A Rough and Winding Road Ahead
Now that the US election is over, and the victor has been declared, congratulations to Barack Obama and the Democratic Party. But... what now? And, what is Obama inheriting as he prepares to take the reins of power?
First, there is the economy which is an absolute mess thanks to the deregulations of the ideological neo-cons, started by Ronald Reagan, which reached their peak under George W. Bush. People are suffering not only in the United States. With the United States being the cornerstone of the global economy the economic problems of America are the World's problems. This is a problem which President-elect Obama is going to inherit.
But more about the economy later, right now I want to turn to the two wars which the United States is embroiled in - Iraq and Afghanistan. If the Bush administration would have focussed on Afghanistan from the start - a war about disabling Al-Qaeda and which had international support - the objectives would have been achieved. However, George W. Bush and his big oil friends wanted to become rich in a hurry, so they invaded Iraq to control its oil resources.
The Iraq invasion has helped no one, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11 and Saddam Hussein's regime did not allow religious extremists into Iraq. They were seen as a destabilizing threat to his regime. The only big winners in Iraq are Al-Qaeda - which has found new recruiting ground due to the instability brought on by the invasion - and Iran. In the case of Iran, what they could not do in more than two decades George W. Bush did for them, eliminate their chief rival in the region, Iraq.
Let us not fool ourselves, the United States controls Iraq. Some of George W. Bush's friends may have oil contracts in Iraq, but it looks that political power is now in the hands of pro-Iranian factions who are getting their directions from Iran rather than the United States. Bush's dream has become the Middle East's worse nightmare.
In the region, Israel already has nuclear weapons. If Iran has these weapons too and the two countries engage in nuclear war, it'll be a different World from the one we know... if there still is a World around after such a horrific exchange. The only way the Middle East problem can be resolved is to do what Carter tried, which Bill Clinton followed. That is, foster peace and mutual cooperation between the Israelis and their Arab neighbours.
Jimmy Carter was successful in bringing peace between the Israelis and their neighbours, the Egyptians and the Jordanians. If Carter had enough time, he could probably have resolved the conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians, returning to 1967 boundaries.
All this has been lost with the Bush administration with the Arab World alienated from the West. I sincerely hope that Barack Obama can change this, and bring all the parties together so that resolution is found for the Middle Eastern region.
Then, of course, Barack Obama has to deal with the rising power of Russia and China as well as problems in Pakistan and between Russia and Georgia. These problems between Russia and Georgia can best be resolved with negotiations and diplomacy to avoid another Cold War.
Mr. Obama has alot on his plate, I hope and pray that he succeeds in his efforts.
I also sincerely hope that he succeeds in turning the economy around. There are many losers Worldwide with this slumping economy. Individuals invested in stocks, I'm not talking about the Wall Street speculators but regular people who had retirement savings or personal savings in stocks. They have found their life savings and nest eggs depleted. These need to be saved or else there will be a bigger Worldwide tragedy.
Finally, I want to add that John McCain, in his concession speech, was especially gracious. I only wish that he ran his campaign in that manner -- at heart, he really is a decent man. I am encouraged by his pledge to work with Barack Obama to help America and the World out of these crisis.
Below are a couple of very touching pictures from Obama's victory speech.
Jesse Jackson
Oprah Winfrey
You might want to check your history and you will find that Bill Clinton is responsible for the deregulation that allowed the banks to enter into sub prime mortgages and a host of other bad practices. Oh but he is a Democrat, so you will probably not believe it.
ReplyDeleteAnd did you actually defend Jimmy Carter?
That is funny!
Jim, thank you for your comment.
ReplyDeleteMy republican friends fight elections on promises that there will be no tax increase and tax cuts, and then they spend like drunken sailors and take the country into deep debt. In other words this generation may pay less tax, especially rich and big corporations, but generations to come they will be paying the price. Reagan did that and Bush took it to a new level with over half trillion deficit and over ten trillion in debt. In other words they fool electorates on taxes.
May be Clinton did some deregulation but he was dealing with Republican Congress still awash with Reagan mantra of trickle down economy. He did bring deficit under control and left with a surplus and booming economy.
As far as Jimmy Carter is concerned he was one of the most decent Presidents US ever had. He did bring peace between Israel, Egypt and Jordan – a lasting peace. Yes sometimes nice guys finish last and he did not win the second term as he was overcome by Reagan rhetoric.