Headlines:
- Trump’s Economic War against China explains why the US Establishment Tolerates him
- Mattis continues Tradition of ‘Surprise Visits’ to Tenuously US Occupied Afghanistan
- America shows Russia who’s boss in Syria
- Russia Warns US of Pending Attack in Syrian Area with US Troops
- Will Saudi Arabia Cease to Be the Center of Islam?
- US Foresees a ‘Respectful’ Relationship with Pakistan
Trump’s Economic War against China explains why the US Establishment tolerates him
In the midst of yet more revelations of the chaotic Trump White House, US President Donald Trump has warned of new tariffs against China; according to the Guardian:
A package of tariffs worth $200bn is close to being imposed on Chinese imports to the US and Trump’s latest suggested round – which would be worth $267bn – would sharply escalate Trump’s trade war with China.
Many economists and investors are concerned the spat will derail the global economy. China has threatened retaliation, which could include action against US companies operating there.
Trump, who has demanded that Beijing make major changes in economic, trade and technology policy, told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was “being strong on China because I have to be”.
“The $200bn we are talking about could take place very soon depending on what happens with them. To a certain extent it’s going to be up to China,” Trump said. “And I hate to say this, but behind that is another $267bn ready to go on short notice if I want. That totally changes the equation.”
It is not only China but Trump is initiating bold breakthrough moves in all major US foreign policy issues, such as Europe, Russia, NAFTA as well key US priorities in the Muslim world, particularly Syria.
All American administrations face internal conflict over the disconnection between their actions and America’s stated values. The reason for this is that Western values are what they call ‘idealistic’, which means that they are incorrectly defined and so do not agree with the reality of human nature. It is impossible to take ‘Freedom of speech’, for example, literally; there are numerous situations in which it is ethically, morally and legally wrong to say whatever one wishes. American politicians recognise this, and so act in accordance with national interests and not stated American values. Trump is only a more extreme version of this, necessitated by the seriousness of the crises that America faces today. America’s true ideology is secular materialistic Capitalism and its real foreign policy is global imperialism. Freedom and democracy are just philosophical fantasies, incapable of practical implementation but included to mask the true ugliness of Western tyranny.
Islam is the true Deen, revealed by the Creator of man, and fully in accordance with human nature. With Allah’s permission, the world will soon see in the re-established Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) on the method of the Prophet ﷺ a state where there exists no contradiction between the lofty values of Islam and the actions of its politicians and rulers.
Mattis continues Tradition of ‘Surprise Visits’ to Tenuously US occupied Afghanistan
Highlighting America’s fragile hold on Afghanistan, US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis made yet another ‘surprise visit’ to Afghanistan, as has become routine not only for him but for all senior US officials. According to the Washington Post:
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis made a surprise visit to Kabul on Friday and held talks with Afghan government leaders on a peace process with Taliban insurgents and the country’s spiraling violence.
Arriving in a capital gripped by security jitters and political uncertainty ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for next month, Mattis met with President Ashraf Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah, the presidential palace said. Also among the topics, it said, were Afghanistan’s relations with neighboring Pakistan, which Kabul has long accused of harboring militants who carry out attacks on Afghan and U.S. troops.
Joining Mattis was Marine Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Their visit to Afghanistan lasted a little more than six hours and included a meeting with Army Gen. Austin S. Miller, who took over as commander of U.S. and NATO forces in the country Sunday.
Earlier this week, Dunford traveled to Islamabad with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in an effort to “reset the relationship” with Pakistan’s new government after a period of sharp disagreements.
Washington has suspended at least $900 million in military aid to Pakistan this year, accusing it of failing to rein in militants on its soil and pressure their leaders to accept face-to-face talks with the Afghan government.
Despite American complaints, the only reason that for the continued US occupation of Afghanistan is the full cooperation it has received from the Pakistan military since the time of Musharraf. The never-ending complaints are only because America wants Pakistan to undertake even greater sacrifices to stabilise the US occupation and its ridiculously weak puppet Kabul regime, whose authority barely extends to just the major Afghan cities and their interconnecting links. Meanwhile, the Pakistani military command wants appreciation from America for its ongoing service to them, while at the same time it wants the mujahideen on the ground to trust Pakistani support for their jihad.
The truth is that Pakistan does not support the Afghan jihad but is only trying to cultivate ‘assets’ while building credibility with the Americans by keeping the mujahideen short of victory. It is unfortunately an old dirty game that the Pakistani military leadership learned well in Kashmir, exploiting the uprising there for narrow institutional interests by turning the support tap on and off at will. If nuclear-armed Pakistan were truly sincere to the noble Afghan mujahideen then America wouldn’t even exist in Afghanistan in the first place.
