Munich security moot

'Peace through dialogue' is the motto of the Munich Security Conference, which held its 53rd annual secession this past week. Of course there was lot of dialogue among the world leaders but the question whether it helped strengthen international peace has no easy answer. But where it did succeed, and said in so many words, is that even when the Americans elected a person of queer mindset and a peculiar world view as President the international security refuses to undergo any meaningful transformation. Yesterday's enemies would remain enemies and friends as friends. In fact, if the agendas of the member-states were a bit unclear those stood better understood. At that conference politics seemed to had pushed the hush-hush diplomacy to the back chair. Obviously then it was the entry of business tycoon Donald Trump into the world of international politics that dominated the venue of the Munich Security Conference, followed by ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and hydra-headed monster of international terrorism. It was the America's No 2, Vice President Pence who had come to tell the participants that the Americans don't take seriously all that his senior has been saying on the election trail. Particularly, even when Rex Tillerson is the Secretary of State and President Trump is a friend of Vladimir Putin the United States would maintain its "unwavering" commitment to Nato. President Trump, he said, would "stand with Europe".
And clarity was also lent to an unspoken truth - a little bit of which as revealed last week by Israeli newspaper, Haaretz, who wrote about a secret meeting between Prime Minister Netanyahu with some Arab leaders last year. But now it was in the open with Saudi Arabia and Israel calling for a new push against Iran - a position also shared by Turkey. Their ministers demanded at the Munich Security Conference that "Tehran be punished for popping up the Syrian government, developing ballistic missiles and funding separatists in Yemen". Saudi Foreign Minister Abdul al-Jubeir called Tehran the "main sponsor of terrorism and a destabilising force in the Middle East". The international community, he demanded, should set clear "red lines" to halt Iran's actions, for instance by imposing banking, travel and trade restrictions. And who echoed the Saudi minister; it was Israeli defence minister, who argued that Iran's ultimate objective is to undermine Riyadh. To him the "real division is not Jews, Muslims ...but moderate people versus radical people". To what these two ministers said was the telling addition by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu who claimed that Iran's "sectarian policy" was aimed at undermining Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Ironically, as the Munich Security Conference was in session Pakistan was under attack by terrorists, who fled the country and took refuge in neighbouring Afghanistan. As Pakistani forces pounded their sanctuaries the Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had the cheek to tell the conference that his country was under attack from neighbouring Pakistan - unmindful of his failing to ensure that the soil of his country is not used for terrorism in neighbouring Pakistan. From Pakistan's perspective, terrorism is not country-specific, nor is it synonymous to any religion. "Terrorists are not Christians or Muslims or Buddhists or Hindus. They are criminals". That is how Defence Minister Khwaja Asif responded to the proponents of Islamophobia. The fight against terrorism is a common fight for the mankind, he said hoping "the brother from Afghanistan would cooperate to counter this threat".