In These New Times

by Ali Bulac Today’s Zaman

The US is installing a missile defense system in Poland, the agreement for which was signed on Aug. 20. A radar system had already been installed in the Czech Republic.
At the signing ceremony in Poland, the US secretary of state made an interesting statement of justification. “This is a system that is defensive and is not aimed at anyone,” she said, adding, “This is an agreement … that will establish a missile defense site that will help us to deal with the new threats of the 21st century … from countries like Iran or from North Korea.”
This explanation is neither smart nor convincing. Who is “us”? The US or NATO countries? The new defense system is targeted at the east and the north. For the present time, there is no threat in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. Obviously, the targets are Iran and Russia. The one which takes precedence as a target is a matter of ambiguity at the present time. It could be Russia or Iran, as well. Iran is one of the countries included in the axis of evil declared by George W. Bush. The others were Syria and North Korea. North Korea has been taken off the list of countries that require immediate attention for now. Syria was about to conclude a deal with Israel after the involvement of Turkey in the process as a mediator but a crisis broke out in the Caucasus. This means that Syria may have to pick a new place and position in the new composition. That Russia hosted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Moscow at a time when the crisis erupted is, of course, no coincidence. Russia also has extended a hand of support to the Arab countries which it had neglected for a long time.

The end of the Cold War changed a lot of things. The Arab world became defenseless and desperate. The US, Great Britain and Israel felt free to implement their policies. The Soviet Union is the primary actor responsible for the current situation in Afghanistan; however, if the Soviet Union still existed, the US and NATO would not have been able to enter Afghanistan so easily. What happened in Iraq needs no explanation. The occupation cost the lives of 1 million Muslims for no reason. Millions of people had to migrate to foreign countries or became refugees in their own land. While all these events were taking place, Russia did nothing. Indeed, it declared support for the US in its war on terror after Sept. 11. The reason for this stance was not, of course, to buy time until it gains strength. The reason was its eagerness to test whether it was possible to maintain hegemony over the region in cooperation with the US.

Russia soon realized that it was wrong in this expectation. The West is acting with a motive of unlimited gains and maintenance of hegemony around the world. It does not share anything with anybody; it makes its richness and wealth by suppressing the 80 percent of the world population that lives in poverty.

Russia realized this reality with experience. It suddenly noticed that it was trapped while Iran was set as the target. Radar systems, missile defense installations and the admission of former Soviet satellite countries to NATO in an attempt to block Russia’s way were all taken by Russia as Western initiatives to contain it. Israel, which has engagements and interests everywhere, suddenly became visible in Georgia. It extends military support to a fundamental and intolerant Christian like Mikhail Saakashvili and trains the Georgian army. There is no need to ask what the connection is because we can observe Iran and Russia next to it.

The crisis that erupted in the Caucasus showed that the new order set up after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 was very fragile. Recall that father Bush said back then that the US had taken action to set up a new world order that would last at least 100 years. Sometimes, international theories, strategic theories, unavoidable human desires and motives to rule may become uncontrollable and unlimited. The new world order proved to be temporary as with other desires because it was based on the motives to maintain hegemony, exploitation and invasion. In other words, it became apparent that a unipolar world is not possible. It is now time to reconsider many things, including legends of globalization.