By Dr. Sawraj Singh
The most important thing which came out in the year 2011 is that the crisis faced by the western capitalist countries is becoming deeper and deeper, and they are not finding a way out. This may prove to be the last crisis of western capitalism and western domination of the last two centuries and the American era, which started about half a century ago, are going to end soon. The crisis has manifested itself mainly as an economic crisis, but it has also social, moral, and cultural aspects. America saw an anti-Wall Street movement which is against the capitalist system and the disparities it has created. This anti-capitalism movement has spread to many European countries as well. The main cause of the crisis of the western countries is that the service sector of the economy has grown at the expense of the manufacturing sector, which has mostly shifted to Asia, primarily China.
The Middle East saw a big turmoil. It started in Tunisia, moved to Egypt, and then spread to other countries. The western countries used the state of turmoil to dethrone Gaddafi, who was a thorn in their flesh. He was murdered in the most brutal and barbaric way. The openly aggressive attitude of the western countries in Libya shows that they have become desperate. After Libya, they want to overthrow Assad in Syria. The western countries are using human rights as an excuse to invade other countries. They also used Islam terrorism as an excuse to invade the other countries. However, they are using the Islamic fundamentalists against the secular leaders. Iran has once again proved its mettle. The western countries are afraid of the consequences of invading Iran. Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz, which can severely disrupt the oil supply of the western countries.
America attacked and killed Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan. America is projecting this as a great victory. However, the problem of terrorism is far from being solved and has actually increased. There is a growing confrontation between America and Pakistan. Pakistan is moving away from America and towards China. Pakistan seems to be headed for more instability.
America was badly rebuffed in its own backyard when Hugo Chavez held a summit in Caracas, Venezuela, which was attended by the Heads of State from 33 countries. A new organization of the American states was created which has marginalized the Organization of the American States (OAS). In this new organization, America and Canada were kept out. In the OAS, which is financed by America and Canada, Cuba was deliberately kept out. In the new organization, Cuba will be a very prominent partner. Hugo Chavez is greatly impressed by Castro and takes advice and direction from him.
Japan was hit by a big earthquake and tsunami. Japan was unable to properly cope with the natural disaster. In a way, this is also a big setback for the world capitalist system. Japan has been the second largest economy of the world, which moved to the third spot this year. However, if we take the population and the land area of Japan into consideration, then it will become clear that Japan is the most developed capitalist country in the world. Therefore, the crisis of Japan is a precursor to the crisis of the entire capitalist system.
America has withdrawn its forces from Iraq. This is a clear acceptance of defeat. What has America accomplished in Iraq? It has killed hundreds of thousands of innocent citizens; Iraq is left with scars of the thousands of American bombs. The priceless relics of the Mesopotamian civilization have been destroyed. After doing all this, America only achieved a humiliating defeat.
In Afghanistan, America and NATO did not do any better than Iraq. The situation there is worse than Iraq for the western countries. They are willing to hand over the state power to the Taliban. However, the Taliban are not willing to give America and NATO any face-saving compromise. They not only want to defeat the western forces, but also want to humiliate them and let the whole world know that they have been miserably defeated. The growing tension between America and Pakistan is very adversely affecting Afghanistan. Pakistan has almost completely closed the land supplies to Afghanistan. It is not easy to find an alternate route for those supplies through Russia and the Central Asian countries. It is becoming clear that just like the Russians, the Americans are going to face their last defeat in Afghanistan.
Recently, the North Korean President Kim Jong-Il has died. His son is going to replace him just like he replaced his father. North Korea is that country which made the greatest arrogant power, the USA, face its first defeat. North Korea further humiliated America by capturing the American ship USS Pueblo (AGER-2) and making it the biggest tourist attraction in Pyongyang; it has attracted over 250,000 visitors since being moved to the Taedong River. China has remained the closest friend of North Korea and the new President Kim Jong-un will soon visit China. The relations between North Korea and China will continue to grow stronger.
The year 2011 showed that America and the other western capitalist countries do not want a peaceful transition from a unipolar world to a multipolar world. To preserve their hegemony and monopoly, they have adopted very aggressive policies. They want to push India to a war with China. China is their main adversary while India is their potential adversary. What can be better than simultaneously weakening your adversary and potential adversary? America and the western countries want to impose a Third World War on Asia and make the Indian subcontinent the arena for the Third World War. The Indian people and the people of the world should defeat such imperialist, racist, and Zionist designs and make the world peaceful and prosperous.
Dr. Sawraj Singh, MD F.I.C.S. is the Chairman of the Washington State Network for Human Rights and Chairman of the Central Washington Coalition for Social Justice. He can be reached at [email protected] or 509-962-3652.
