Is the United States of America a "Totalitarian Democracy?" Permanent War, Military Industrial Complex and Civil Society

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

Full Spectrum Dominance by William Engdahi is a serious investigative Report on the interface between the political and civilian institutions and the organs of the Military Industrial Complex which some analysts term the Deep State in the USA.  Bereft of its conspitorial shimmer, this book examines in great detail the policy frameworks and the ideological matrix within which total dominance over the world is sought to be achieved. Preparing the citizens for a state of Permanent War implies the ability to command the economic, cultural and human resource in favor of the stated goals of the US and to be able to draw upon the discourse of "Democracy", "Freedom" and "Human Right" to render such wars legitimate in the eyes of its people and the world. In short a Prapaganda Empire that can sustain the war effort. The author claims that these goals lie behind the Full Spectrum Dominance aspired to by the US. Liberation, Free Market and Democracy are the rallying cry of the New Empire of the USA. 

The enemity first with the USSR and after the disintegration of Soviet Union, the continuing saga of hostility needs to be explained. It appears that right from the time of George Kennan the Russia expert in the State Department, USA committed itself to a policy of "containment". This policy itself was predicated upon the Eurasia-Heartland--Rimland theory of Sir Halford Mackinder whose pseudo science of Geopolitics found avid disciples in Henry Kissinger and even President Carter's National Security advisor, Brezezenski were impressed with the idea that Russia was the pivot of History and it was therefore in American interest to harass and intimidate Russia in order to curtail its natural importance. The policy with regard to Russia-Ukraine War that is presently taking place is also guided by the same strategy of ensuring that Russia does not dominate Eurasia. When Sir Halford Mackinder wrote his famous "Geographical Pivot of History" both China and India were weak colonized subjucated countries and in that specific situation Mackinder may have been right. Now with a boyant China and resurgent India, Eurasia is no longer the sole playground of Russia. This exaggerated theory that stresses the importance of Russia in the geopolitcs of Eurasia is the hangover of the Golden Horde and the long history of Mongol supremacy over the region. A costly war in Ukraine is governed by pseudo scientific theories of the early 20th century. 

The Totalitarian Democracy is a National Security State in which important organs of the Security Apparatus are virutually beyon the reach and scrutiny of the civilians. The Pentagon, CIA, National Security Agency and Defence Intelligence Agency are all part of a sprawling network of secret and semi secret beauraucracies that run the American State. In recent years we have even seen the FBI, the AFT anf the Justice Department being used to suppress and crush dissent. The world has been watching  incredulously as President Trump is being prosecuted by the current Administration. The Deep State has always regarded Donald Trump as a threat and tried its best to defeat him in 2016 and today wants to ensure that he does not contest. All these raise questions over the democratic credentials of he USA. 

The Prussian historian Clausewitz defined war as politics by other means and the US has taken this to a whole new level. Using NGOs, Church, media organizations and academics the US has acquired a creditable control over the narrative space of the world. George Soros and his Open Society, National Endowment for Democracy, Freedom House and scores of such well funded fronts of the American state, pump money to create regime change all over the world. Successful regime change has been attempted in Ukraine, Myanmar, Tunisia, Egypt, Kosovo Khazakastan and other places. The tactic of "swarming" a event staged for the benefit of a photobgraphic crew with the international network of BBC and CNN ready at hand to amplify the message is seen in all these protests. In India too we have seen the same tactic in the anti CAA protests and the Farm Law Agitations. One added dimension was the support extended by the Governments of USA and Canada to these movements. These "Colour Revolutions" are the handiwork of the US Secret Service working in tandem with NGOs and Academics along with journalists.

The book brings out certain startling facts. For instance Winston Churchill wanted to send the 12 surrendeed divisions of the German Army into USSR in order to destroy the Soviet Union. USA even had a task force to identify Russian cities that would be bombed with nuclear bombs and it was Soviet demonstation of the Hydrogen Bomb in 1951 that ended US plans. And then there is the curious and tragic case of the Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic. The western press launched a viciuos campaign against him and he even was arrigned before the International Court of Crimianl Justice. He died in prison before the not guity verdict was pronounced. And men like Obama, Bush, Blair, Clinton and others are walking free as leaders of the "free world".

