Headline News 25/01/2020

Headlines:

• America’s Pentagon Trying to Adjust for Overextension in the Muslim World

• Trump’s Trade Tactics Exposes Western Powers as their Own Worst Enemies

• UK Uses Technology to Take Citizen Surveillance to a Whole New Level

Details:

America’s Pentagon Trying to Adjust for Overextension in the Muslim World

After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the entire Communist eastern block at the end of the last century, America thought it had an unprecedented opportunity to dominate the pivotal lands of the Muslim world, lying at the central conjunction of the world’s lands and seas. But America’s invasions and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq and other countries drained it far more than it expected, leaving it unprepared for the rise of the China and the resurgence of Russia. According to Reuters:

U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper suggested on Thursday he could be ready to start a highly anticipated global force repositioning this year as part of an effort to refocus the Pentagon on challenges from China and Russia.

Esper said he did not want to put a firm timeline on the completion of his so-called “defense-wide review,” which is expected to trigger those troop movements.

“If I had to put an end-date (on the review), I want to make sure we are in some type of better posture by the beginning of the next fiscal year,” Esper told reporters, referring to the government’s calendar year for spending, which begins on Oct. 1. “So I want to move fairly quickly.”

Esper made the remarks during a trip to Miami as he began a review of military missions in Latin America, part of a sweeping global examination of deployments that he hopes will allow him to redirect more forces to Asia and send others back to the United States from overseas.

Many experts say the effort is overdue, given military advances in China during the past two decades as America focused on counter-terrorism operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and elsewhere.

Still, at a time of heightened tension with Iran and Iran-backed groups, it’s unclear how big of a shift can be expected, particularly in an election year.

The review is being closely watched by proponents of U.S. military engagement in Latin America and Africa - two of the typically worst-resourced regions for the U.S. military.

The American empire, just as the vast European empires of the 19^th century, has built its power on rapacious exploitation, employing false, illusory, meaningless slogans such as freedom and democracy to mask its true intent that inevitably invites a severe backlash from the people it dominates and oppresses. With Allah’s permission, the world shall soon see the return of the righteous Islamic Khilafah (Caliphate) on the method of the Prophet (saw) that shall re-establish peace, justice and prosperity throughout the world, as had been the case previously before the rise of the imperial disbelieving West.

Trump’s Trade Tactics Exposes Western Powers as their Own Worst Enemies

After bullying China into submission over trade, US President Donald Trump is now turning his attention to Europe. According to CNN:

Having negotiated agreements of sorts on trade with China, Mexico, Canada, South Korea and Japan, President Donald Trump is now turning to his next target: the European Union.

Trump made clear at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week that his administration will move aggressively to negotiate a trade deal with Brussels. And if progress isn't made quickly, he said he'll impose tariffs of up to 25% on cars made in the European Union.

"I wanted to do China first. I wanted to do Mexico and Canada first. But now that we're all done ... we are going to do Europe," he said during an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

There may be a deal to be done.

Capitalism is not even able to bring harmony between the countries that most fervently adopt it. The never-ending conflict between Western countries weakens them and provides space for others to rise in the world. The Muslim Ummah must recognise these weaknesses and seize this opportunity to provide the world with a far better alternative than the West can possible offer.

UK Uses Technology to Take Citizen Surveillance to a Whole New Level

Of course, the West’s talk about freedom is just that, merely talk. In reality they can selectively be as dictatorial and totalitarian as the harshest of states, when they choose. Surveillance of their own citizens is one domain in which the West excel, continuing to embrace the latest technologies to make it work. According to the New York Times:

London’s police department said on Friday that it would begin using facial recognition to spot criminal suspects with video cameras as they walk the streets, adopting a level of surveillance that is rare outside China.

The decision is a major development in the use of a technology that has set off a worldwide debate about the balance between security and privacy. Police departments contend that the software gives them a way to catch criminals who may otherwise avoid detection. Critics say the technology is an invasion of privacy, has spotty accuracy and is being introduced without adequate public discussion.

Britain has been at the forefront of the debate. In a country with a history of terrorist attacks, police surveillance has traditionally been more accepted than in other Western countries. Closed circuit television cameras line the streets.

The technology London will deploy goes beyond many of the facial recognition systems used elsewhere, which match a photo against a database to identify a person. The new tools use software that can immediately identify people on a police watch list as soon as they are filmed on a video camera.

Freedom is in fact a false idea that mesmerises its followers without genuinely delivering results. Freedom presents an illusory aspiration for the individual but does not provide a sound principle for balancing individual rights against societal obligations.

Islam prohibits intelligence surveillance of one’s own citizens, whether Muslims or non-Muslims. Espionage is to be used against foreign states only or, at most, those within the Islamic State that are connected with them.