they could be a terrifying lot indeed. But
if the prey turns out to be tougher to get and the hunt gets longer
than planned the tiger will surely not mind supping solo. All alone
by itself- on elephant steak and bulldog burger. SHLURP ! BURP !
SHALOM ! NAMASTE!