A hungry wolf saw a lamb drinking water downstream from where the wolf was drinking. The wolf yelled at the lamb that it was very upset that it was forced to drink water that had been contaminated by the lamb. The cowed lamb humbly answered that it was downstream and the water flowed from the wolf to it and thus the wolf's accusation was false. The wolf was determined to pick a quarrel and kill and eat the lamb. The wolf bellowed, "First you pollute my water and then you challenge me by arguing, I need to teach you a lesson". The lamb replied, "I am merely pointing out the facts, I am not arguing". The wolf roared, "Your grandfather argued with me and all you sheep are aggressive". He then pounced on the lamb, killed and devoured it. That is how the world works. As the historian Tacitus said, "The strong do what they will, while the weak suffer what they must".

American economy and military are dependent on a reliable supply of oil and its mounting debt and deficits require an obedient source of energy, willing to accept IOUs certain to diminish in value. It has obedient clients in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, but the terror attacks of 9/11 gave it an excuse to attack other vulnerable oil producers. Iran and Iraq were two potential victims and Iraq was the weaker of the two and had a cruel tyrant with a sordid human rights record. America had condoned and even supported him as long as Saddam was fighting Iran which had held American diplomats hostage in 1979. America conveniently forgot that it had toppled the democratically elected Mossadeq government of Iran in the fifties to impose the tyrant Shah and his torturing secret police Savak on the Iranian people.

The current Bush administration had determined to attack Iraq in 2001 but needed an excuse. At one stage they considered sending an American plane painted with UN markings and shooting it down to blame Iraq to start a war. After consultation with the British they came up with a plan to demand that Saddam permit UN inspectors to check his WMDs. They expected Saddam to refuse and provide them with an excuse to start the war. To their chagrin and surprise Saddam agreed to the inspections so they needed a new excuse. They then claimed that Saddam was uncooperative and the inspectors were inadequate and gave Iraq an ultimatum that it could not meet. The UK unlike the US is a signatory to the International Criminal Court and the ICJ so the Solicitor General of the UK warned Blair that he would be violating the UN Charter by going to war without going to the UN first. The US sent Secretary of State Colin Powell to the Security Council with evidence that was patently false, to make a case for war. The two conspirators threatened and cajoled the other members and managed to pass a unanimous resolution condemning Iraq and threatening a severe response. They gave the impression to France and others that this did not imply war. Syria, an Arab country with a Baathist regime went along because of Arab disunity and internecine animosity. (Reminiscent of Amichand in Indian history).

Bush had fooled the craven American Congress in the same way (just like the Tonkin resolution to bomb Vietnam by Johnson). The Security Council and the US Congress expected that the president would come back to them again for obtaining sanction for the war. Bush expecting the resistance of China, Russia, France and Germany in the Security Council and Democrat opposition in the Congress never went back to those bodies. The intelligence was cherry-picked, exaggerated and twisted to make a case for war. Outright lies were used to scare the US public, like Iraq buying uranium from Niger and aluminum tubes for uranium enrichment centrifuges and Iraqi unmanned aerial vehicles dropping nuclear bombs on America. The supine press trumpeted the call to war and roused patriotic fervor leading to the present quagmire in Iraq. Interested parties can read the Downing Street Memos by google search and confirm much of this from the minutes of the UK cabinet meeting report of Dearlove, the chief of British intelligence. Incidentally the UN did nothing and eventually gave legal sanction to the whole mess by designating the US and UK as occupying powers.

In a similar vein, Israel has violated UN resolutions for years and is still occupying Syria's Golan Heights, Lebanon's Sheba Farms and Palestinian West Bank and Gaza since many years. It has kid-napped Lebanese and Palestinian civilians in the thousands and is holding them captive for years. Thus the massive disproportionate retaliation against Lebanon was not for the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hizbollah. Only after Israel bombed civilians and civilian infrastructure in Lebanon, Hizbollah used rockets on Israel. The Israeli attack was premeditated and planned well in advance and is part of the grand plan of Israel to dominate the region. It is consistent with US interests and policy that is why the US vetoed an immediate cease-fire and allowed Lebanese civilian slaughter and destruction of Lebanese civilian infrastructure to proceed. This is why the puppets of Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia echoed their master's voice and once again revealed their impotence, idiocy and the Sunni-Shia divide amongst the Arabs. From America's point of view the next target is Iran and it wants Israel to decimate Hamas in Palestine and Hizbollah in Lebanon, so when it attacks Iran it will be unable to foment unrest in the future in those places. This is why the US is garnering support from the Sunni Arab states and wants to wean Sunni Syria away from Iran. This is also why the US is not making any serious efforts to contain the Sunni-Shia civil war in Iraq and is talking to the Sunni insurgents.

Thus the strong behave as they wish and the weak victims like the ordinary Iraqis, Palestinians and Lebanese have no recourse but to suffer. India needs to become strong and self-sufficient and not be taken in gullibly by promises of nuclear pacts, being made a great power etc. Beware of the West bearing gifts. Sir Thomas came from Britain bearing gifts for the Mughal Emperor and in hundred years Britain was ruling India and the last Mughal Emperor was in a British prison in Rangoon. Recently the UK gave refueling permission for US transports carrying smart bombs to Israel to replenish its arsenal, while Ireland refused. Even strong Israel is dependent for special ammunition. India had to get emergency supplies from Israel during the Kargil war. India needs to become self-sufficient in ammunition and spare parts at the least, if not in entire weapon systems.

Finally, there is the story of the fox judging a dispute between two monkeys over an edible loaf. The fox purposely divides the loaf into two unequal parts and asks the monkeys if they are satisfied. The monkeys object and point out that one of the two pieces is larger. The fox takes a large bite of the larger piece so it becomes smaller. The monkeys are asked again and point out the other larger piece. The fox repeats the same strategy and eventually eats the entire loaf while the quarreling monkeys get nothing. These Salami tactics is what the weak Pakistani fox is using against India by fomenting terrorism all over. It is subverting the Indian Muslim population and its demand for Kashmir is just the beginning of this foxy strategy. The appeasing Congress the UP government turn a blind eye. The foolish BJP is susceptible to the same wiles as Vajpayee's bus trip to Lahore while Pakistani army infiltrated and occupied Kargil shows. India has to stop being the lamb and not let anyone make a monkey out of it.