This book must be read for the facts it presents.

"Conspiracy Theory" and Statecraft: The Committee of 300 and the World Order

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

John Coleman is a well known public intellectual and his name is now cropping up in discussions on YouTube in connec tion with the emerging New World Order. The other day I heard a respected Major General refer to this particular book as his authority and decided to read it and offer my reflections on the book. Let me start by saying that as a Historian I feel that conspiracy theories are not worthwhile explanations though the arrangement of facts and the structure of the narrative may preclude any other conclusion save a conspiracy. 

Dr John Coleman maintains that a poweerful group of 300 men and I may add white men, in good measure, rule the world. They are extremely wealthy and powerful and run the world through a network of Institutions and Front Organizations. The proliferation of Think Tanks and policy institutes in USA together with the influence they exert on policy making and politics in general in USA and UK also incerasingly in other parts of the world as well suggests that Dr Coleman may be on to an important feature of contemporary foreign policy. The carreer of Dr Henry Kissinger keeps coming up as the quintessential apparatachick of the faceless mega institutions. 

What do General Zia Ul Haq, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Aldo Moro have in common. Dr Coleman asserts that in all these cases Dr Kissinger vowed to make an "example of them". The General was killed in a mysterious plane crash in Pakistan, Bhutto was hanged in a Pakistani jail following a judicial verdict and Aldo Moro was kidnapped and killed by the Red Brigade, an ultra left Communist group in Italy. All of them according to Coleman paid the price for going against the dictats of the powerful Committee of 300. The problem with this explanation as any historian will point out is self validating. Conspiracies validate themselves and that is why they are called consiparcies. Zia was probably executed by his enemies inside Pakistan and Bhutto was seen as an obstacle to what is now euphemestically called the "Establishment" in Pakistan and Aldo Moro was kidnapped by the Red Brigade a terrorist organization which was once close to the PLO. Oalf Palme is revealed by Coleman as an important member of the 300. His assasination on 1989 still remains murky and in India we believe that it had something to do with the  Bofors Scandal. 

Coleman tries to argue that the destruction of Nation State as the defining element of the existing world order will pave the way for the domination of the world by a self appointed elect. The sustained propaganda directed against Nationalism and Natioalists seems to hint that there is some truth in that. Accompanied by the destruction of the Nation State, the elect want a deindustrialization on a massive scale in the name of environmentalism. The sustained campaign against the Narmada Dam Project in India in the name of environmental protection is certainly symptomatic of ideological opposition to economic growth. Nationalist leadership ensured the defeat of such divisive agenda. Coleman's hypothesis that the New World Order that the 300 sought to fashion would be run by a technocratic elite of environmentalists, managers, programmers and data miners.

The growth of mega hedge fund operators like Black Rock and Vanguard has led to certain changes in the social and cultural landscape of western countries. The emphasis on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity has generated considerable pushback even in white countries. The War against Hamas launched by Israel after the barbaric October 7th massacres has led to widespread support for HAMAS across American campuses. The deep divisions have turned into racial faultlines which threaten to undermine the very base of western democracies. Wokeism may have been promoted by Soros and other leading lights of the Group of 300 but the consequences are beyond their control.

Coleman has exposed a side of Western Intelligence operations and that is welcome. The close cooperation between the five white Anglo Saxon countries--USA, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand--is based on perceived mutual interests. During the Cold War it was directed towards USSR. However after the disintegration of the USSR the focus has become more diffused leading to violence and chaos. Coleman repeatedly draws attention to the war crimes committed by USA during the Gulf War. The bombing of 150 000 soldiers who were retreating from Kuwait under a white flag constituted a war crime. The close links between the Intelligence and Media, particularly Washington Post and New York Times suggests that the "Free Media" amplifies the voice of the  powerful and the rich. Many of the members of the journalistic fraternity are also part of the various organs and agencies of the Committee of 300. 

