By Sajjad Shaukat
Trump whose political character is an amalgamation of the traits of Louis XVI, the king of France, Prince Metternich, the Austro-Hungarian emperor, Rasputin, Russian spiritualist, Germany’s rulers William II (Kaiser) and Adolf Hitler will take the world to the ‘state of nature’ when there was a war of “all against all”, if he becomes American president.
Wavering between fact and skepticism, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump shares a number of similarities with the above mentioned famous persons like ungoverned temper, rashness, self-egoism, unrealistic idealism, lack of pragmatism, ignorance of ground realities, religious prejudice and so on.
During the early years of his reign, Louis XVI focused on religious uniformity and foreign policy. He supported the American colonies’ fight for independence. However, the policy of taking out international loans increased the debt and drove the country to near bankruptcy. Afterwards, class distinction rapidly increased in France, as more taxes were imposed on the lower class and the upper class was exempted. Hence, fiscal policies of France badly failed. When events were leading to the French Revolution of 1789, Louis XVI was busy in lock-making and hunting from the palace-window, which was his famous hobby. He also invited foreign forces to crush the French Revolution. According to historians, “stupidities” of Louis XVI resulted into French Revolution. He was executed for treason by guillotine in 1793.
Renowned historians agree that in the post-Napoleonic era, the Treaty of Chaumont which was made in March 1814 by Great Britain, Russia, Prussia and Austria…even the Vienna Settlement (1815) and various conferences of the Concert of Europe (1815-22) were used for the purpose of suppressing nationalism and liberalism everywhere in Europe and restoring the status quo…sealed the triumph of reaction and restored the pre-revolutionary conditions” [of the French Revolution]…European Powers devoted to the grand interests they had in common.”
Prince Metternich, the emperor of the Austro-Hungarian Empire did what he could by subjugating the alien peoples by employing every possible techniques of state terrorism. It was due to his influence that the principle of intervention in the internal affairs of other states was accepted in 1820 by the Congress of Troppau. The Protocol enabled Metternich to police the whole of Europe and crush liberalism and nationalism wherever it raised its head. When revolutions had broken out in Naples, Spain and Portugal and the people had forced their kings to give them liberal constitutions, it was in pursuance of this policy that Austria was able to crush the revolts in Naples and Piedmont. France also interfered in Spain.
According to Indian historian, V. D. Mahajin, “Terrorism at that stage initially appeared as the mode of activity of the small conspiratorial groups, such as student bodies and secret societies, which grew up throughout Europe in the aftermath of the post-Napoleonic restoration. These early days were exciting, since Europe still abounded (as indeed it did until 1918) with kings, emperors and tsars to be eliminated because they were using the machinery of state terrorism in suppressing the genuine aspirations of peoples such as liberty, freedom and justice…the principle of the French Revolution. The example of France became the inspiration of Europe and from there of the whole world…Metternich was the enemy of the French Revolution and all that it stood for.…Metternich had to admit that he was fighting for a lost cause, and the empire disintegrated, resulting in the independence of Italy, unification of Germany, Bulgaria and other states whose secret societies had been waging wars of liberation.”
Gregory Rasputin was a religious figure who was a mystical adviser of Tsarina Alexandra Feodorovna, the wife of Czar Nicholas II of Russia. Rasputin was a notorious individual due to his rampant lascivious, compounding contempt among state officials. He became the most influential person of the imperial court and all the decisions of the government such as resistance to the demands of political and economic reforms were made by him. When Russia entered World War I, Nicholas II took command of the Russian Army, and Alexandra took responsibility for domestic policy. As per instruction of Rasputin, she dismissed ministers who were said “to be suspicious of the mad monk.” Government officials tried to warn her of Rasputin’s undue influence, but she continued to defend him. By February 1917, poor management of the government led to food shortages and famine gripped the cities. Industrial workers went on strike and people began rioting in the streets of St. Petersburg. Russia was engaged in a full civil war, with anti-tsar Bolshevik forces which culminated into the Revolution of 1917. Historians agree that besides other causes, “stupidities” of Rasputin were the major cause of the Revolution.
As regards William II and Hitler, both were famous for their pathological egotism and belief that Germany existed for their own aggrandizement. Both were fierce racists and anti-Semites. They believed in the principle of “world power or downfall.” They had a firm faith in the superiority of German race. The two leaders believed that the path to German greatness was through aggressive military actions. They started a programme of enormous armament by developing German military on modern lines. William II and Hitler became powerful rulers and acted upon an aggressive foreign policy to subjugate other nations. It was due to their unskilled diplomacy that militarization of Germany alarmed France, England and Russia. Thus, they humiliated the Germans, as their country was defeated in the World War I and World War II.
Especially, Hitler’s character and adverse circumstances in Germany helped him to come to power. The Germans were badly humiliated by the Treaty of Versailles (Peace Settlement 1919) which resulted into multiple crises, particularly unemployment in Germany. Hitler was a great orator and his techniques of propaganda helped him to influence millions of people. The Germans felt that Hitler could not only resolve their problems, but could also restore the glory of Germany in the eyes of the world. The more Hitler manipulated the injustices of the Treaty of Versailles, the more he became popular with the public.
