The Warmonger and the Pacifist

March 3rd, 2006 at 12:25 Björn Hallberg

Rarely has one been able to witness such an insulting display as the one that unfolded at the samadhi shrine of Mahatma Gandhi yesterday. The Americans must think the world exists for the sole purpose of having photo ops with their clueless and bloodstained leaders.

A “believer in the doctrine of military pre-emption, sprinkled rose petals over the memorial to the philosopher of non-violence.” (Peter Foster, Telegraph)

“But when Bush places flowers on that famous slab of highly polished stone, millions of Indians will wince. It will be as though he has poured a pint of blood on the memory of Gandhi.” (Arundhati Roy)

“The man who has led the world in violence during the first years of the 21st century could pay homage to the world’s leading practitioner of nonviolence during the first half of the 20th century.” (Norman Solomon)

But the outrage doesn’t end there. The deal that the U.S. struck with India over the transfer of nuclear technology, does in itself not only violate international and U.S. law but also the expressed ideals of Gandhi himself. Plus, needless to say, it complicates the idea of preventing other nations (Iran?) from developing or acquiring the same technology. Of course, unlike Cuba (which is a separate case), India, Israel and Pakistan, Iran has actually signed the NPT. It’s amazing how the U.S. chooses its allies.

And naturally, like the Telegraph points out, America finds its support mainly from “wealthy urban India” and presumably the military which has, since its humiliating defeat against China a few decades ago and the arms race with Pakistan, become a prevalent force in Indian society. One that the U.S. needless to say espouses, because as noted above, violence is one thing that we can all understand and the U.S. has got a lot of that merchandise to peddle. Violence does not require cultural understanding or consideration. It’s the perfect common ground for idiots. As such, the U.S. continues to arm archrival India and Pakistan, while claiming to underpin the security in the region, not the least with its offensive military installations, and retaining the moral right to tell other nations what they may and may not do. Thus, high-tech weaponry for India is apparently reasonable, while for instance creaky 3rd party assault rifles for Venezuela or the Chinese renovation of an old run-down Soviet aircraft carrier is not.

Opponents of George W. Bush’s inconsiderate tourist display were quick to quote from Gandhi’s autobiography …

What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?

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