This book contains a wealth of information and policy makers must be familiar with it. However in India, Coleman is taken very seriously and his construct of the Committee of 300 is seen here as the Global Deep State. The fact that Indian economy is doing well and foreign policy is on an even keel is interpreted in India as fissures within the Deep State which are opening up new possibilities and opportunities for India.  As Dr Jaishankar has shown in his book Why Bharath Matters the rise of India on the global stage  is a reflection of its civilizational strength and the confidence that follows from drwing upon the true history and heritage of India.

Justinian his Church and Column in Constantinople A Look at the Past

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

Hagia Sophia

  The Church or more accurately the Basilica dedicated to Mary known to history as Hagia Sophia is a unique monument of the ancient world. It free standing dome was the largest such structure until St Peters, Rome surpassed it in the sixteenth century. It is today a muslim congregational structure and is undoubtedly a masterpiece of architecture. Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian beteen AD 532 and 537, this Church was intended to be a monumental expression of his commitment to Christianity as the living faith of the Empire. Justinian is of course remembered for his attempt at codification of Roman Law now known as Corpus Juris Civiis.

The Emperor was presented an opportunity by the Riots of 532 when the Greens and the Blues supporting different gladiatorial champions rioted burning  the church consecrated by Constantine II that stood at the site. The Nika riots were put down with great efficiency by Generals Belisarius and Mundus. We have some details from Procopius, the contemporary who wrote the Secret History. The Hippodrome of Constantinople was the site of the massacre of nearly 30 000 rioters and it took nearly a fortnight for peace to be reestablished. The land was acquired and plans were made for a grand ceremonial centre for the city. Justinian's palace was close to the site of the Church making an obvious assertion of royal power in the heart of the sacred centre. The design of the Church was assigned to Anthemius of Trallus and Isodorus of Miletus.  On Christmas day 537 the new Church was opened for service. 

Misfortune soon struck. The earthquakes of 553 and 557 structure  severely damged the Church and in May 558 the dome collapsed, The Hagia Sophia had to be rebuilt and this time the architect chosen was the nephew of the original builder, Isodorus of Miletus. Surprisingly the new architect decided to raise the height of the dome by 25 feet inorder to reduce the lateral force and it seems that his experiment was successful. 

Material for the construction of the Hagia Sophia came from the spolia of the Temple of Diana, one of the wonders of the Ancient World and as far distant as Rome from the Temple at Quirinal Hill. 

Pausanias the Greek Historian of the Roman Empire said that the Romans worshipped their gods using other people's incense. A neat way of referring to the use of Spolia in Roman buildings. The Church and the Justinian Column were the heart of the new Augustanion, the ceremonial centre of Constantinople. After the conquest and sack of Constantinople during the IVth Crusade in AD 1204 the Orthodox Church was replaced by the pretentions of Roman Catholisism.  How did Justinian finabe this mega project?

Theodosius his predecessor had erected a huge equestrian statue cast in silver and Justinian had this melted and he obtained 7500 pounds of silver from this appropriation of  the statue of his immediate predecessor. Such acts which today we may consider as vandalism were common in the middle ages and indeed, Justinian was not done with his project. He felt that a monumental statue dedicated  to his reign would complete his design. And to this end commissioned a column which stood 75 meters and topped by a huge equestrian statue of him. Of course by this time he had run out of money and so settled for yet another statue which was recarved in his likeness. Again he chose a statue of Theodosius. The column with the ten feet tall equestrian statue  was level with the Church and made a huge impression on visitors who sailed into the Harbour from the Sea of Marmara. Both the Column and the statue have disappeared and fell victim to the devastation caused by Mehmet II as he sacked Constantinople after it was conquered in 1453, a dark chapter in human history.

