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Speaking to a few old Republican acquaintances I asked them if they considered loyalty to their party were greater than loyalty to their nation. They were frank and honest enough to confess that “nation was indeed greater than the party and nation’s interests could never be ignored or sidelined to promote the party.” When asked further why then they keep on supporting their President’s erroneous policies that are hurting their nation, they get dumbstruck. They have no logical answer. They think this is the folly of democracy. Democracy indeed, that teaches to sacrifice all other values to uphold its ideology. And the richest and most powerful nation wants the whole world to follow its lead in democracy. What could be a greater shame than this? It has been almost more than five years the Bush administration has given a total blind eye to all human rights and human values, callously killing not only thousands of helpless Iraqis, thousands of even their own young men and women. Even though there could be no justification whatsoever in devastating Iraq , murdering Saddam Hussein and his friends, the unjust war continues with no visible end. And no power to stop this as long George Bush is the President of the U.S. Since the last two weeks I have been here I have been asking my American friends to explain their behavior. But not one has been able to put forward any credible apology for this Bush administration. As a matter of fact the Americans seem to have become disillusioned. A noted columnist has just written that, “It is a dangerous illusion to believe that America is superior to other nations. We should not be attempting to reshape other nations in the light of our values.” He further adds, “Even a bigger majority of Americans believe that the main goal of American foreign policy (read governments) should be to protect the security of the U.S. and its allies, rather than the promotion of freedom or democracy.” If the wealthy politicians in the number one county of the world don’t bat their eyelids to unabashedly sacrifice political morality, no wonder the hungry and starving politicians in our country don’t hesitate to sell their integrity, even their soul, so that they may nourish their own interests. As such, it would be sheer foolishness to expect the Nepali politicians to defend or safeguard the country’s interests or uplift the miserable condition of their poor and exploited countrymen. It is, indeed, a great pity that even the hereditary Kings, frittered away golden opportunities of serving their country and their people. King Gyanendra’s utter failure to rise up to the occasion has pushed the poor country to this brink of disaster. It is time Nepal ’s good friends rallied around her and saved her from the ensuing calamity. And it is time India - Nepal ’s traditional friendly neighbor - stopped destabilizing Nepal ’s politics and proved that it is, indeed, a friend. It is time China – Nepal’s dependable friend - flexed its muscle to the required extent in favor of its smaller neighbor and friend and it is time Nepal’s good friend, the Anglo-American axis twisted the arm of its other partner to quit hypocritical behavior. If such a situation does not emerge, Nepal may have to face grave consequences because Nepal ’s security forces will not stay silent spectators of the country’s disintegration.
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