8 Aug, 2014
Western Interventionism To Blame for Deadly Chaos in Middle East
CAIRO, Egypt, Aug 5 (NNN-XINHUA) – These days the Middle East situation is rather heart-wrenching, with rampant violence and destruction having torn peace and tranquility to tatters.
Libya is quickly descending into a possible civil war while militia clashes are ramping up; Iraq is teetering on the edge of a split-up as Islamic State militants have gobbled a large chunk of the nation’s territory and Kurds are moving closer to independence; and over one million Syrians have fled their homeland amid a bloody war that has raged on for years with still no end in sight.
That said, it is high time that the international community said a loud and clear “No more” to the West’s military interventionism that should be held accountable for these tragedies.
Modern history carries a long list of governments that were ruthlessly subverted by Western powers through either covert sabotage or direct military incursions.
By dubbing the toppled governments autocratic and anti-West, the West managed to paint their audacious actions into a cause for such lofty values as democracy, liberty and human rights.
As a result, respect of national sovereignty and other international norms fundamental to world peace and stability in the aftermath of the Second World War have been kneecapped.
Certain Western nations would use lies to wage wars. To oust an “unfriendly” government, they would not hesitate to fund rebels. That is because their ultimate motivation is to protect their own interests.
Compared to the great havoc Western intervention has wreaked on the region, the West’s conspicuous lack of sense of responsibility to help the intervened nations rebuild is even more lethal and devastating.
Take Iraq as an example. After the invasion, the United States failed to foster an Iraqi government inclusive enough to achieve national reconciliation among all different sects.
That mismanagement has not only left the nation’s most deep-rooted problems unfixed, but also bred waves of terrorist activities and sectarian violence that have claimed tens of thousands of innocent lives.
When U.S. President Barack Obama withdrew all U.S. forces from Iraq to honour his campaign promise, he left behind a mess. And it is the poor conditions of Iraq that incubated the so-called Islamic State.
It is also thought-provoking that the militants of the group, which is rooted in the ruins of a U.S. war, drew much of their fighting experience from another West-involved war — the one in Syria aimed at toppling President Bashar al-Assad.
The Libya story is equally sad and alarming. The militias that fought alongside NATO against Muammar Gaddafi are now battling each other, turning national reconstruction into a distant dream.
It is true that some of the countries in the region have long been struggling with problems such as corruption, sluggish economy, high unemployment and big wealth gaps. But what they need from the international community is a helping hand, not an upheaval-sowing meddling hand.
The West should reflect now. Besides, those intervening powers should work out comprehensive and effective measures to help clear up the mess of their own making and heal the wounds of the nations traumatised by their intervention.– NNN-XINHUA
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