ISLAMABAD: Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed has said that 25 years after 9\/11, the United States has become weaker and has conceded space to China, while Muslim middle powers in the Middle East have gained relevance in a changed global order.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a talk hosted by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) in the federal capital, Senator Mushahid said the most significant shift since 9\/11 was that the United States, once regarded as the sole superpower before the attacks, no longer enjoyed that position.<\/p>\n
In a detailed presentation, he shared a fact sheet titled \u201c9\/11 in 25, the date that changed the world\u201d, outlining the political, military and global consequences of the events that followed.<\/p>\n
Quoting a Brown University study, Senator Mushahid said the United States had spent $8 trillion over 20 years after 9\/11. He said the period resulted in 38 million people being displaced and nearly five million direct or indirect deaths, while 324,000 drones, bombs and missiles were used in battle-front countries and regions, including Afghanistan, Pakistan\u2019s former FATA region, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen and Lebanon.<\/p>\n
He also cited American sources as saying that the Pentagon had decided within just nine days of 9\/11 to launch wars against seven Muslim countries. The countries named in the citation included Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia and Sudan.<\/p>\n
Senator Mushahid referred to American journalist Tom Friedman, who wrote in The New York Times on May 8, 2003, that \u201cIf 25 men working in the vicinity of the White House had been exiled to an Island, there would have been no Iraq war.\u201d Senator Mushahid said the remark implied that the Iraq war was pushed and promoted by a selected and influential group of pro-Israel lobbyists and journalists.<\/p>\n
He further cited the book \u201cLawless World\u201d by a British author, which stated that before the American invasion of Iraq, US President Bush had shared with Prime Minister Tony Blair his plan to target Pakistan and Saudi Arabia on the ostensible plea of nuclear proliferation.<\/p>\n
Discussing Afghanistan, Senator Mushahid said one of the biggest mistakes after 9\/11 was the missed opportunity at the Bonn meeting in December 2001 to reconcile with the defeated Afghan Taliban and restore the Afghan monarchy, which he described as the centre of gravity of the modern Afghan state.<\/p>\n
He compared Afghanistan with Cambodia, where the return of the monarchy after a devastating civil war helped restore stability. In Afghanistan, he said, the reverse process led to the creation of a \u201cRepublic\u201d that collapsed with the American military exit.<\/p>\n
On the impact of 9\/11 on Pakistan, Senator Mushahid said that, compared with other Muslim countries, Pakistan survived the American onslaught in neighbouring Afghanistan. However, he added, Pakistan suffered serious destabilisation, particularly in the former FATA region, which led to the formation of the TTP in 2007.<\/p>\n
He said 9\/11 also contributed to the collapse of Pakistan\u2019s Afghan policy and exposed Pakistan\u2019s inability to prevent Indian ingress into Afghanistan under the cover of the US military occupation.<\/p>\n
Speaking about wider global consequences, Senator Mushahid described 9\/11 as a major turning point in modern history. He said it marked the beginning of American decline and the rise of China, both of which he termed irreversible developments leading towards a multipolar world.<\/p>\n
He said this new global environment was also marked by the resurgence of Russia, the rise of major Muslim middle powers such as Pakistan, and the formation of new regional organisations including the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and BRICS.<\/p>\n
Senator Mushahid termed the rise of Islamophobia and right-wing racism in most Western countries as another major and worrisome consequence of 9\/11. He said these trends had widened the gulf between Islam and the West.<\/p>\n
He added that this confrontation had expanded because of US support for \u201cGreater Israel\u201d through what he described as its \u201cIsrael First\u201d foreign policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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