After coming to power, like the despotic kings of France and Russia, Adolf Hitler’s internal policies were authoritarian and totalitarian. Liberty disappeared completely. The secret police-Gestapo was formed to deal with the slightest indication of opposition. He mixed politics with religious fervor and massacred several Jews in the concentration camps. Hitler and his Nazi party had planned to conquer colonies for the German people in the East and South of Europe. They must have a living space-Lebensraum, as Nazis called it.
In one way or the other, like Louis XVI and Rasputin, Donald Trump’s political character is full of “stupidities.” Besides, following William II and Hitler in the modern era, Trump promised to restore American prestige and to make America great again. Like Hitler, Trump succeeded in mobilizing the electorate of the Republican Party with promises to restore jobs and to resolve the internal problems of the US. During his emotional speeches, Trump’s body language and way of speaking were not less than those of Hitler. Nevertheless, despite the resistance from his own party, he won over his fellow candidates in the nomination race.
Regarding the propaganda techniques, one can easily witness resemblance between Trump and Hitler. In this respect, on May 31, 2016, nearly 400 pages of a US court documents revealed, “Trump University instructed employees on how to play on peoples’ emotions to get them to buy more expensive seminars for succeeding in real estate…it is our job to rekindle peoples’ motivation...to make them once again see the potential of achieving their dream…the documents unsealed in San Diego were part of a lawsuit by customers who say they were defrauded…a judge who has earned Trump’s scorn agreed with attorneys that the public had a right to know what was previously confidential.”
It is mentionable that as part of the anti-Muslim approach, and with the support of its Western allies, American President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama deliberately created chaos in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt and Syria, including other Islamic countries such as Somalia, Yemen etc. where Washington was indirectly involved. If Hitler had erected concentration camps for Jews, Bush and Obama also converted these countries into concentration camps for the Muslims to obtain the illegitimate political and economic interests of the Zionist Jews and Israel. In case elected, as the US president, Donald Trump who wants to complete the unfinished agenda of Israel will continue anti-Muslim policies.
Like Hitler, Trump manipulated the terror attacks in Paris and Brussels to get the sympathies of a majority of the ordinary Americans and those of Europe, who do not have much time to go into depth-analysis and have been misguided by his emotional speeches, statements and false hopes. As part of the double game, these terror attacks were planned by the Israeli Mossad with the help of Mossad-CIA supported ISIS (ISIL or Daesh) terrorists in order to obtain several aims such as exaggeration of Islamophobia, expulsion of Muslims, especially Syrian refugees from Europe, anti-Islam movement etc., and to get the assistance of Europe, including other Western countries against Russia in connection with Syrian war and for intervention in the Islamic countries like Libya on the pattern of the Concert of Europe.
Anti-Muslim rhetoric of Trump could be judged from his own statements. While addressing a rally, Trump had called for a ban on Muslims, entering the United States. Trump’s opposition to Muslim refugees, especially from Syria is very well known. During his appearance with the National Border Patrol Council’s Green Line radio show on May 15, 2016, Trump predicted that refugees with ISIS-funded cell phones will conduct another 9/11-like terrorist attack in the US. During a GOP debate in December, 2016, he had already expressed similar thoughts by giving “Americans wake-up call about border security and to take it seriously,” elaborating that he had “no doubt, the attackers were already entering the country.”On February 14, 2016, CIA Director John Brennan warned that ISIS attacks on “U.S. soil is inevitable.” However, these warnings were exploited by the Israeli Mossad and its affiliated CIA operatives to target the night club of Florida.
Although the presidential nominee of the Democrats Hillary Clinton is also Israeli agent, yet her criticism about contributions of election-campaign from Wall Street backers, email-scandal etc. have weakened her position. Therefore, Donald Trump suits the interests of Tel Aviv. Notably, in an interview with the Daily Mail on May 2, this year, Trump stated that Israel should continue construction of illegal settlements across the occupied West Bank.
After the shooting at the gay night club in Florida, He also criticized the US President Obama to resign, slamming him for having “disgracefully refused to even say the words “Radical Islam.” Calling on Clinton to get out of the general election race for the same reason, Trump said, “Because our leaders are weak, I said this was going to happen…we cannot afford.” Trump again remarked that he would decrease immigration from the Middle East because “since 9/11, hundreds of migrants and their children have been implicated in terrorism in the United States.” He, once again, asked for the ban of any Muslims, entering the US. On June 19, 2016, during his interview with the CBC News, he called for racial “profiling of Muslims inside the United States to combat terrorism.” In fact, like Hitler, the more Donald Trump speaks against the Muslims and the more he exaggerates Islamophobia, the more popularity he will get among the people who have been impressed by his stereotypes.
