It had to happen. It was inevitable that Israel was going to become the fishbone lodged in the throat of the US. That state was carved out of the hearts of a 120-million strong populace. Its very foundations were wrong. How could a nation-state of a few lakhs subject 120 million people living all round them to constant humiliation and belittlement? What rules have the US and Europe not broken to shelter this country? They compromised on their national interests. They betrayed allies. They put their economies on the line and are doing it once again. They adopted double-standards in their international policies which damaged and is till damaging their credibility.
In the 50s during the cold war, America installed dictatorships around the world while sloganeering for democratic freedoms and human rights. This was the slogan it employed ideologically against the Soviet Union but it did not practice what it loudly preached. After the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, it began a campaign for democracy around the globe. But in the Middle East, for the sake of Israel, it patronised monarchs and dictators. Not only did it usurp the personal freedoms of the Arab people but it also kept them in the worst inhuman conditions possible. All Arab governments under the aegis of the US have violated human rights in such a way that each one of them can boast their own Guantanamo Bay. In some cases, the prisoners who couldnt be made to sing like a canary in Gitmo were then transported to Jordan, Morocco or Egypt. The tactics employed here could crack even the hardest nuts.
One of the proofs of American hypocrisy is its policies regarding Egypt and Pakistan. It used Pakistans security forces to nurture, train and supervise Muslim extremists. During the Afghan War, all the deserters and renegades from Arab lands were collected and then transported to Pakistans tribal areas where they were trained for Jihad in the name of Islam and then used against the Soviet forces. Later, the Taliban were organised and systematised under the tutelage of the Pakistan Army and they were allowed to set up an Islamic government of their liking. The human rights violation that took place then and there are now common knowledge. This policy of Americas resulted in fostering religious extremism in our society and politics and our society is in a state of chaos. On the other hand, it used the security forces in Egypt to crush the forces of religious extremism and it demolished all the organisations having religious leanings over there. The kind of people Pakistan patronised, they were tortured by the Egyptian forces and both these processes had the blessings of the US. Irony being that America is now suffering from both ends of this double-edged sword. Its double standards have come back to haunt it.
Israels aggressive expansionist policies and highhandedness in dealing with Arab nations incited them against their monarchs and dictators. Saddam Hussein milked these very emotions to buttress his dictatorship. Iraq gave safe haven to anti-Israel organisations which then endangered Israel. Thus, during Bushs tenure, Saddam was conned into invading Kuwait and then Iraq was attacked upon. This war did not bear any meaningful results. The barbaric bombing of Iraq enflamed Arab sentiments and many extremist organisations took root and became active. The Arab world was enveloped by trends of rebellion and unrest which then endangered America, if it propped up dictatorships any longer, there was a very real chance that these emotions could explode mutinously. Consequently, the drive for democracy was then restored. Iraq was invaded on the basis of fabricated justifications and efforts are still underway to install a certain kind of democracy over there. But democracy exists only in name over there, whereas the culture of violence that took root during Saddams era has still not been seen to. Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were pressurised into establishing democratic institutions and they did exactly that; except the ruling families still remained the fountainhead of power. Similarly, it let extremist organization Hamas take part in the Palestinian election in the name of democracy. But now it is looking to Israel to crush the very same Hamas.
The so-called democracy established in Iraq under the shadow of atrocities is now subject to many sanctions and the people it brought to the fore are the very people that the US is working to destabilise. It is afraid of the possibility where a democratic Iraq might ally with Iran; a possibility which will cost America a lot. The fact of the matter is that Americas Middle Eastern policy is now plagued with incoherence and aimlessness.
Egypt is one of the principal players in the Middle East. It is the country Israel is apprehensive of. It has never been able to fight a war with Egypt by itself. In both major wars, not only did it rely on the US politically but militarily as well. If the American Air Force had not entered combat during the last war, Israel would have been captured in a matter of hours. Egypts victory had become evident. Americas well-timed strike helped the retreating Israelis make a comeback and nab the Egyptian Army. Thus when announcing the ceasefire after this, Anwar Sadaat tellingly said, I can take on Israel, but I cant take on the US. The Egyptian public has now moved on from the effects of this war and many novel ways have now been devised to deal blows to colonial and imperial powers. Dealing with these is beyond the US and Israel. Hezbollah gave Israel a thorough beating in the war some time ago.
Keeping this in mind, Israel is extremely apprehensive about the waves of protest in Egypt and America even more so. America is at a loss about how to deal with the rapidly changing situation in Egypt. President Obama has taken many about turns in the ten or twelve days that have elapsed since. He talks about being with the public and telling Hosni Mubarak to leave. But then he also talks about gradual transfer of power. So, its mixed signals galore. The US can neither resist a popular movement, neither can it save Mubarak. But they are active to install an even worse dictator than the incumbent. Come what may, America wants to install Hosni Mubaraks team sans Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. The public is agitating strongly against that. As the days pass, this revolution will gain speed and its effects will reach other Arab countries as well. It will become increasingly difficult to shelter Israel. America will have to realise the discomfort the bone stuck in its throat is causing it.
The writer is one of Pakistans most widely read columnists.