27 Classic Quotes on Western Hegemony
1- “It’s really not a number I’m terribly interested in.”
-General Colin Powell [When asked about the number of Iraqi people who were slaughtered by Americans in the 1991 "Desert Storm" terror campaign (200,000 people!)]
2- Q. We have heard that a half million children have died (because of sanctions against Iraq). I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima. And, you know, is the price worth it?
A. I think this is a very hard choice, but the price–we think the price is worth it.
-Madeleine Albright, [US Secretary of State, on the death of Iraq children because of US sanctions against Iraq, talking to Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes.” May 12, 1996]
3- “I will never apologize for the United States of America – I don’t care what the facts are.”
-President George Bush 1988 [Bush was demonstrating his patriotism by excusing an act of cold-blooded mass-murder by the U.S. Navy. On July 3, 1988 the U.S. Navy warship Vincennes shot down an Iranian commercial airliner. All 290 civilian people in the aircraft were killed. The plane was on a routine flight in a commercial corridor in Iranian airspace. The targeting of it by the U.S. Navy was blatantly illegal. That it was grossly immoral is also obvious. Except to a patriot.]
4- “To maintain this position of disparity (U.S. economic-military supremacy)… we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and day-dreaming…. We should cease to talk about vague and… unreal objectives such as human rights, the raising of the living standard and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts…. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.”
-George Kennan [Director of Policy Planning U.S. State Department 1948]
March 16, 2009: A Historic Day for Pakistan?
The news that the Pakistani Government has finally given into the demands of the “long marchers”, and protesters is officially about 10 hours old now, and the nation is gripped with a euphoria that has driven everything else from their minds.
I am no historian, but it reminds me of the time, back in 93-94, when the supreme court of Pakistan reinstated Nawaz Sharif’s government, after it had been dismissed by the then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan, taking advantage of the 8th amendment. The mood of the nation was exactly the same back then. There was talk of change, of an independent judiciary not bowing to political pressure and taking the right decision in favor of an elected prime minister. But what happened next? Did this nation really witness any change? Was democracy able to save us? Are we still not standing where we were 10 years ago?
Some might argue that no, we have moved forward. And I wont deny that either. I guess we have. But what price we have had to pay? The past ten or so years will be marked as one of the darkest of the three darkest periods of our only 62 years of existence. Musharraff, despite his promises of change and ridding the country of corrupt politicians, did not only follow in the footsteps of Zia and Yahya Khan, he left his own dark marks on this nations history, marks that the future generations will feel for some time to come, just like the ripple effects of Zia’s doings can still be felt today, almost 21 years after his death.
The Long March
Image courtesy of Dawn.com
Been sometime since I last posted. Not that anyone reads what I write here, but when, and if I do, its just to let out what ever’s bothering me… regarding the current state of affairs of course.
So the “Long March” is on in Pakistan. After two rather peaceful days (by Pakistani standards), the true face of the way protests are carried out and handled in Pakistan was very visible today, but with something that hasn’t been seen before… which I will come to later.
Seems like almost all Pakistanis, or almost all Pakistanis, have come to a consensus on one thing: The deposed judges must be restored and Zardari must be ousted. What’s strange is, even the hardcore PPPites seem to have come to an agreement with the lawyer’s movement and Nawaz league on this.
Sherry Rehman, one of the greatest loyalists of Benazir, resigned as the minister of information day before yesterday. Now THAT shows you the actual state of affairs in Pakistan. What I mean to say is, this act goes on to show you the rift within the ruling party. Prime Minister Gillani has been silent for the past two days. The only barking dog on the government’s side is Rehman Malik right now. And it’s a known fact that he is definitely the most hated man in the country right now after Zardari himself.
