Daily Times

We live in a world full of yardsticks that measure circumstances, miseries, sufferings and problems of humans, communities, races and nations (albeit, differently). How many times have we seen Uncle Sam and his allies bringing ruins to apparently well-to-do communities, glittering roads bearing fluxing vehicles in and out, gravidas scrolling airs of their imaginations animating toddlers gliding across their abdomens, lad and lassies knitting their dreams in daily hustle and bustle and a six-year-old impersonating a famous soccer player to amuse his siblings and parents? Though I don’t belong to the pro-Russian-invasion group of half-wits, I’m not an admirer of the US’s horrendous role-plays that it rendered when it made everyone suffer from its imposed war-havocs.

A Brief History of “Time”

Biden is furious, for sure, but he must not forget that his predecessors had been paying deaf ears for ages whenever their onsets of hostility were met with criticism. Over the decades, US missiles wreaked havoc on the “human”-communities, turning their hopes into ashes, and never did the former take up any responsibility for the miseries it brought to once-existing lives. A study conducted by GTN reveals some appalling stats, which in exact words say: “the United States has been at war for about 225 of the 243 years since its inception in 1776. While the number of US foreign military interventions had stood at 188 till 2017, the world superpower was found involved in 117 “partisan electoral interventions” between 1946 and 2000 or around one of every nine ballot exercises held since the Second World War. This means that the United States has been at war for more than 92 per cent of the time since its birth, making critics view that the rulers of the land found by Christopher Columbus have been addicted to the use of military might and intoxicated with their successes against weaker nations that could not defend themselves for one reason or the other. Or in other words, the United States has only been at peace for less than 20 years.”

the US playing the same cards

Now, the US is seen rendering an entirely different role here–essentially playing between dichotomies! On one hand, if it never thought of compromising for once during imposed war days, it urges Russia to compromise on no conditions. Despite Russian President Vladimir Putin offering talks to end the war in Ukraine, and urging the Ukrainian military to seize power and make peace, the White House threatens Russia of dire consequences. As is the case for old America, the new America follows suit. The latter isn’t any different than the former at offering safe exits to states’ leaders, which happens if either the leader is eye candy or its state is being aimed at by America’s opponents. A debate regarding Biden’s offer of an evacuation flight to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being met with an outpouring backlash over social media, where onlookers see the offer with two different outcomes, one lately, one fresh: Ashraf Ghani got the same offer whereupon he fled his native country, whereas President Volodymyr rejected Biden’s offer of an evacuation flight, telling US president: “I need ammunition, not a ride.”Well, impressive, isn’t it? An actor-turned-politician might be bruited as a meek competitor initially, but he is playing on the total contrary as he personifies bravery and resilience, at least till now.

Latest on the Menu

The latest on the news menu is appalling stats: Until Saturday evening, any chances of reconciliation between two countries at war have diminished and Russian forces have resumed their onslaught on Ukrainian cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Kherson. A curfew has been issued and people are advised to stay at home. According to BBC World Service: “a former Nato ambassador says Russia’s assault on Ukraine confirms Putin rejects the “international security order” and that he believes he has a right to dominate its neighbouring countries.”

India never seizes to surprise!

While the global fraternity is shocked by the recent show of naked power by Russia, Pakistan’s neighbourhood seems to have not woken up off its overlong slumber yet. It decided to abstain from the United Nations Security Council vote on a resolution that would have deplored Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. India joined China and the United Arab Emirates in abstaining in the vote on the US-drafted text. Blatant as it may sound, it chose the BJP’s normal way of addressing hostile affairs–pay no heed to any form of genocide, massacre or racial extermination.

The world in post-Russian invasion

New York Times recently drew an analysis of what the world might look like in post-Russian invasion. It pressed that Europe could face a new refugee crisis, and harsh economic penalties to punish Russia are expected to reverberate worldwide. In “what happens next for the Rest of the World,” it came up with three immediate consequences in three different spheres: Military, Economics and Diplomacy, saying that militaristically, NATO is going to send troops to its Eastern borders to join the US troops there, whereas Russia could launch crippling cyber attacks. On the economic front, sanctions are expected from the US and Europe that could wreak havoc on the rest of the world in the form of extremely high energy costs and supply chains. These severe sanctions might lead to a global hunt for alternative resource acquisition, and which aren’t easy to come by and would rather consume several years. Last but not least, the consequences of the recent withdrawal of the US from the decades-long war would repeat as humanitarian crises are expected to proliferate from another part of the world, Ukraine. Europe will face new refugee crises that will require international humanitarian aid.

Come what may, the United States of America must always remember that its reputation has not been of a pacifier but an intriguer, intruder and trespasser. It is high time that it should reclaim its righteousness and act as a true peacemaker. Any act of igniting the circumstances would open up a tinderbox. No one allows innocent lives to be taken away, and this should be everyone’s priority. Someone rightly said: “To wage a war is easy, what’s difficult is to wage a war without harming the innocent. And that’s where a reformist differs from a terrorist.”

The writer is based in Islamabad. He can be reached at mbilal.isbpk@gmail.com, FB/mbilal.16