Author: Njundu Drammeh
When the Obama administration and Europe reached a diplomatic deal with Iran on its nuclear ambition, the world heaved a sigh of relief. Others before Obama could not make the Ayatollahs budge or halt the nuclear ambitions of Iran.
Just yesterday 8th May 2018, the ‘unpredictable’ bogeyman of the Free World (don’t know how free the world is?), the ever angry Donald Trump, pulled the rug from under the world’s feet, abandoned the deal and threw world peace in doubt, a testimony of his haughtiness total disregard for the ‘feelings’ of others. He wants to make America great and any affront to the establishment of that hegemony is sure to be bulldozed- a horse and coach through any such objective.
But I still don’t get the point why Europe and the USA are only concerned with Iran’s possession, or likely possession, of the nuclear weapon. Would a nuclear-weapon Iran destabilize the whole Middle East and jeopardise America’s influence in that region? Is it a stratagem to further protect Israel and make it the only ‘super power’ country in that region? What is the USA doing to ensure that itself and all others who have the nuclear bomb in their arsenals eventually destroy them? It would be not be further from the truth to argue that the USA and other super powers effectively emasculated the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty.
Why should we have a world where only few, including Israel, should have the N-Bomb and the rest, including Iran, should never possess it? Or the others who possess the bomb, but are not the permanent members of the Security Council, have it for ‘peaceful’ purposes only and the world is safe by their possession?
I do not think that it would conduce to international peace and public safety if we continue to maintain a world where some are ‘allowed’ to possess the nuclear weapon and others not.
It is disgusting for any nation to regards the acquisition of nuclear weapons, regarded by and large as perpetual menace to human society, as an essential element in its arsenal. It is an ominous paradox of history that the weapon that has demonstrated its horrendous capability should be allowed to be in the hands of any nation, big or small. It is not acceptable to establish a world system of nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states. The future of mankind cannot be made a hostage to the perceived security of a few nuclear-weapon states, most notably that of the five permanent members of the United Nations and Israel.
The argument that some State should possess the N-Bomb to promote and protect their national security or even of world peace is inadmissible. They want to possess it to deter a direct conflict between them and others and to also increase their influence in other areas of the world. If this argument is true for the USA and others, it should also be true for Iran.
The cry ‘we have to make Iran safe for the world’ is misguided. The world will not be safe just with the disarmament of Iran. The world will not be safe if some other countries are allowed to keep the nuclear weapon in their arsenals. The world would be safer if Trump abandons his political and military brinkmanship; if Trump understands that it is tyrannous to use his powers like a giant. Democracy would be safer if Trump accepts that building bridges is more conducive to world peace than constructing walls or insulting the dignity of others.
There are other serious threats to international peace and security. The impunity of Israel, the hydra-headed ISIL, the rise of misguided fanatics in Nigeria, the high, at times unreasonable, costly and colossal, spending on armament at the expense of development projects, Syrian crisis and the refugee exodus, the gross human rights violations in the world, the frustration of the youth, etc., are some of the critical issues the world should pay greater attention to.
We need a higher genius in our statesmen. We need to develop attitude and institutions which will permit the diversion of resource to more productive and humane uses. We need greater protection and fulfillment of human rights, by all. We need greater State accountability for human rights violations. We need fairer trade laws and regulations.
May be Trump needs to be exhorted by Melanie that the world does not need another World War; the memories of the Second World War that ‘resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind’ still linger in memories and being learned in school. May be the world needs to remind Trump of this paragraph in the Preamble of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights:
Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms
America entered the Second World War, according to Woodrow Wilson, to ‘make the world safe for democracy’. But now, we have to make Trump ‘safe for the world’.
