The U.S. Will Rearrange the Order of the Middle East
Published in ifeng
(Hong Kong) on 3 May 2011
by Chen Bing (link to original)
(Hong Kong) on 3 May 2011
by Chen Bing (link to original)
Translated from
by Pak Ng.
Edited by Hoishan Chan.
The U.S. intends to use the assault to demonstrate that if it can conduct a precise raid on bin Laden, then it is also capable of launching attacks on any defiant strongmen in the Middle East.
Bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy Seal commandos. This has given people an impression that the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world. This was just an attack initiated by the U.S. under a somewhat orderly-yet-chaotic situation in the Middle East. This raid was a symbol that an era of the war on terror had ended, as well as a prelude of the reorganization of the layouts in the Middle East. To Obama, the announcement of the death of bin Laden was a declaration of a revitalization of his reelection campaign. But to the world, the killing of bin Laden signified that the U.S. will continue to exercise its influence.
The U.S. military already knew of the whereabouts of bin Laden several months ago. The choice to get rid of him now must has been deeply pondered upon and thoroughly deliberated. The U.S. planned to use the killing of bin Laden to make a statement that if it is able to carry out a precise attack on the face of terrorism, who moved around in inhospitable mountains and deserted hills for many years, then it also has the ability to launch such offense on all defiant strongmen in the Middle East such as Libya's Gadhafi and Iran’s Ahmadinejad. The killing of bin Laden served as the U.S.’s warning, frightening to those anti-American leaders in the Middle East. This might just be a U.S. strategy to settle the frustrating Middle East with deterrence and wins hands down, and then reconstruct the Middle East’s geopolitical map in accordance with American intentions.
The U.S. military transferred the commanding power on attack of Libya to NATO. This was viewed by many countries as an indication that the U.S.’s strength cannot match its ambitions. However, the execution of bin Laden has shown that the U.S. military is capable of sparing extra manpower and material resources in places where they think that it is worth intervening. Even though U.S. military boots don’t step on Libya, don’t tread on Syria and don’t kick Iran, the pressure is already on these countries.
Now that bin Laden has been executed, the U.S. will gradually free itself from the war on terror and put its efforts into reconciliation and cooperation with Islamic countries. Obama’s reassertion that “we must also reaffirm that the United States is not — and never will be — at war with Islam” was a painful conclusion to make after reexamining both wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with pangs in the heart. Besides applying deterrence on countries which are disobedient to the U.S., the Americans will use means of wooing to draw more and more Middle East countries into its own sphere of influence. This will not only obtain concrete interests for the U.S., but also will make it easier to quickly ground the “sandstorm” in the Middle East — and transform it into a place where the U.S. can exercise its power.
In a pro-bin Laden era, the U.S. will act even more freely and redefine its relations with India and Pakistan. The U.S. especially emphasized that the execution of bin Laden was carried out by the U.S. military alone; this implied that the U.S. has already distanced itself from Pakistan. India and Afghanistan immediately criticized Pakistan for being a haven for terrorists, which provoked a collision between India and Pakistan, and there have been early indications as to which side the U.S. will stand by. Because of the war on terror and the need to kill bin Laden, the U.S. had no choice but to tie itself to Pakistan, but now the U.S. might begin to incline toward India.
In addition, there is Israel and Palestine, whose conflicts might become more frequent and more intense. Hamas, which has won the heart of the Palestinians, has criticized the U.S. for killing a holy fighter, but Israel has been in jubilation. The scene of this clash is already smoky between Palestine and Israel.
Bin Laden is dead now, but the bell of peace has not yet been struck. The biggest winner is Obama himself — he has not only accumulated capital for his reelection campaign, but also made practical contribution to the reinforcement of the U.S.’s influence. What I, as a writer, want to say is: President Obama, please take out the Nobel Peace Prize that you have put aside, look at it closely and exert sustainable efforts to make it a deserved honor.
Bin Laden was killed by U.S. Navy Seal commandos. This has given people an impression that the U.S. is the most powerful country in the world. This was just an attack initiated by the U.S. under a somewhat orderly-yet-chaotic situation in the Middle East. This raid was a symbol that an era of the war on terror had ended, as well as a prelude of the reorganization of the layouts in the Middle East. To Obama, the announcement of the death of bin Laden was a declaration of a revitalization of his reelection campaign. But to the world, the killing of bin Laden signified that the U.S. will continue to exercise its influence.
The U.S. military already knew of the whereabouts of bin Laden several months ago. The choice to get rid of him now must has been deeply pondered upon and thoroughly deliberated. The U.S. planned to use the killing of bin Laden to make a statement that if it is able to carry out a precise attack on the face of terrorism, who moved around in inhospitable mountains and deserted hills for many years, then it also has the ability to launch such offense on all defiant strongmen in the Middle East such as Libya's Gadhafi and Iran’s Ahmadinejad. The killing of bin Laden served as the U.S.’s warning, frightening to those anti-American leaders in the Middle East. This might just be a U.S. strategy to settle the frustrating Middle East with deterrence and wins hands down, and then reconstruct the Middle East’s geopolitical map in accordance with American intentions.
The U.S. military transferred the commanding power on attack of Libya to NATO. This was viewed by many countries as an indication that the U.S.’s strength cannot match its ambitions. However, the execution of bin Laden has shown that the U.S. military is capable of sparing extra manpower and material resources in places where they think that it is worth intervening. Even though U.S. military boots don’t step on Libya, don’t tread on Syria and don’t kick Iran, the pressure is already on these countries.
Now that bin Laden has been executed, the U.S. will gradually free itself from the war on terror and put its efforts into reconciliation and cooperation with Islamic countries. Obama’s reassertion that “we must also reaffirm that the United States is not — and never will be — at war with Islam” was a painful conclusion to make after reexamining both wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with pangs in the heart. Besides applying deterrence on countries which are disobedient to the U.S., the Americans will use means of wooing to draw more and more Middle East countries into its own sphere of influence. This will not only obtain concrete interests for the U.S., but also will make it easier to quickly ground the “sandstorm” in the Middle East — and transform it into a place where the U.S. can exercise its power.
In a pro-bin Laden era, the U.S. will act even more freely and redefine its relations with India and Pakistan. The U.S. especially emphasized that the execution of bin Laden was carried out by the U.S. military alone; this implied that the U.S. has already distanced itself from Pakistan. India and Afghanistan immediately criticized Pakistan for being a haven for terrorists, which provoked a collision between India and Pakistan, and there have been early indications as to which side the U.S. will stand by. Because of the war on terror and the need to kill bin Laden, the U.S. had no choice but to tie itself to Pakistan, but now the U.S. might begin to incline toward India.
In addition, there is Israel and Palestine, whose conflicts might become more frequent and more intense. Hamas, which has won the heart of the Palestinians, has criticized the U.S. for killing a holy fighter, but Israel has been in jubilation. The scene of this clash is already smoky between Palestine and Israel.
Bin Laden is dead now, but the bell of peace has not yet been struck. The biggest winner is Obama himself — he has not only accumulated capital for his reelection campaign, but also made practical contribution to the reinforcement of the U.S.’s influence. What I, as a writer, want to say is: President Obama, please take out the Nobel Peace Prize that you have put aside, look at it closely and exert sustainable efforts to make it a deserved honor.