America shows Russia who’s boss in Syria
Western media are reporting US marines carrying out a live ammunition ‘exercise’ in south-eastern Syria; according to the Washington Post:
U.S. Marines conducted a live-fire aerial assault exercise in southern Syria on Friday designed to warn Russian and other military forces to stay away from an American base there.
The exercise, involving a company-size unit, came amid rising U.S.-Russia tensions across the Syrian battlespace. The Trump administration has warned both Russia and the Syrian government against a planned offensive in Idlib province in northwest Syria, the largest remaining pocket of rebel fighters who have tried, and failed, over the past seven years to oust President Bashar al-Assad.
In support of the Idlib operation, Russia has deployed a significant naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, with weaponry capable of reaching across Syria.
The Marine exercise took place near the U.S. garrison at Tanf, along the Syrian-Iraqi border near Jordan, around which the Americans have long declared a 35-mile deconfliction zone off-limits to others. It followed a Russian notification, and U.S. rejection, of a plan to enter the zone to pursue “terrorists.”
It is in fact America that has assembled the array of foreign powers in Syria and has been controlling the sequence of all events there. But from time to time, one or other of these powers thinks to challenge the humiliating limits imposed upon it by their master. And from time to time, America needs to carry out actions to bring them back into line.
In truth, America does not fear any of these powers but it fears the Muslim Ummah. It has learnt bitterly and painfully for the first time in its history that the Muslim mujahideen are undefeatable. Unlike the European and Asian powers, America had never directly faced mujahideen in war. And just two military engagements, in Iraq and Afghanistan, were enough to convince the Americans never to deploy force against Muslim mujahideen again. This is the reason that America, the world’s solitary superpower, fights in Syria through the armies of others, as before it the British Empire learnt to do.
With Allah’s permission, the Muslim Ummah will rise to support their mujahideen by establishing the Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) State on the method of the Prophet ﷺ that will implement Islam and carry its light to the world, liberating all Muslim lands from foreign control and occupation.
Russia Warns US of Pending Attack in Syrian Area with US Troops
Russia has warned the US military twice in the last week that its forces, along with Syrian regime units, are prepared to attack in an area where dozens of US troops are located, according to several US defense officials. Russia claims that there are militants in the area protected by US troops. Moscow’s declaration has sharply raised US commanders’ concerns that American forces would be at risk if a Russian attack goes forward, CNN has learned. And it has sparked US warnings to Moscow not to challenge the US military presence. Several US defense officials have told CNN that concerns center on a US-led anti-ISIS coalition base at At Tanf. US troops help monitor a 55-kilometer (34-mile) exclusion zone around At Tanf. Given its location near the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq, the At Tanf garrison is seen as a key strategic location as the US, Iran and Russia compete for influence in the region. There is concern the Russians could use aircraft or their naval warships in the eastern Mediterranean to launch a missile attack against what they say are militants, sparking a confrontation that could inadvertently draw in US forces if Russian targeting is not precise. So far, no buildup of Russian ground forces has been observed in recent days, officials said. US officials would not say how Moscow conveyed its warning to Washington. Defense Secretary James Mattis and Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are aware of the latest intelligence, officials said. US troops in the area, as always, have the right of self-defense if they are attacked and would not need to ask permission from higher levels of the government before acting. While the situation is described by one US official as “concerning,” there clearly is US interest in discussing Moscow’s warning to ensure the Russians have a clear view of any potential US military response. [Source: CNN]
It is very clear that both the US and Russia have worked together to place all of the Islamic fighters in Idlib. Now both powers would like to see the Islamic fighters eliminated but it needs to be done in a manner that leaves Syria’s post war settlement favorable for both US and Russia.
Will Saudi Arabia Cease to Be the Center of Islam?
