U.S. Persistent In Having Control Of OIC

By Kazi Mahmood, World Futures
Tuesday, 1 January 2008

Washington is playing hard ball game by taking advantage of the existing division among the Muslim nations and is forcing its way to gain control of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC). The Bush administration want to leave a legacy to future presidents by giving them absolute power to decide for the OIC and the members of the organization are simply sleeping on their laurels without seeing what is happening.

Leaving a sense of power and control over the Muslim states is an essential part of the end of the Bush regime. Hence the multiple attempts at brining the Muslim organization to agree to a deal that will revolutionize the way things are done in the Muslim world.

Recent information obtained by WFOL say the US is seeking higher influence on the OIC. Washington is apparently not pleased with the fact that the OIC is standing united on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the condemnation by the whole Islamic world of the torture and other inhuman methods used by the U.S.

The issue of Guantanamo and the illegal torture of prisoners as well as rendition (which is the kidnap of innocents and their confinement in secret dungeons) have been widely criticized by the Muslim world.

The OIC itself issued statements that criticized the way Muslim captives are being treated and this resonated at the White House as a painful reminder to G.W. Bush that he is not popular in the Muslim world.

The outgoing U.S. president is aware that America is alone in the war on terror and that its foremost ally in the Muslim world, Pakistan, is now a lost cause. The Pakistani government under Parvez Musharaf has lost the war on terror dictated on it by Washington.

Now with the killing of Benazir Bhutto, the wild card and secret ally sent to Pakistan by the U.S. administration, has deepened the loss for the White House in the long and tiring war it is leading against fundamental Islam.

President Bush and other republican presidential candidates wish to strengthen the relationship between the OIC and the U.S. Yet they do not know how to deal with this issue since the public relations of the Bush administration has been a catastrophe since 911.

There are some Muslim nations that are pushing on the other direction that is favoring the strengthening of relations with the U.S. and forgetting the recent violent past where the U.S.Iraq’s pro-American regime in concoction with the mayor of Kabul, Hamid Karzai, is in favor of good relationship with the U.S. Their views as explained by members of embassy staffs in the Asian region are simple. The U.S. helped their governments gained power and has aided them financially and militarily and is still aiding these nations. acted like a bully and Bush like a barbarian.

Pakistan is fully behind the U.S. in its war on terrorism or war on Islamic militancy and Islamic fundamentalists. This gives Washington full confidence that it can bring other nations to support its policies in the Islamic world altogether. Yet the apparent unity with which the OIC condemned the aftermath of the war on Iraq and Afghanistan and the ensuing human rights abuses by the U.S., made it clear to the White House that this was mission impossible at best.

To reverse the situation, Washington is making hard attempts to push public diplomacy and collaborate in many other fields to help increase the confidence level of the Muslim world towards the Americans. The following was part of the plan to recapture the Muslim world’s support:-

• In March 2007 the U.S. launched the so-called “embassy group” to coordinate political issues between the US and Islamic countries.

• In June 2007 the decision was made to establish the position of Special Representative of the US President for OIC.

• Recently, the U.S. supported the proposal for an independent Kosovo despite the opposition from other super powers like Russia and the Serbian nation.

• In December 2007, the U.S. decided not to engage the Turkish regime by remaining on the touch line despite the constant bombing of Kurdish rebel positions inside Iraq.
  
  All these were attempts by the U.S. to appease the anger and the anti-U.S. sentiment in the Muslim world.

• In 2008, the U.S. has other plans and these include the reduction of military troops in Iraq and the handing over of more cities to the Iraqi government. The down pouring of money in several hundred millions of dollars in the Sunni belt in Iraq is also part of the plan to show that the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq.

To create a positive perception of Washington, the White House plans to invite a wide range of young ambitious OIC based Muslims to the US for training purposes. The aim is to establish a course to study Political Islam (a twisted one indeed), to enhance scientific and cultural exchange, to provide help in such areas as Gallup polls and democratic elections in Islamic countries and others.

According to international observer’s opinion in a survey by WFOL, all these measures are aimed at creating a “fifth column” within the OIC. This is done with the intent to help the U.S. occupy a leading position in the OIC and to control their future decisions.

Some observers told WFOL that this will definitely undermine the OIC’s unity and weaken its structure from within, which can result in disruption and much lower efficiency of its work. The OIC is known for its failures rather than for its successes (which are limited by all means). It is also known for its impotence to deal with issues like Israel’s barbaric attacks on Palestinians. However, as an existing organization, it still has some political clout and its criticism of the U.S.Washington.

The strengthening US-OIC relations will have for effect the damaging of the OIC’s image and authority in the Islamic world as a whole. This is because it is well known that Washington has very little credibility in this part of the world as it appears to be the main ally to Israel.

Annapolis, where the Quartet composed of the U.S., the U.N., the U.K., and Russia met with Palestinian representatives and the Arab League (AL), was the first of the series of attempts by the White House to leave a positive impression on the Muslims.

The question is what are the OIC and its members doing to shove the U.S. with the damaging truth of its violence towards the Muslims? The answer is money can buy everything and with the Congress and the Senate playing into the hands of G. W. Bush despite being held by the Democrats, the Americans will be able to buy the silence of the OIC.

Hence in 2008, we can expect the Americans to show a smiling face and the money that is needed to buy the support of several Muslim states, members of the OIC, which will be meeting in Senegal in March this year.

Will the next OIC General Assembly be the wholesale discount of the organization to the Americans? Senegal, being a nation is historically leaning towards Paris, will surely listen to the French President Nicolas Sarkozy – the ultimate European supporter of the Bush regime after Tony Blair. Sarkozy will play the role of the matchmaker between the U.S. and the OIC and the future generations of Muslims may find themselves the slaves of Washington, thanks to the apathy and laziness that characterizes the OIC in general.

Born in the tiny Island of Mauritius, Kazi Mahmood who lives in Malaysia, left behind a few good years of journalism in Africa. His days as a BBC reporter in Mauritius were exciting since he was also contributing to several London based African magazines, including the popular African Business.