Well, the title of the story appears to be a gloomy one, but there are indications that the world indeed may be heading in that direction. Today, hardly any part of the world is untouched by the menace of terrorism, political discontent and wide spread disparity between the haves and have nots.
Take for instance, the rise of ISIS in Iraq. After almost two and half years of American troops having left Iraq, the country is still in a disarray. While the Kurds in the northern region of Iraq are demanding a separate country, ISIS (Islamic state of Iraq & Greater Syria) is planning to redraw the entire map of the middle-east region by creating a new state comprising parts of Iraq and Syria. Its leader, Abu-Bakr-Al-Baghdadi has proclaimed himself as the new “Caliph” of the Islamic world. According to various estimates, ISIS troops range from 11000 to 50000 men and some of them even hold European passports. The outfit currently controls several key towns in Iraq including Tikrit(hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein) and Mosul and there is a serious possibility that the group may overrun Iraq in the near future. In fact, such is the savagery of this outfit, that even the Al-Qaeda has denounced it. The war in Syria between rebel and government forces also seems to show no signs of ending so far. MH-17, the ill-fated Malaysian airline flight, which was shot down by former Soviet Union made BUK Missiles can also be seen in the same scheme of things. The death of 298 people, across various nationalities, stand testimony to the dangerous world that we currently live in.
If we consider the continent of Africa, the rise of outfits like Boko Haram and ethnic clashes in Central African Republic are a definite cause for alarm. In addition to this, the continent despite being energy and mineral rich, has some of the lowest rates of development and nutrition. Even progressive states like Egypt have been in a political turmoil for quite some time. Same holds true for war-torn Libya.
The crisis in Middle-east is further aggravated by ongoing Israeli occupation of the Gaza strip. The bombing by Israeli troops on Palestinian settlements, killing thousands of civilians including children, has so far been largely ignored by the western press. How long can we continue to turn a blind eye to these problems?
The situation in Pakistan is even more critical and the attack on Karachi airport should set the alarm bell ringing. Pakistan, being a nuclear state, cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of extremists as it will bring prophecies of a nuclear winter true. Afghanistan recently held its Presidential elections, however with the planned departure of US troops next year, the country might plunge into a situation like Iraq. In such a scenario, can the world leaders remain silent? The unfortunate and barbarous act of 9/11 can also be attributed to the western oversight of considering the rise of Al-Qaeda as a regional issue. The world today is not much different. Leaders of G7 countries along with India and China need to formulate strong policies to tackle such issues in one single voice.
President Obama, a Nobel peace prize winner himself, needs to show a stronger resolve to act and prove that he actually deserved the award. Perhaps, the creation of ISIS is his own undoing. Had his predecessor, President Bush, not waged a war in Iraq, this outfit would never have existed. The US dilly-dallying over the situation in Syria, has led to millions pouring in as refugees in neighbouring state of Jordon. The open support for Israeli atrocities in West Bank has not helped matters either. The recently concluded BRICS summit though had a silver lining, when Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi called for greater cooperation among emerging economies for tackling terror and global issues. However, is it too late already? Let’s pray it isn’t.
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