Imperial power

It is intended to build anti-ballistic missile bases in Poland (missiles), the Czech Republic (radars), and in any other eastern European country whose governments can be bullied or bribed to take them. But it seems that the people of these countries, who will not benefit from the cosy arrangements made with senior government figures, are far from favouring close association with an imperial power. They had their fill of empire when under the yoke of Moscow, and the addled yolk of Washington has little appeal. Washington's justification for establishing these bases is that Iran has missiles from which Europe must be protected, which is balderdash, as Iran poses no threat whatever to Europe. The reason for creating military bases so close to Russia is to keep Moscow on edge regarding US capabilities.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, Nato, was designed to combat the Soviet Union's military power, which posed a threat to Europe. But when the Soviet Union collapsed, its military grouping, the Warsaw Pact was disbanded. The threat disappeared. And Nato should have disappeared, too, as it is no longer relevant to North Atlantic or European defence. But the United States has made it a priority to antagonise Russia and menace it militarily, just as it is threatening Iran by surrounding it by military bases. Washington encouraged expansion of Nato to include ten countries close to the Russian border.

Russia has shown independence by controlling and disciplining western oil interests whose idea of deal-making was in classic colonial tradition, and this, combined with growing economic and military self-confidence in Moscow, is deemed unacceptable by Washington and London. (For example, BP's idea of arranging contracts with a foreign company is consistent with its being registered in the Virgin Islands tax haven, and thus being immune from the laws of a host nation. Why they thought Russia would accept such arrogance is not clear.) Hence the determination to make it clear that Russian economic growth and re-establishment of national confidence are to be discouraged and curbed.

The US commentator Chalmers Johnson summed up his country's foreign policy by observing that "Once upon a time, you could trace the spread of imperialism <http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Imperialism> by counting up colonies. America's version of the colony is the military base." Quite so. Which is all the more reason for Pakistan to resist establishment of US bases in its territory. American withdrawal from all these places would be welcome but will never happen. The world is stuck with a baleful military superpower, intent on continuing imperial domination. Little wonder Russia and China - and Osama bin Laden - are so popular in so many places.

The writer is a South Asian political and military affairs analyst

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Website: www.briancloughley.com