Headline News 18/02/2017

Headlines

• Early dismissal of National Security Adviser Flynn leads to discussion of “deep state” in America

• Ten Bombings in Five Days but Pakistan still Refuses to Strike out at America or India

• UN Stance Further Confirms Western Support for the Assad regime

Details

Early dismissal of National Security Adviser Flynn leads to discussion of “deep state” in America

The intensity of the attacks on the administration of US President Donald Trump based on what appear to be deliberate leaks from within government bureaucracy is compelling many to consider the possibility of whether a “deep state” exists in America. This week, as a result of such attacks, President Trump was compelled to ask for the resignation of his National Security Adviser, General Michael Flynn. In an article in the New York Times on Thursday:

“A wave of leaks from government officials has hobbled the Trump administration, leading some to draw comparisons to countries like Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan, where shadowy networks within government bureaucracies, often referred to as “deep states,” undermine and coerce elected governments.”

Trump has surprised the American political establishment with the speed and aggressiveness with which he has begun to implement policies that he referenced in his campaign. It is common in democracies for candidates to make many promises during a campaign but not to implement these when they come to office. Attention is focussing, therefore, on the key players around Trump that are helping him in pushing his radical agenda. Flynn is the first casualty of this assault.

Muslims should take an interest in these developments. The West champions democracy as a universal ideal that should apply throughout the world. The dark reality is, however, that democracy does not exist even in the West.

Democratically elected governments rule in accordance with the wishes of a small but powerful elite and not in accordance with the wishes of the masses.

In fact it is not possible for democracy to exist anywhere. The masses are not capable of collectively deciding on the almost unlimited range of detailed technical matters needed to legislate and operate a state and government. Democracy is a false atheistic solution to the problem of how to live our lives if we deny the guidance of the Creator. Muslims fully accept such guidance and are in no need of atheistic solutions for their life’s affairs.

Ten Bombings in Five Days but Pakistan still Refuses to Strike out at America or India

After a devastating five days, including bombings at a crowded protest in Lahore and a religious shrine in Sindh, the Pakistan government and army have come under great pressure to strike back at the perpetrators of these crimes. The Pakistan army has begun domestic operations against suspected terrorists, announcing the killing of 100 in one day. According to the BBC:

“Armed forces spokesman Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said more than "100 terrorists" were killed and many others arrested in 24 hours as part of operations across the country, including Punjab province.”

Naturally, there is no proof of whether these 100 were actually terrorists or not. And this is despite knowing that the origin of this terrorism is Afghan territory.

According to the Dawn Newspaper:
“Pakistan on Friday summoned officials of the Afghan embassy to the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi to lodge protest against the use of Afghan soil by terrorists to carry out attacks in Pakistan.

The Afghan officials were handed over a list of 76 "most wanted" terrorists by the Pakistan Army, DG Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Maj Gen Asif Ghafoor said in a Tweet.

Afghanistan was asked to either take "immediate action" against the named terrorists or hand them over to Pakistan, he said.”

The true cause of these horrendous attacks is not the Muslim people of Afghanistan but the Americans who imposed the Afghan regime upon them, and the Indians who they brought to support this regime. Neither America nor India are being mentioned by Pakistani officials.

America is struggling in Afghanistan. In Congressional testimony last week, General Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, pleaded for thousands more American troops to be deployed there, and talked openly about the Afghan jihad receiving support from Pakistan territory. It is to counter this threat that the Americans have seen fit to patronise Afghan-based terrorists striking at Pakistan.

The Americans could not have come to Afghanistan 15 years ago without Pakistan’s support. And the Americans continue to exist in Afghanistan because of the strategic shelter provided to them by Pakistan. At the same time, distrustful of the Americans and wary of the Indian presence in Afghanistan, Pakistan has continued to provide passive support to the Afghan mujihideen. Although the mujahideen control vast parts of the country, they have been restricted to rural areas and have not been able to take any of the key cities and are far from evicting the American presence. The real solution to Afghanistan is for Pakistan to come directly to the support of Afghan Muslims and rid this region of the evil of American presence. Only then can stability return to the people of both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

UN Stance Further Confirms Western support for the Assad regime

Despite years of publicly criticising the brutal and tyrannical regime of Bashar al-Assad, it is clear from actions on the ground that Western powers have actually been backing Assad against the Muslim uprising in Syria. A change in terminology used by the United Nations further confirms this position. According to Reuters:

“The United Nations is no longer using the phrase "political transition" to describe the goals of next week's Syria peace talks, in a potentially major concession to negotiators representing President Bashar al-Assad.

"Political transition" is a phrase understood by the opposition to mean a removal of Assad or at least an erosion of his powers. But his government has rejected any suggestion that it could be on the table, and at previous peace talks in Geneva his negotiators consistently tried to steer away from it.”

In fact, Assad poses no threat to Western interests and the West, despite their rhetoric of freedom and democracy, are wholly unconcerned with his vengeful dictatorship of Syria. However, the Muslim uprising in Syria is a direct threat to the world order created by the West after the fall of the last Khilafah "Caliphate", the Ottoman State, after World War I. With Allah’s permission, despite the opposition of the West and her agents, Muslims will be successful in re-establishing their state, the righteous Islamic Khilafah "Caliphate" on the method of Prophethood (saw).