Visitors to Constantinople have left records of the column and parts of the pedestal may have survived until the 18th century when visitors rocorded a huge platform like structure on the grounds of Topkapi Palace. There is an interesting story mentioned in Emma J Well's Heaven on Earth which she has just published. She says quoting Procopius that Justinian contrived/conspired to remove  the scaffoldding of the Column as his architect/mason Ingitius was high up on the platform overseeing the placment of the statue. Fortunately his wife seeing this waited for the darkness to fall and thew a rope and the mason used the rope to climb down. Was Justinian jealous of the architect or is this just a story handed down the ages to decry those who declare to the world:

I am Ozymandias, King of Kings

Look on my work ye mighty and despair.

Be that as it may the Column is lost to History but fortunately Hagia Sophia still stands.

Treason of the Intellectuals: The controversial Historian Neill Ferguson is spot on

A look at the world of politics, statecraft, diplomacy and books

Neill Ferguson, the controversial author of Empire, The Cash Nexus, The Ascent of Money, Civilization, and Doom among others, has written a devastating critique of the white/western academic or intellectual  https://www.thefp.com/p/niall-ferguson-treason-intellectuals-third-reich and I have embedded the link. Dr Ferguson is  never afraid to speak the truth as he sees it and therefore has the respect of people who disagree with him. For inastance his understanding of British Imperialism is woefully onesided in that he completely ignores the subjects over which the Empire ruled and seems to suggest that the motives underlying the British conquest were not totally base, even if at times loot, plunder, and violence accompanied the expansion of British arms.

Neill Ferguson has completely shattered the myth surrounding American Universites that they are safe "spaces" for Research, Teaching and independent thought. On the contrary, the Universities seem to be riven with ideological battles with the Woke Ideology of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion  being used to hammer and tar all those who disagreed with this format as "White Supremists" "racists" etc. The ease with which academic debates degenerates intro personal abuse and personalised attacks is very revealing. Like the Church of the Inquisition and the Community Party under Lenin Stalin and Mao, the elect considered dissenters to be traitors unworthy of the dignity of debate and whose ideas need to be cancelled and attacked using the combined force of mob fury and administrative power. Academics particularly Historians whose discipline has always prided itself as a craft have been badly hit by the fury of Wokeism that has undermined academic freedom and the independent pursuit of truth. The Social Sciences were the first to fall prey to the ideological agenda of the Wokes. It would be wrong to call Wokeism a "Left Wing" ideology as it has jettisoned class analysis and Marxist modes of social and economic analysis for idenity politics of Race, Gender and Sexual Orientation. Neill Ferguson has argued that after October 7th 2024, a new starand of virulent Anti Semitism has also erupted on American campuses. 

Neill Ferguson being a Historian draws a parallel with Nazi Germany when the most vocal and passionate supporters of the Nazi ideology was the Professorate in the best Universities and the credentialed professionals like Lawyers, Architects, Chemists, and Doctors. The intersectionality of ideology and profession led as Ferguson points out to carreer opportunities. Jews were dispropotionately the victims of Nazi ideology and the beneficiaries were the Germans. In a similar manner African Americans and White women have been dispropotionately benefitted from DIE based policies and once they infect academia they spread their ideology with passionate intensity which as Yeats once said was the sign of the "worst" as the best had lost  their conviction. Ferguson is now a lone voice in the wilderness. Jorden Peterson another dissident has paid an unacceptable professional price for his refusal to sign hosannas for Wokeism.

In India too we have seen all the signs of the ideological stranglehold of the Woke ideology. The systematic denigration of India and its indigenous people, the recasting of the Critical Race Theory borrowed from white sociologists into Critical Caste theory has led to the use of suspect sociological and anthropological models for studying Indian society. The main consequence of the large scale importation of white generated sociological theories into the discourse of Indian society is seen in the incited social and caste tensions that keep erupting from time to time. Groups who hold land and are dominant both in the agrarian and political landscape like the Jats, the Backward castes of Tamil Nadu and Andhra, the Yadavas of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh are  just a little distance from mobilization for identity assertion. India's inability to control the Social Science theories and its agenda both political and cultural has only been met and we are not sure if this is a case of too little too late.

Neill Ferguson has written a passionate article and it must be read by all those interested in intellectual pursuit and academic freedom.