In this regard, Trump who lacks farsightedness has totally ignored American’s home-grown terrorists who are proving more dangerous than those of the ISIS. Besides, if elected, the presumptive American president Trump promised to stop immigrants from Mexico by erection of a boundary wall, while calling the Mexican immigrants “criminals” and “rapists”. Trump is creating racism between the Muslims and Christians—the black people and the white people. And if he becomes the US president, he is likely to move America towards autocracy, while American public is already protesting against the curtailment of liberty. His racist approach could also cause a civil war in the US.
It notable that in case America’s anti-Muslim, pro-Israeli and pro-Indian Donald Trump becomes American president, by following Hitler, he would erect more concentration camps by attacking more Muslim countries. While pursuing Prince Metternich, he is likely to interfere in the Muslim states, while backing the reactionary polices of some Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia. Thus, Trump will destabilize the entire Middle East, including more Islamic countries, especially Pakistan to please the fundamentalist government of the BJP and Israel, as Pakistan is the only nuclear country in the Muslim world, which irritates India, Zionist Jews and Israel. Pursuing Metternich in one way or the other, Trump will encourage every possible techniques of state terrorism, being employed by India and Israel in the occupied territories of Kashmir and Palestine. Notably, there are already governments of the religious extremists in India and Israel, so if succeeded in the forthcoming presidential election, the fundamentalist and impulsive politician Trump will not bother for dangerous implications of the US flawed strategy.
Renowned thinker of international relations, Hans Morgenthau points out that external policy of a country should be moulded in accordance “with the exigencies and circumstances of time and place” otherwise, there will be “failure of the foreign policy.” It is quite true in case of Trump who will further thwart the American foreign policy goals, because, he does not have political wisdom.
Donald Trump seems to further strengthen the alliance between the US and the West, particularly Europe against Russia, as the US-led Western countries have started a cold war against Moscow and compelled the former to follow the suit. True to his rigid approach, he has set aside the facts that one of the major causes of the disintegration of the former Soviet Union was that its greater defense expenditures exceeded to the maximum, resulting in economic crises inside the country. In this context, about a protracted war in Afghanistan, the former Russian President Gorbachev had declared it as the “bleeding wound.” While learning no lesson, the US has already been acting upon the similar policies which led to the demise of the former Russia.
There is a co-relationship of the US internal and external policies. But, like William II and Hitler, Trump is uncompromising.
After taking cognizance of the grievances of the international community, Russian President Vladimir Putin is rapidly restoring the balance of power in the world. In this respect, Moscow which also has China’s support, though Beijing does not, openly, show, is in better position than the US and its Western (NATO) allies who are also entangled in Afghanistan and the Middle East. This cold war will enhance American expenditures by deepening the US momentary problems and other internal problems which are badly affecting the Americans, while it is already been becoming difficult for Washington to maintain its military bases abroad. According to a recent report, America is near military collapse. However, while speaking in the language of William II and Hitler-world power or downfall, Trump who lacks pragmatism would expedite the disintegration of America and the European Union (EU) like the former Russia.
It is of particular attention that on June 24, 2016, Britain has voted to leave the EU, compelling the British Prime Minister David Cameron to resign. UK itself could now break apart, with the leader of Scotland, where nearly two-thirds of voters wanted to stay in the EU, saying a new referendum on independence from the rest of Britain was highly likely. President Obama who was insisting upon London to keep aligned with the EU is trying to limit the fallout from Britain’s separation from the EU, which “threatens to harm the U.S. economic recovery and distract U.S. allies from global security issues”, as he said on June 24. 2016. On the same day, Donald Trump stated, British voters just shattered political convention in a stunning repudiation of the ruling establishment in a referendum…in November, the American people will have the chance to re-declare their independence. Americans will have a chance to vote for trade, immigration and foreign policies that put our citizens first…people want to see borders. They don’t necessarily want people pouring into their country that they don’t know who they are and where they come from.”
Nonetheless, it will be misfortune of the US and other Western countries, including the whole world, if Trump becomes American president, as his personality contains the qualities of Louis XVI, Metternich, Rasputin, William II and Hitler who brought about destruction not only for their own countries, but also for Europe and other regions. Enigmatic, confused, emotional and religious extremist Donald Trump will cause a major nuclear war between Russia and the US-led West in wake of the unresolved issue of Syria. Most probably, he will divide the international community on religious lines, culminating into ‘clash of civilization’ in the sense of Huntington. Any major war or such a clash will take the US and Europe and the entire world to the era—from 1511 to 1648 when Europe witnessed a prolonged arena of barbarism, religious bigotry and intolerance, resulting into beastly violence, and the Treaty of Westphalia was concluded in 1648 in order to maintain the nation-state system whose basic purpose was to honor the dignity of human beings.
On May 21, 2016, Kevin Barret, while giving a wake-up call to the Americans, wrote on the Veterans Today, “Donald Trump’s terror hysteria, combined with the ever-growing terrorist attacks around the world means that a dark future awaits America in case the presumptive GOP nominee becomes president.”
Returning to our earlier discussion, if Donald Trump becomes the US president, he will take the world to the ‘state of nature’ when there was a war of “all against all” in the sense of Thomas Hobbes.
Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations
Email: sajjad_logic_pak@hotmail.com
Courtesy Veterans Today
