Inayatullah It is now well understood that the US attack on Iraq was totally unwarranted. It indeed was characterised by deceit and chicanery. Both Bush and Blair knowingly used false pretences. Saddam was accused of producing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). This in spite of the UN inspectors and IAEA chief clearly stating a number of times at the UN Security Council meetings that no trace was found of any such weapon production. Even an otherwise sane and respectable man like Colin Luther Powell was coaxed into presenting a false picture of the WMDs on Iraqi soil. Later he admitted that he was fooled and used by the intelligence agencies. Tony Blair was all this while vying to out-Bush in fraud and duplicity. Eventually when BBC spilled the beans, he stuck to his sexed up intelligence reports blatantly telling the House of Commons that Iraq had the nuclear capability of attacking Great Britain within a short time span of 45 minutes. It appears that he and Bush had already planned to launch an attack on Iraq, even prior to the terrible tragedy of Nine-Eleven. The Bush-Blair combine disregarded the United Nations Charter and went ahead to unleash the war on Iraq. While Bush is gone followed by Obama, who is reaping the fruits of his predecessors rapacity and ruthlessness, Blair is not only unrepentant, but has also piled up hundreds of pages in his new book to bolster his justification for the immoral aggression. He makes an interesting study of unabashed hubris and duplicity. He is now beginning to build up a case to initiate a military strike at Iran. So what have the Americans achieved in Iraq? After more than a trillion dollars worth of investment in the horrendous military operations, with more than 4,000 American soldiers dead, many more badly wounded, the US economy tottering on the brink of a second-dip recession, with infrastructure in Iraq destroyed, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis killed, millions displaced of which many have fled to other countries, with suicide bombings taking place every other day, unmanaged escalating disorder and a sham democracy - is this what the sole superpower of the world today has accomplished during the last decade or so It is indeed instructive what Obama felt forced to say, the other day, in his speech on the eve of the calling off military operations in Iraq. He admitted in so many words that use of military force had failed to achieve the desired results. Said the US President: American influence is not a function of military force alone. We must use all elements of our power - including our diplomacy, our economic strength and the power of Americas example - to secure our interests and stand by our allies. One may have, to subscribe to Noam Chomskys views about the reality of Americas imperial designs: How resort to war has helped sustain the military-industrial complex and the neo-conservative agenda. And how principles and peaceful proclamations are thrown to the winds. Just recall Vietnam, Angola, Nicaragua and EL-Salvador. Let us not ignore the fact that 50,000 soldiers will still remain in Iraq after the declared withdrawal of forces. And let us not forget that Iraqs huge oil resources are now practically in USAs hands. Washington in the recesses of its heart may not be bothered too much with what it has done to Iraq. It has possibly the satisfaction of tearing apart a strong Muslim state which could have one day challenged Israel. It, earlier too, felt little by way of regret when because of the sanctions imposed on Iraq after the first Gulf War (almost at the same time when the senior Bush announced the dawn of a New World Order of peace and justice) hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children were denied the import of life saving drugs, resulting in prolonged illness and death. Now a word about the almost decade-long American operations in Afghanistan would also be in order. Here too President Obama has planned to start the withdrawal of troops (from July 2011). This however was questioned by General Stanley McChrystal who ultimately paid for his indiscretion. His successor too is articulating his feelings not to leave Afghanistan. But when Mullah Omar says that the Taliban are winning, Washington acknowledges that it has failed to achieve its objectives. Here too the infrastructure has been largely destroyed. One of historys worst aerial attack on a poor, ill-armed country - literally pulverised villages, valleys, towns and mountains - with the state-of-the-art war machines, including daisy cutters and lethal missiles. Nevertheless, what we see in Kabul is a corrupt and feckless government, besides poorly trained security forces. And in the rest of the country, warlords, disorder, frequent attacks on the US and NATO troops, highest-ever production of opium and heroin as well as a defiant enemy determined to throw out the foreign occupation forces. How can Washington justify the waste of hundreds of billions of dollars, death and destruction of the US soldiers and the Afghan civilians? The question is: What is the net result of all the display of arrogance of power and influence? Here too Washington may be secretly relishing the idea that it has a hold on this region, howsoever, shaky to further its interests and designs for Iran, Central Area and China. Little does it realise the colossal damage it has done to its image and its moral standing. Pakistan must take into consideration the American designs and hidden agenda. It has to thoroughly review its relationship with an arrogant, power-drunk superpower. Every drone attack spawns a new bunch of suicide bombers and strengthens the determination of Pakhtuns in FATA to avenge the murder of their brothers and sisters. Pakistan reaps the harvest and suffers. It is time a drastic redesigning of the US-Pakistan strategic dialogue is undertaken by our leaders. The media can play a vital role in shaping the thinking of our government to achieve the much needed reframing of our policies. The writer is a political and international relations analyst. Email: pacade@brain.net.pk