The Myth of Lessons Learned

By

Sattar Rind

Does anyone learn from history? I guess not, as it seems to be a preverbal axiom, everyone phrasing it solely for the sake of dictum without understanding the corporal meaning of concealed or revealed persuasion it requires most.

Regrettably however no one appears to be interested in it. Did the world learn any lessons from the First World War? If it had, the Second World War, with its annihilations and death of millions, would not have taken place.

More recently, we have observed Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist group known to all of us as Al-Qaeda, linked with the sad events of 9/11. Now, we are observing another, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who is complicit in the brutal killing of fellow human beings. In addition to this he forcefully arranges marriages for his terrorist seminary from the bounded people of the simple life in his controlled area, as his army of terrorists sell and rape women and cruelly behead Muslims, Christian minorities, Shias or anyone who is different from them.

Bin Laden and al-Baghdadi have both created tremendous chaos throughout their regions and beyond. One however had seemingly died ‘theatrically’ whereas the second appears to soon be meeting his maker.

What have we witnessed in Afghanistan for the last thirty years? Everyone has seen total destruction. Moreover, without any end in sight we expect to see further damage for the foreseeable future.

As USA and NATO forces have left Afghanistan in the last year, it is assumed from this that the two historically competitive neighbours, India and Pakistan, are preparing to gain an assurance for themselves whereby Afghanistan is a secured country for them, what Pakistan used to refer to as ‘strategic depth’ safety measures on the western border’. The current President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Ashraf Ghani perhaps realises this and accordingly seems willing to gain Pakistan’s support as the potentially best option for peace in Afghanistan. On the other hand, the Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan, Abdullah Abdullah, may for his own reasons be seeking support from India. India is fully aware of the fact that Pakistan could face difficulties if the west and east move their forces forward, any confrontation with them being in its favour.

Whichever scenario actually takes place, one does not know the exact current position being considered, or even if it is just an assumption or merely a thinking process of the analysts of the three countries, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Thus the myth of lesson-learning remains. However, everyone knows the facts of who is behind the desired war. Simply this is a war between purported riches of petro dollars countries, the Arabs and dominating forces that have their own agenda to continue this process without caring for their populace and peace for the coming generation, having lost all hope themselves of seeing it in their remaining living days.

Zia, a General with a mission to make Pakistan a fortress of Islam, who had only a desire to extend his ruling period, got involved with the CIA in the war of Afghanistan, laying down to the USSR. It is an undeniable fact that collectively they broke it to pieces.

Nevertheless, fighters of the Afghanistan war, given the name of the Mujahideen, the holy warriors, were not equipped to stop the war at that point. Alternatively, the USSR occupant forces returned from Afghanistan. The Mujahideen, heeled with the brainwave that they could do whatever they wanted, had the idea, albeit factitious, that the infinite petro-dollars were to be used in the war, much the same way as the CIA dollars were in Afghanistan during the period when the USSR occupied the territory.

In the 1990s, US President George Bush Senior acted without rational, it primarily being a war between two Muslim states, by attacking Iraq. In addition, the US ambassador to Iraq had given assurance to the Iraqi president that they would not interfere in the matter. In other words, the ambassador pressed Saddam Hussein to attack Kuwait, while they remained neutral.

The second time Iraq was attacked was based on a lie by the deception experts that Iraq was equipped with chemical and large scale destructive weapons and was planning to attack New York, having been connected with Al-Qaeda. However, nothing to date has ever been proved in this respect nor has any such connection ever been found.

Electronic Media, a new world phenomena, on the other hand played a role akin to an insubstantial weapon in this war, bringing forth the prophecies of 16^th century astrologer Nostradamus. According to these, one powerful man from the Middle East would attack New York and decimate it, but was none other than Saddam Hussein. The US labelled their resulting response as liberating the Iraqi nation from the dictatorship the country was under.

The most striking scene was the humiliation of Saddam, a once seemingly brave man to his people. The same liberation has occurred in Libya and Egypt. However, never has there been found a liberator for Palestine from its occupiers. Neither the petro-dollars countries nor the CIA have ever come forward to help them.

All of this is but an indication of the vague conflicts that need to be resolved by the US and other Western countries with their friends the Rich Arab Rulers. Otherwise, we the innocent and surplus commodity of the earth will never profit from or get the chance to live in peace, instead bearing witness to the viciousness in coming days of the US and its allies preparing to attack ISIS groups, particularly in Iraq.

I am personally incapable of going against such an attack on ISIS, as it is not that different in spitefulness the killing of innocent people in the name of Islam, much as the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have recently done in Afghanistan. ISIS is only different in name and focuses only on Islamic countries with no global target seemingly. However, the Taliban or Al Qaeda want to establish a Caliphate and have announced their first Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi; though we can not forget the scoundrel ‘Caliph’ Mullah Umar of Afghanistan.

ISIS established its ideologically impressed organisations, Taliban and Al Qaeda, on an entirely sectarian basis to kill around the world, especially when they see the second largest Muslim sect of Islam, Shias. This is why petro-dollars were poured into it to make the organisation strong.

Thus, on June 30 2014, the ISIS head announced that all Muslims accept him as a Caliph leader of all Muslim worlds. Secondly, he promised to demolish Muslim shrines, in particular that of the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). This would definitely create a rift, war potentially breaking out between the two main Muslim sect.

All of this, without any conspiracy theory is what is seemingly needed most by those who want to see Muslim people fighting with each other like animal gladiators and will never stop. New ideologies would rise and fall with the number of new concepts and theories that result, not taking into account the variables nor feeling obliged toward any rational or sensibility. This is what the world has observed since the history of mankind.

Sattar Rind

Sattar Rind lives in Sindh, Pakistan. and is an Author with four books to his credit. three poetry and one on politics. As a Columnist he has written for a number of newspapers and magazines since 1991. Sattar can be contacted at the following email address: [email protected]