Might is right

2026-03-15 - 23:14

HISTORY is witness to the fact that powerful nations inebriated by their military might have invariably tried to dominate the world and impose their own values and perceptions on smaller nations who have no other choice than to accept their bullying and acquiesce to all their illegitimate and inhuman activities. To put it in nutshell Might is Right. It has been right throughout the human history and it would continue to be right till the day of resurrection. Issues and conflicts have been resolved through military might. There could not have been a greater proof of the might being right than military assault on Iran by Israel with full support of USA while the rest of the world seems helpless in stopping it or having no choice other than endorsing the action which is an unprecedented violation of the UN Charter and also betrays all the known and acknowledged humanitarian values. Although almost all American Presidents have pursued the policy to dominate the world and used all overt and covert machinations to fashion the world according to their own perceptions using military might but none has been as reckless and unreasonable as President Trumps is. He is acting like a bull in the china shop hell bent on settling issues through military might in blatant defiance UN Charter and lack of respect for human lives that are lost in pursuance of his self-defined objectives. There is absolutely no justification for what Israel and USA did in Gaza and the two attacks that they have launched on Iran, particularly the now ongoing assault in which they have killed top leadership of Iran besides continuing bombardment of military and civilian targets. Trump is trying to justify attack on Iran with the objective that it was meant to secure lives of Americans from the threat that Iran posed, complete destruction of nuclear capability of Iran and liberating people of Iran from clutches of the oppressive regime. Iran has never been a threat to USA as it was mainly focused on the Middle East with clear cut objective of stopping Israeli oppression on the Palestinians. Trump is actually strengthening Israeli state to pursue its sinister designs of occupying the Palestinian lands permanently and perhaps also enabling her to expand further as has been indicated by the US Ambassador in Tel Aviv. As far as his second stated objective is concerned if the nuclear prowess being achieved by Iran was a threat to them then how come nuclear capability of Israel and the US was not a threat to peace of the World? The reality is they want to maintain their position of nuclear blackmail and use it for arm-twisting of other nations. The third objective regarding change of regime is the most preposterous proposition. How can the US or for that matter any other power decide to change a regime in another country or incite its people to rebel against the incumbent government? Does the UN Charter allow or endorse any such action? The reality is that powerful nations and their allies do not manage international relations on the basis of principles enshrined in the UN Charter. Their policies and actions are invariably dictated by their self-defined interests. Diplomacy is actually an ultimate hypocrisy to cover up their indiscretions and giving legitimacy to their inhuman actions. It is only the small and weak nations who always seem to justify their foreign policies on the basis of principles of the UN Charter and abide by international laws. Diplomacy depends on worth of a nation reflected through its economic and military prowess. Nevertheless, in my considered view USA and Israel have committed a great blunder by starting the war against Iran which has the potential to destabilize the entire region. Iran will prove to be a hard nut to crack. They will not emerge unscathed from this conflict. The killing of Ayatollah Khomeni and other Iranian leaders has already triggered strong protest in the Muslim countries, including Pakistan. Millions of Iranians gathered in Tehran to express their resentment against these killing and express solidarity with the government which means that they have readily rejected the proposition to the suggested take-over of the government. Contrary to the estimates of USA and Israel Iran has unleashed attacks on US bases in the Middle Eastern countries and hitting Israeli capital reiterating its resolve to defy aggression and protect integrity of the country. Muslim countries including Pakistan have condemned killing of Iranian leaders and unprovoked attack on Iran which is likely to produce negative fallout as far as US relations with them are concerned because they will be under tremendous pressure from their public to keep expressing solidarity with Iran and showing dissent to the US-Israeli assault on Iran. Ultimately it could undermine US strategic interests in the region and beyond. The continuation of this war is also likely to have debilitating impact on the world economy, particularly the nations that entirely depend on imported energy to run their industrial machines and fulfilling household needs. They might also have to navigate sectarian fault lines at home as well, a glimpse of which we have witnessed in Karachi, Lahore and Gilgit-Baltistan. The fear is that as the war rolls on there will be tremendous overt and covert pressure on countries of the region including Pakistan to take sides. Keeping out of this conflict would be a great test for them. Pakistan has played the role of a bridge in lessening hostilities in the Middle East and currently is regarded as a credible partner for the sake of peace. Its relations with US are also at the best ever level. It must use this position to facilitate negotiated solution to the conflict between Iran and US-Israel maintaining a balanced foreign policy. —The writer is contributing columnist, based in Islamabad.