Betray-us Petraeus

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Some may think that the United States is incapable of waging another war in yet another Muslim country. However, there are those who think that this can't possibly happen. The cynics ought to think again. Unchastened by the Iraq fiasco, hawks in US President George W Bush's administration have been pushing for the use of force against Iran. It isn't hard to foresee the range of military options that policymakers have at hand. The next US aggression against a Muslim nation would begin with an intense air bombardment and a viscous naval campaign.

The consequences would be horrendous. To begin with, oil prices will soar. An energy crisis would inevitably lead to an economic downturn on a global scale. It is in this context that the ominous comments of the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner raise the alarm bells.

What is the West up to? Why is the West now so preoccupied with the "danger" of Iran pursuing its peaceful nuclear research programme to generate energy? Kouchner urged economic sanctions against Iran. The US, Britain, France and Israel are stepping up the ante. Ironically, this comes at a time when Russia, China and even Germany are urging a peaceful resolution of the international dispute over Iran's nuclear programme. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Mohamed El-Baradei recently stressed that Iran has not violated the terms of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Be that as it may, if it is clear how a war with Iran would start, it is far less clear how it would end. How might Iran strike back? A wave of terrorist attacks across the world could escalate with disastrous consequences. The security situation in Iraq could worsen. Iran wields tremendous influence among the Shia of Iraq, Lebanon and the Gulf. The Shia of these countries may be cajoled into rising up against what they perceive as US imperialism. The Shia of Iraq will no doubt rise up against their US occupiers.

Iran is not the only country where the next war with the United States might erupt. The US is not behaving as a responsible superpower. Washington is throwing its weight about and other second-rate Western powers are jumping on the American bandwagon. In this context, General David Petraeus's report to the House and Senate committees comes as a great disappointment. Petraeus will not be the last general to find himself explaining how a US military intervention has misfired. His report and the speech of US President George W Bush is nothing short of political theatre at its worst. The entire futile exercise was designed to deceive the American public.

However, the American public is not so naïve. Indeed, hundreds of thousands protested across the US against the war in Iraq and war-mongering against Iran. The US Department of Defense reports that more American troops died every month this year compared to the same month last year. Still, the Bush administration presses on with its bellicose plans. In the past few months there has been a 30,000-troop build-up, raising the total number of American troops in Iraq to 160,000. And, the worst aspect of the US military occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan is the apparent insensitivity to the cultural traditions and sensibilities of the occupied and oppressed Muslim peoples of these lands. Of course, it goes without saying that the humanitarian catastrophe is fast deteriorating in both countries as they slide into social chaos.