Freedom a flawed concept to manipulate the masses!

Freedom and democracy is subservient to American benefit

They say in any war, truth is the first casualty, however hypocrisy must be a close second in the 'war on terrorism' currently being conducted in Afghanistan. President Bush has labelled this war in his speech to the UN General Assembly on the 10th of November as an attack on civilisation, an attack on enduring values and an attack on freedom and democracy. Bush said "There is a current in history and it runs towards freedom". The same freedom Bush talks about, was also used by his political ancestors in the past to nearly exterminate all the indigenous Red Indian community as well as to enslave millions of coloured people in the 18th and 19th centuries. In reality it can be demonstrated that America does not care one iota about values such as freedom and democracy, rather it only cares about its own national interest.

It can be shown very easily that this is the case, as values of freedom and democracy are non-existent and ignored even in this so-called bastion of the free world, called the United States of America. The US claims that its 'war on terrorism' is to protect freedoms such as the freedom of expression and the freedom of the individual. Bush in the same speech said 'We face enemies that hate not our policies but our existence, the tolerance of openness and creative culture that defines us'. However if America truly believes, in the freedom of expression, then why does it try to censor interviews given by Osama bin Laden on the Al Jazeera satellite network. If America believes in freedom of expression, why does it pressure its own media like CNN to put strong caveats on reports emanating from Taliban officials. If America really believes in freedom of expression, why does it support the Pakistani government's crude attempt to stop the Afghan ambassador from giving anti-American press conferences from Islamabad? If America really believes in the freedom of expression, why does it then actively support the Pakistani government's crackdown on anti-war street protests in our main cities. The answer is that America does not believe in freedom of expression at all, but rather she uses the value selectively when it benefits her. So in the above examples America uses its media to pump out its own propaganda under the guise of freedom of expression, but denies any opportunity for her adversary to do the same. The US ambassador is free to criticise the Taliban from her cosy residence in Islamabad, but the Afghan ambassador is persona non grata if he dares to criticise America from the same city. America encouraged street demonstrations in the name of freedom of expression against their Serbian enemy Milosevic, but are strongly against Muslims demonstrating on the streets in Pakistan against their new flavour of the month ally, Musharraf. Consequently Bush continues to hide behind these slogans of freedom, trying to fool the world that America has some kind of noble agenda, when in reality its agenda is to fulfil only America's national interest.

With respect to freedom of the individual, the reality is the same, with hundreds of people after September 11 (mostly Muslims) still locked up in US jails awaiting charge. Indeed several Pakistanis according to recent news reports who were arrested post September 11 on the basis of random search and suspicion are still in jail indefinitely because of new sweeping powers given to US law enforcement agencies by Congress recently. These are just some examples of the oppression of the individual faced now in the so-called land of the free.

When we review the other pillar of Bush's civilisation, democracy, we find the same hallmarks of hypocrisy and selectivity. On CNN's Larry King show (9 November), John Ashcroft US Attorney General argued that terrorists use force because they can't win the argument, they use freedom to destroy freedom. The problem with this argument is that the democracy Ashcroft says he believes in, like freedom, also does not exist. If America truly believes in democracy, why does it have an Electoral College who appoints the President rather than using the popular vote? If America really believes in democracy why is its whole electoral system exclusively dependent on money from Corporate America such that only capitalist multi-millionaires or billionaires like Bush or the new Mayor of New York, Mike Bloomberg can hope to win elections. If America really believes in democracy, why is it one of five permanent members that has a right of veto at the Security Council on any issue it doesn't like, such as the condemnation of Israeli occupation of Palestine? If America really believes democracy is part of its enduring civilisation, why does it support ruthless dictators in the Middle East who all imprison sincere Muslims who dare to struggle against them and why has it supported despotic and corrupt leaders like Marcos, Suharto and Pinochet in the past? And finally if America really believes that democratic principles and not force is always the right answer (a la Kashmir), why did its founding fathers like George Washington use the strategy of violence and terror to overthrow their occupying force. The reality is clear, that democracy is merely a charade invented by powerful capitalists to hide their real motive of seeking greater and greater profits via increased market share and control over world resources, in reality a system of the capitalists for the capitalists and by the capitalists. So in the above examples America ensures that its own electoral system has in built mechanisms to ensure the 'right type' of people are elected to office. Indeed too much democracy is actually a nuisance for America; it actually gets in her way and could affect the achievement of her national interest. Therefore having veto power in the Security Council, dominant shareholding voting privileges in the IMF and all the trade advantages/leverage that go with being a superpower in the WTO are immensely more useful, than allowing a system of democratic decision making which relies on one member one vote.

America also does not care whether nations of the world are democratic or not, as she is hardly democratic herself, she only really cares that these nations tow her foreign policy line. When faced with a choice of democracy or self-interest, she will always choose the latter every day of the week and twice on Sunday. In fact having elections in Muslim countries specifically is positively dangerous for America, as the people would inevitably want to see a proper Islamic system established. This type of result would obviously be detrimental for America's extensive interests, so it suits America to have pliable dictators doing its bidding in our countries. For example, Pakistan is now a front line state in America's 'war on terrorism,' consequently the restoration of democracy which was a constant theme for America pre September 11 has now 'miraculously' disappeared from the White House's agenda with Islamabad. To further prove the phoney US belief in democracy, take the Section 508 sanctions which are levied by America on nations that can not be certified democracies and which were levied on Pakistan after the coup on 12/10/99. Every Tom, Dick and Harry American official continually told us over the last two years that these sanctions could not be lifted before there was a restoration of newly elected assemblies. However these sanctions have now been lifted post September 11, even though last time we looked, President Musharraf despite his grandiose title was still an unelected dictator.

Consequently the civilisation Bush wants to protect has no enduring value to it apart from insatiable greed and naked self- interest. It is therefore even more remarkable that some of our secular elite still view the American system, as a beacon of light for Pakistan. However as days go by, more and more of these secular elite are now beginning to see through this American charade, as the masses have done for decades. They are also slowly coming to the inevitable realisation that the secular systems in the Muslim world are on their last legs and could fall any day now. America knows it has lost the intellectual argument in the Islamic world and therefore has resorted to prop up Muslim countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan with billions of dollars and thousands of troops. As can be seen above, America's capitalist civilisation is rotten, corrupt and if it is a beacon, it is one whose light disappeared centuries ago. When President Bush talks about defending freedom, we should definitely read his lips (like his father's before him) and understand what he really means when he utters these words. It is freedom that allows the American government and multinationals to oppress its own citizens, as well as having the freedom to colonise the rest of the world. This is the freedom that Bush is worried about losing, this is the freedom that Bush is killing the children of Afghanistan for, this is the freedom that keeps him awake at night and which he and his fellow capitalists will spare no effort in trying to uphold. It is only the Islamic political system, the Khilafah, which can offer any alternative and noble vision for mankind and which Bush through his phoney 'war on terrorism' is determined to ensure is not re-established. The elite therefore have a clear choice, continue to try and prop up the US supported and discredited secular Muslim regimes whose time is fast running out, so earning the wrath of the people and Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta'ala). Or to support the incoming Islamic state which will implement the system of Islam, unify the Muslim world and bring justice back to the whole of mankind, so earning the infinite reward of Allah (Subhanahu Wa ta'ala).