"All colonial wars are alike" - it can happen here if we are weak

Below is an article that I read recently in the papers. Very interesting read as it gives you a perspective where your country is in the whole scheme of things. If you are weak and allow yourself to be manipulated, this is what will happen to you.

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All colonial wars are alike

Posted on 19 March 2012 - 08:03pm
Last updated on 19 March 2012 - 09:14pm

Eric S. Margolis

NEWS of the massacre by an American soldier of 16 Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, made me reflect on the 14 wars and colonial conflicts I've covered. Horrible but not surprising.

It illustrates what I call the Iron Laws of Colonial Warfare:

» Pick a good pretext to invade a country that you covet. France invaded Algeria in 1830 after its ruler supposedly flicked the French ambassador with a fly whisk. During the 19th century colonial era, Britain and France provoked incidents, then claimed their invasions were to bring the light of Christianity and western civilisation to Africa and Asia. There was the notorious Gulf of Tonkin incident that sparked the Vietnam War. During the Bush era, spreading democracy was the claim.

Today's pretext du jour is humanitarian rescue missions. Oil-rich Libya was a prime example. Britain, the US and France stirred up a revolt in Benghazi, then intervened militarily.

» Divide et Imperia (divide and conquer) as the Romans said. Pick a disgruntled or rebellious minority, favour them against the majority, making them your allies in colonial rule. Good examples: Tajiks and Uzbeks in Afghanistan who first backed the Soviets, then Americans, against majority Pashtun. Tamils in Sri Lanka, favoured by the British Empire; or Christian Ambonese in Indonesia used by the Dutch to enforce their brutal rule.

» Build a native mercenary army. Imperial Britain used Gurkhas and sepoys in India; the French used Senegalese troops in North Africa; the US employed tens of thousands of mercenaries in Iraq and Afghanistan. Britain's Indian Raj was made possible by scores of cooperative princes. The Soviets ruled Eastern Europe through local communists and their security forces.

» Denounce all those opposing foreign rule as: religious fanatics, terrorists, savages, and bandits (favourite Soviet term). Western media dutifully denounced independence leaders as "mad mullahs", "arch-terrorists", "Hitler on the Nile (Nasser)", or today's favourite, "Hitler in Teheran".

» The longer your occupation army remains, the more it will first despise, then hate the local population, regarding them as savage and sub-humans. Collective punishment of civilians by angry, frustrated, fearful foreign troops will become the norm. Atrocities will increase. Think of Vietnam's Mai-Lai massacre, the infamous Amritsar massacre in India, India's repression in rebellious Kashmir, Japan's savagery in China, the US marines at Falluja, or Russians in Chechnya.

» Colonial occupations increasingly rely on brutality and intimidation, then torture and secret executions.
France's army was deeply corrupted by its crimes in Algeria and lost its honour. The United States is repeating this terrible precedent in Afghanistan. Italy used concentration camps and poison gas to subdue Libya in the 1930's. The USSR killed 1.5 million Afghans. All colonial wars are dirty.

» Colonial troops find themselves surrounded by a hostile civilian population, under attack from all sides, betrayed even by their nominal native allies. They become increasingly brutalised, vindictive and prone to drug use and rape. Surprise attacks, booby traps, mines and other explosive devices cause widespread fear and depression.

Russia now suffers a lethal heroin epidemic from its 10-year occupation of Afghanistan. The use of torture in Iraq and Afghanistan is spreading back to US law enforcement. Many former soldiers who served in these Third World neo-colonial wars return home to join police forces and government agencies.

A sense of betrayal dominates. The Soviet's supposed local Communist Afghan allies often kept secret links with the mujahidin resistance and warned them of impending Red Army operations. Today, many members of the US-installed Afghan government secretly cooperate with Taliban and its allies.

» Foreign occupation and garrisons inevitably spread corruption, prostitution, junk culture, and venereal disease. The foreign troops increasingly keep to fortified bases, sallying out to take reprisals and show the flag. The notion that 20-year-old soldiers from the bottom of western society can win hearts and minds of Afghan tribesmen is one of the most ludicrous myths of our times.

» Occupying armies quickly transform themselves into colonial forces: lightly armed, mobile police units. When a real war comes, they are not ready to fight a modern opponent. In 1914, Britain's imperial forces were slaughtered in the trenches of Flanders. The US has reconfigured its army for colonial warfare. But its next war may be with China or North Korea.

Eric S. Margolis is an award-winning, internationally syndicated columnist, writing mainly about the Middle East and South Asia. Comments: letters@thesundaily.com

Rumours: Is Osama really dead? Or is he now locked up in a special security facility in the Appalachian mountain range?

One of my favourite mystery writer is Robert Ludlum. Read all his novels. I was just thinking if I was him, I could write a book about how Osama was captured instead of killed and how the media was used to spin a different story. I would hazard a guess that the book would have the following plot:

1. It was not a kill order by the US Government but a capture order because Osama has very important information about the true financier of his adventure.

2. To make the death story plausible, report about a 40 minute fire-fight was highlighted to the media and 3 dead people was identified at the location. In actual fact, only Osama courier was fighting back. One man against a whole commando unit for 40 minutes?

3. To give a strong credence of the ferocity of the fight, a helicopter was sacrificed with the official story of it malfunctioning hence the need to destroy it knowing full well people will believe that it was shot down instead. Moreover, the helicopter was said to be a special one where it has 6 blades instead of the traditional 4 blades for the Blackhawk helicopter. Very surprisingly, this is the only part of the helicopter that survived intact from the "planned destruction" to be easily photographed and published. Classic misdirection. 


4. Informing the world that Osama was buried at sea so that his grave won't be made into a shrine. For the first time the US blatantly went against the Geneva Convention on the handling of war dead. Even immigrants that drown crossing the Rio Grande river is given a proper burial.

5. The US authorities suddenly becomes a moral and ethical beacon of the world by categorically not wishing to publish the picture of the dead Osama. This is the country that easily publish pictures of its soldiers mistreating prisoners. They don't mind harming the reputation of their own people but publishing a picture of the dead Osama is a no-no?!?

With the world focusing on the wrong thing, the interrogation of Osama started in earnest and the shocking truth started to emerge. Osama has been funded by NeoCons in the US itself with the intention of creating a reason for world dominance.

The book then starts to become exciting. A secret civil war erupts with assassins and proxy wars being fought around the world. At the end.....

Well, can't tell you everything yet. By the way, do you any famous authors will take this and continue with my take on the situation?

Time will tell.

Osama in Pakistan, US special forces in Pakistan, US drone planes over Pakistan but where is Pakistan's Government?

Although I cringed writing anything political but this time I had to as I just could not understand how someone could still wake up in the morning and feel good with one self.

This particular questiong: "Osama in Pakistan, US special forces in Pakistan, US drone planes over Pakistan but where is Pakistan's Government?" has been haunting me for a few days now.

On a moral, ethical as well as self honour level, how can the political powers in Pakistan can face the world when everything they say are lies/half-truths?

Lie 1: Osama is not in Pakistan > Not True
Lie 2: Pakistan has a say in the flights of the killer drones > Not True
Lie 3: Pakistan does not allow foreign fighters operating on the ground > Not True

These three lies are just the ones uncovered on Sunday. Can you imagine what else could be lurking?

As a matter of policy, I believe in the the practice of not poking into other countries affairs. We should be neutral about this. However, on a personal and moral standpoint, when it is as clear as day the lies being told, please do what is honourable and pass the baton to someone that can at least be seen as still having the moral and ethical high ground.

Yes, politics can be dirty and politicians can be easily sucked into the dark side. Once caught, just own up and resign...