President of the New York based Asia Society, Dr Vishakha Desai, stated an important but often ignored truth when she said at a gathering in Karachi the other day that "the struggle between the East and the West is all about possession of resources and the regulation of their demand and supply."
She also pointed to a significant emerging reality as she averred, "it is in this effort and the realisation of a forthcoming post-American era that the US is repressing the Asian predominance. Its advent may be delayed but 21st century will be witnessed as the Asian Century."
The event in Karachi coincided with the concluding day deliberations of a high profile inter-faith conference in Madrid, where representatives of the three monotheistic religions - Islam, Christianity and Judaism - called for a UN special session to promote dialogue and prevent 'a clash of civilisations'.
Thus what is essentially a conflict about economic dominance was presented as a religion related fight, and the real motives of the perpetrators of the 'clash' kept under covers.
It is an open secret, though, that the US invaded and occupied Iraq not for the reasons it stated at the time, but because that unfortunate country owns the second largest oil reserves in the Middle East. It was also meant to strengthen the regional hegemony, Israel - an extension of the US itself.
Israel enjoyed an important place in the context not only because of the immense influence of the Jewish lobby in America, but also due to its demonstrated ability to overpower the Arab countries' weak armies, and hence to act on America's behalf to keep the Arab nationalist regimes from causing any harm to Washington's interests in the region.
It is widely known that long before 9/11 happened the US had been eyeing Afghanistan's potential as an energy route. Unocal - since merged with Chevron Corporation - a major energy explorer and marketer, had been actively engaged in pursuing a Trans-Afghanistan gas pipeline project that was to extend from the Central Asian States via Afghanistan and Pakistan to the Indian Ocean.
Interestingly, Unocal actually struck a deal in 1997 with the Taliban region, however, it fell through due to differences over modalities. Even more interesting is the story that the CIA and Unocal colluded in providing weapons and money to some Taliban at the time they were fighting for control of Kabul in 1996.
Given that background it may not be wrong to say that the ongoing war in Afghanistan is as much about al Qaeda's terrorism as it is about control over a potentially important energy route. It also needs to be said that had the Muslim countries not possessed oil, no one would have felt it necessary to talk of preventing 'a clash of civilisations'.
What may be a source of solace to many in this otherwise sad scenario is the fact, as the visitor pointed out, that the power of the US is on the wane. The 20th century, also known as the American Century, is about to become the Asian Century as China and India are in the ascendancy.
Together with some East Asian nations, they are fast on their way to grab the much-coveted title for Asia. The trends are more than obvious. The US economic slowdown is deepening. While layoffs mount, country's financial markets are in turmoil.
The business class is losing its confidence. The trend is unlikely to reverse itself in any significant and long-lasting manner. China and India, who between them share a little less than half of the world's population, have been showing impressive rates of economic growth. They are pursuing progress and prosperity with great enthusiasm and are set to become the leaders in industrial production and services sectors, respectively.
Pakistan certainly has the potential to be a prominent player in the developing Asian Century, if only it can exorcise its internal demons that have landed it in a state of political uncertainty and economic difficulties. It must also find an effective way to deal with the dangerous blow-back it faces from the war in Afghanistan.
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