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 Huntingtons
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, Indias 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 Sams 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 worlds only hyper-power, a nation
set up by the survivors of the Nazi holocaust and the worlds 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.
Sharons Likudationists
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 moments
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-easts
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 Indias 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 elses
land of course) will be very comfortable in bed with this bunch of Indian
Nazi-lovers. Sharons 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 Centurys greatest
victims to one of its most reviled oppressors.
Indias 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 States
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!
Satya Sagar is an Indian journalist based in Thailand. He can be reached
at [email protected]