AMERICA AND WORLD POLITICS

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Television Station on the 17th of September 2002, as a spontaneous reaction to the condescending foreign policy of America, notably under then President George Walker Bush. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television between 2002 and 2005.
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There is no doubt that very increasingly the world is becoming a global village, not just economically and environmentally but also politically. Thus, what one country does, even internally, is bound to have repercussions on the other countries of the world. In the case of the United States of America, this is doubly true, considering Washington’s prowess and might which make it the world’s most influential country.
America went wild so to speak, when terrorists drove planes into the twin towers of the world Trade Centre in New York on September 11 last year and brought down the buildings which were the symbol of American might, killing thousands of people in the process. No one in his right thinking mind would help sympathizing with those who lost their lives, especially when one considers the colossal extent of the damage cause.


Washington waged a merciless was at Afghanistan in the name of flushing out Ben Laden, the Saudi tycoon who was being sheltered by the then Afghan leaders. The war quickly degenerated into one that saw America changing the regime in place but still not finding Ben Laden. In the process, some innocent Afghan’s were killed and many families were bereft and embittered. They will live with those scarce for ever.
If America attacks Iraq, perhaps as president George Bush has boasted, with or without the support of the international community, considerable human, material and financial damage will be done to Iraq. It is certain that Britain which has turned out to be a poodle of America`s will be right behind America. It now seems that British policy towards solidarity with America is: America, right or wrong
The Americans have shown little understanding of the Arab and especially Iraqi mind set. Even if Saddam Husein is removed from power, there is no guarantee that another Saddam Husein will not rise rapidly and take his place in which case the American and British would have labored in vain.


Even so, that does seem to matter to Washington. George Bush’s country is so obsessed with posing as the world’s gendarmes that they now look like bully boys who feel insulted, hurt and humiliated to find that the likes of Saddam Hussein are waxing strong whereas they ought to be silenced and pigeonholed. Saddam Hussein survived the clamping down of Presidents Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Brush and Bill Clinton, before George Walker Bush came to power. By the look of things by the time Bush leaves the White House, Saddam may be having the last laugh.


Cameroon, and by extension, Africa, has a major role to play in bringing America to reason. Thus is through the role our country now enjoys in the Security Council. Already our president has added his voice to that of those who want America to have the backing of the U.N before making any move against Iraq. That is the voice of reason which America ought to heed.


Copyright 2011

AMERICA AND THE WAR IN IRAQ

By Tikum Mbah Azonga

This paper is an adaptation of an earlier one I delivered on the Cameroon National Radio Television Station on the 17th of February 2003, as a spontaneous reaction to the then President George Walker Bush`s unstoppable determination to go to war. The paper was one of the daily political commentaries I delivered on the 6.30 a.m. prime time national and world news on Cameroon Radio Television between 2002 and 2005.
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By all accounts, the split among members of the Security Council ought to be taken seriously. Key members such as France, Germany and Russia have distanced themselves from America by advocating for the weapons inspectors to be given more time. Although the United States and Britain continue to gun for a second Security Council resolution to be brought to bear on Iraq, the danger is that since some permanent members of the council are opposed to war against Iraq, at least not just yet, it is enough for them to slam a veto on the resolution for it to fail. If that was done, the wind would be taken out of George Bush’s sail and his thunder, stolen storm.


As if in conformity with the adage that it never rains but it pours, the knife has been further twisted on America and its British allies by the thousands of demonstrators who turned out in numerous world capitals to say ‘no to war against Iraq`. Large numbers of demonstrators also took to the streets in America, which means that even in George Bush’s own backyard, there are dissenting voices. Although partisans of the pro-war camp have argued that those who demonstrated were in the minority, it is also true that the number of people that demonstrated were the largest in recent times.


But the problem is the if one considers the arsenal America has built up in readiness for this war against Iraq, one cannot help imagining how immense George Brush’ disappointment would be if there was after all no war and he had to recall the troops. Politically, it would be suicidal, with him being seen as having capitulated and thus handed Saddam Hussein another victory on a platter of gold. That is why the next few weeks, perhaps days, are crucial for the American President.
If Bush feels he is now between a rock and a hard place, as Americans love to put, then he should also remember that he brought it upon himself by boasting that America would force Saddam Hussein to disarm, with or without the United Nations. By so doing, he sought to resort to bully boy tactics. That statement was both over the top and below the belt because it implied America could by-pass the United Nations. It is therefore not surprising that former South African President Nelson Mandela ha lampooned President Bush on the subject.


Undoubtedly, Iraq is a big test for George Bush. Already Ossama Ben Ladin has slipped through his fingers and North Korea is taunting him. The world is watching to see what will be his next move.

Copyright 2011