30.12.2019 Author: Tony Cartalucci
Column: Politics
Region: Middle East
Country: Syria
Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid Muallem recently described the US as using the so-called “Islamic State of
Iraq and Syria” (ISIS) as “a scarecrow” the US uses to menace targeted nations
all while secretly encouraging, protecting, and helping them “move from one
area to another.”
Maullum’s comments perfectly encapsulate the
twenty-plus year so-called “War on Terror” the US has used to expand itself
across the globe militarily and to serve as a stand-in for legitimate economic
and political development both within the United States and between the United
States and the international community.
Maullum’s comments come at a time when – despite
Washington’s collapsing machinations in Syria – the US is still working to undermine,
divide, and destroy the Syrian nation by aiding its enemies while using all
political, economic, and military options available to pressure Syria itself.
Muallem was also quoted as saying:
All nations that were victimized by this system need
to join forces and resist those sanctions.
In many ways, this is already happening. Russia’s
intervention in Syria from 2015 onward is part of growing international momentum
working against US special interests, their collective hegemony, and the toxic
impact it has had not only on international relations and development, but also
on the US itself.
From Convincing Pretext to Obvious State-Sponsored
Terrorism
Following the events of September 11, 2001 the United
States embarked on a multi-decade “War on Terror.” Its invasion of Afghanistan
was seen and supported by many nations and their respective populations as a
necessary and justified means of combating the scourge that allegedly carried
out the deadly attacks on 9/11.
By 2003 – after a time of reflection and in the face
of an America eager to spread its “War on Terror” across the globe – it became
clear that this “War on Terror” was merely a stand-in to continue America’s
hegemonic designs pursued during the now concluded Cold War. This included a
pretext for NATO’s continued existence and the alliance’s use by Washington as
a means of exerting control over Europe as well as using Europe, its people, and
resources to exert influence and control across Africa and Eurasia.
By 2011 and the US interventions in Libya and Syria –
it was abundantly clear that not only was the “War on Terror” a false pretext,
but it was one artificially created and deliberately perpetuated by Washington
itself.
This included revelations that the US had been arming
and directing the very Al Qaeda terror network and its affiliates allegedly
responsible for the 9/11 attacks – using them as a virtual mercenary force to
target nations the US sought regime change within.
The so-called “rebels” in Libya were little more than
Al Qaeda affiliates – poorly dressed as freedom fighters seeking “democracy.”
These same literal terrorists the US armed and aided in overthrowing the Libyan
government in 2011 would be shipped to Syria where the US sought to replicate
its “success” in Libya against Damascus.
The war in Syria however failed to produce
Washington’s desired results – and as the conflict dragged on – through the
growth and influence of alternative media – the true nature of America’s “War
on Terror” emerged.
It is now common knowledge that the United States and
its Saudi, Turkish, and Qatari allies deliberately armed Al Qaeda militants and
their affiliates in a bid to destabilize and overthrow the Syrian government.
It is now also common knowledge that when this bid failed – the US and its
allies created ISIS to serve as both an additional pressure point against
Damascus as well as a pretext for direct US military intervention.
Today, the US “War on Terror” exists as a mostly empty
narrative long-since exposed. Washington’s continued efforts against Syria have
resulted in even its own allies during the early stages of the war abandoning
them – including Turkey – a key NATO member – which now is working closer with
Russia and increasingly pursuing a foreign policy independently of Washington.
What Lies in the Future
For Washington – a lack of of a better alternative and
its insistence on doubling down on a now exposed and impotent narrative reveals
to the world a circle of special interests that are desperately and dangerously
spiraling out of control.
Nations eager to do business with the United States as
a nation are increasingly frustrated by the handful of special interests
occupying Wall Street and Washington – preferring to create an alternative
global order that either excludes the US or at the very least – leaves it
behind as the rest of the world moves on without it.
For nations like Syria – their decision to stand by
their allies – including Russia and Iran – has paid off. And because it has –
other nations facing similar threats from Washington’s belligerent foreign
policy are faced with the easy choice of likewise building ties with reemerging
powers like Russia or rising powers like China rather than continuing to
capitulate to US pressure.
Growing global momentum means that not only will
current US foreign policy continue to fail to produce positive results for the
interests directing it – it will fail at an increasingly expotential rate.
For nations like Russia and China who serve as
alternative focal points of global power – their success owed to a different
forumla of creating and brokering a global balance of power should serve as
encouragement to continue in a multipolar direction rather than cave in to the
temptation of seizing a hegemonic position as the US did both after the
conclusion of World War 2 and again at the end of the Cold War.
The world finds itself at yet another critical
juncture where the very face of global relations and international order stand
to be redefined. This time it is not Washington who gets to decide – but rather
those who have long suffered under US hegemony.
Only time will tell if this alternative global order
will learn from America’s mistakes – or merely repeat them.
The collapse of America’s “War on Terror” is a
microcosm within the greater collapse of American global hegemony in general.
It is a collapse that will cost the US as a nation dearly. It should serve as a
stark warning and example driving emerging global powers to learn from
America’s mistakes rather than repeat them.
Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher
and writer, especially for the online magazine“New Eastern Outlook”.
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