| March 25, 2003 | Tuesday | Muharram 21, 1424 |
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Champions once more
A noble gesture
WASHINGTON policymakers would do well to see whether the chauvinistic unilateralism that now characterizes their foreign policy will help America in the long run. In an interview on Monday, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer warned that the current war on Iraq could be followed by more US-led “disarmament wars.” Unless European leaders joined forces to counter-balance US might, he said, the world order would function in a situation where the national interests of the sole superpower would become “the defining criteria” for the use of military might. Coming from one of America’s allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the remarks must be taken seriously. They do not merely reflect the views of those European states which have disagreed with Washington’s Iraq war; they reflect the worldwide feelings against the danger which America’s unilateralist doctrine of force poses to world peace and security. As an example of the Bush administration’s proclivity for abandoning diplomacy, Fischer pointed to the crisis with North Korea. The Clinton administration, he said, tackled Pyongyang’s nuclear issue diplomatically and got results.
But the situation became “problematic” when the current US administration abandoned that course and tried threats and arm twisting, instead. In Iraq’s case, the world was aghast at America showing an unseemly haste in going to war without exhausting all diplomatic means for disarming Iraq. It did not even bother to place a second resolution seeking authorization before the Security Council, knowing full well that either it would not get a majority, or Paris and Moscow would veto it. Thus, without obtaining UN authorization, it unleashed its fury on an Iraq that was fully complying with Resolution 1441. The current death and destruction being rained on Iraq is the result of America’s new trigger-happy approach. This indeed is the basic issue that the world has now been called upon to confront.
Already, we have begun to see the negative effects of America’s unilateralism. Its first casualty is the international coalition on terror formed in the wake of 9/11. Most nations of the world, including Arab and Muslim countries, had rallied to America’s side and cooperated with it fully in fighting the menace of international terrorism. However, Washington’s war on Iraq has dealt a serious blow to this coalition, for no one believes that the war on Iraq has anything to do with terrorism. Another casualty of the war is the UN. Not even the world’s worst dictators and totalitarian regimes have treated the world body the way America has. The pity is that the US had played a crucial role in founding the UN at the end of World War II. But, by going to war without UN authorization, America has sidelined the world body and virtually rendered it irrelevant in the context of the emerging world order.
The idea behind the founding of the UN was the international community’s desire to develop a multilateral system that would guarantee world peace with recourse, where necessary, to collective action in the form of arbitration, conciliation and mediation for a peaceful resolution of disputes among nations. However, by treating this organization with contempt at a critical time, and short-circuiting its role in the context of Iraq, the US has overtuned the very concept of multilateralism and replaced it with the idea of unilateral use of force where it perceives its own interests critically at stake. This way, America is forcing the rest of the world to unite to safeguard its economic and geopolitical interests and save the world from being turned into a handmaiden of American cartels and military-industrial establishment.
IF there were any doubts about the overwhelming superiority of the Australian cricket team over its rivals, they were emphatically removed on Sunday at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, where Ricky Ponting’s team hammered the hapless Indians to clinch World Cup 2003. The Aussies went about their task with enviable panache, bludgeoning the Indian attack with a vengeance from the very first over. The Indians never quite recovered from Adam Gilchrist’s assault on their opening bowlers Zaheer Khan and Javagal Srinath. The onslaught destroyed the confidence of the bowlers and allowed the Aussies to amass a mammoth 359 for two. The most crucial part in this demolition job was played by skipper Ricky Ponting, who hammered a rapid-fire 140 not out in a record 234 run unbeaten partnership with Damien Martyn. The score proved far too daunting for the Indians who were bowled out for a paltry 234 — a massive 125 runs short of the target. The only resistance came from Virender Sehwag and, to some extent, from Rahul Dravid. Once they were out, the Indian batting collapsed like a house of cards.
The dismal performance meant that India’s dream of winning cricket’s highest honour fizzled out rather tamely in the end, with captain Saurav Ganguly left to rue the decision to send Australia in to bat after winning the toss. The only compensation for the team was that master batsman Sachin Tendulkar was chosen as the man of the tournament. With their brilliant batting, superb bowling and highly disciplined approach to the game, the Australians have decisively proved that they simply are in another league. A highly competitive domestic cricketing structure combined with excellent training facilities are the key to Australia’s dazzling success. Countries such as Pakistan, which crashed out of the Cup in the preliminary stage, would do well to closely study the Australian system and learn from its example. Winning their third World Cup, the last two in succession, the Aussies have now gone one up on the West Indies in their ‘70s and ‘80s heyday. They have also proved beyond doubt that they have the talent, the professionalism and the sheer mental toughness that it takes to make true champions.
NO amount of political bad blood between any two nations can come in the way of serving humanity as long as we have people among us who possess a heart. This was apparent from a letter written by a Bangalore-based cardiologist, Dr Devi Shetty, which appeared in Dawn on Sunday. Dr Shetty specializes in treating children suffering from complicated cardiac problems and has successfully operated on some children from affluent Pakistani families who came to his hospital in Bangalore. The purpose of his writing the said letter was to offer free treatment to Pakistani children suffering from heart diseases whose parents may not be able to afford expensive life-saving operations abroad. Just goes to show how someone with a heart can rise above the political differences which plague relations between India and Pakistan, and extend a healing hand in keeping with the noble principles of his profession.
It is people like Dr Shetty from whom the heartless pundits advocating belligerent attitudes and hatred on both sides of the border can learn a lesson or two. South Asia is home to the world’s growing number of impoverished millions who, even if they manage to survive disease and epidemics, continue to fall victim to malnutrition and sheer poverty. Our region also has the best of human talent and expertise available to mankind today to combat disease, poverty and other socio-economic problems. One hopes that the present atmosphere of animosity between the two neighbouring countries dissipates so that people-to-people contacts can be resumed and we can all share in the good things that people of the two countries have to offer each other.