Saudi Arabia, or the Arabian Peninsula before the formation of the modern kingdom, has been and remains a place both central and marginal to Muslims around the world. Even as Mecca and Medina represent the most important sites of Muslim pilgrimage, the vision of the holy cities as remote and perilous is still reinforced by the occasional stampede of pilgrims during the Hajj. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia has been moving fast to make his country a political and military power for the first time since its founding. He has engaged in a pitiless war with Yemen, imposed a blockade on Qatar and embraced increasingly aggressive positions toward Iran and other rivals. Whether or not Prince Mohammed’s strategy succeeds, it will transform Saudi Arabia’s religious status in the Muslim world. In the late 19th century, for the first time since the Prophet Muhammad’s day, the Arabian Peninsula was placed at the center of Islam’s modern geography as Ottoman power waned over the Middle East and British influence extended outward from its economic and military base in India. The “Muslim world” emerged as a category that provided a novel way in which to imagine a religion in cartographic terms. In 1882, a British diplomat and Arabist, Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, published a book titled “The Future of Islam.” He foresaw the Muslim world’s colonization by European powers and sought to bring Islam under the protection of the British Empire, which possessed more Muslim subjects in India than the Ottomans did in their empire. Mr. Blunt was among the first to make an argument that eventually redefined the geography of Islam by placing Arabia at its center. He argued that Istanbul and its Turkish emperor could never be true Muslim leaders, a role he saw as reserved for Arabs and their homeland. Istanbul, the capital of the only remaining Muslim power, had to be divested of its claim to the caliphate, and Islamic authority had to return to an Arabian Peninsula defended by the Royal Navy. During this period Arabia was witnessing a consolidation of power through an alliance between the Wahhabi movement and the family of Ibn Saud, which led to the establishment of modern Saudi Arabia in 1932. By the 20th century, the British themselves had got into the habit of admiring the Wahhabis and those who appeared to be their Indian followers, whom they saw as the Protestants of Islam out to destroy the decadence and superstition of their corrupt and Catholic coreligionists. The movement’s Muslim admirers included both extreme conservatives and liberal modernizers who, like the English, saw Wahhabis as rationalists willing to break with the “popish” authority of traditional religious authorities as well as of Muslim kings and return to the pure Islam of its Arab origins. Today, Saudi Arabia is ostensibly countering Iran, but its claims to dominance are also made possible by the decline of Egypt and the decimation of Iraq and Syria. Turkey remains its only and as yet ambiguous rival apart from Iran. And Prince Mohammed’s kingdom is looking more like a “secular” than a “theocratic” state in which sovereignty has finally been wrested from clan and cleric to be claimed directly by the monarchy. But Saudi Arabia can assume greater geopolitical power only by putting its religious status at risk, defined as this has been by its marginal role in geopolitics. [Source: New York Times]
After the fall of Khilafah Rashidah (rightly guided Caliphate), Arabia has always been at the periphery of the Islamic world until its discovery of oil and newfound security alliance with America. But as America declines, so will Arabia’s influence and it is only a matter of time.
US Foresees a ‘Respectful’ Relationship with Pakistan
The United States has high hopes for a respectful and better relationship with Pakistan, especially after the visit of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford, a Pentagon official said Thursday. Speaking at an event organised to commemorate the Defense and Martyrs Day here at the Pakistani Embassy, Assistant Defence Secretary for Department of Defence’s Asian and Pacific Security Affairs Randall G Schriver said the military linkages between the two countries have always remained a strong foundation for the two-way relationship.” This is a day to celebrate your armed forces … It’s also a day to remember those who have sacrificed. And that very much includes the sacrifices made in the war on terror,” he said. The Pentagon official then spoke of the bumpy but somewhat healthy relationship that the US and Pakistan have maintained ever since the 9/11 attacks, saying the ally nation “was a friend, a supporter, and a key partner in our building to do that and has remained a key partner since.”” We know about the sacrifices that Pakistan has made in this long war on terror and we don’t take those sacrifices lightly. We value this relationship, we value this partnership,” he added. Noting that Pakistan is an important partner and an ally of the US, the Pentagon official noted that Islamabad has offered multiple sacrifices in the war against terrorism and that Washington respects these losses.” We were important partners in a number of key areas, including our efforts to degrade Al Qaeda, the efforts to defeat Daesh, the efforts made to the United Nations in peacekeeping, these are all areas where we cooperated and are achieving results and success,” he commented. The United States is making active efforts to improve its relationship with the Pakistan Army, Schriver said, adding that the talks held between Pompeo, Dunford and Islamabad’s top brass were in a favourable environment. Pompeo, he said, emerged from that visit with very hopeful words. “In every conversation … every interaction, he had a sense of hope that we are on a better path.” [Source: Daily Times]
There can never be a respectful relationship between America and Pakistan. Under Trump America wants Pakistan to carry on killing Muslims but this time for free. During the era of Musharraf, Kiyani and Sharif they use to get a wage from the coalition support fund for spilling Muslim blood. Now Bajwa will get nothing. Even so, both Khan and Bajwa want good relations with the US. Have they lost their minds?