Obama as President: Will the US change?

Although he sought a Nobel peace prize for his invasion and destruction of Afghanistan and Iraq and terrorizing Muslims literally every where, President Bush, finally, got what he never asked for but what the world thought a befitting departing gift from Iraq: an used foot-ware. The new incumbent in White House should remember this presidential feat!

In a couple of weeks' time, Washington will host the 56th U.S. presidential inauguration, during which Barack Obama will be sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. With a surplus military equipment and enormous economic resources, of its own and stolen from other nations, USA remains the most powerful country of the world. It would be a proud proposition for any one to rule a country that in practical terms controls the entire world. Barack Hussein Obama, the president-elect of the only super power knows that too well. To begin with, by supporting the Georgian cause of USA, Obama has also decided to pursue the Bush policy externally. 

Global media fueled by the US intelligence, decides the format of journalism for the entire world. While the CIA-Pentagon controls the global police and intelligences of the universe, these pro-US media influence the policies of the world in favor of the US interests. When Dimtry Medvedev was contesting for Russian presidency to replace high profile V. Putin, the US-led global media had speculated a sea change in Russian foreign policy which this writer rejected stating that Putin and the new incumbent would work in tandem and the new president would follow the policies of Putin. They had projected Medvedev to be different because they wanted to influence the mindset of Medvedev and not because they really saw any chance for change. Similar situation has emerged in USA with a Democrat Osama, a minority politician, entering the White House.

The world is expecting a major departure in President-elect Barack Obama's presidency and he always spoke about change as his focus of campaign speeches. The extent to which candidates and voters alike propagated anti-Muslim themes in order to support a political agenda has been unprecedented.  Nearly every major candidate relied on fear of Muslims at some point to stir voter sentiment through fear.  Buoyed by an affinity for Barack Obama, in part due to the slings and arrows that he took on their behalf, thousands of Muslim-Americans gravitated to his campaign and fought back through the political process.  Muslims have to be safeguarded by removing the "terrorism" stigma that has been attached to them by US-led western politicians-cum-military organizations. 

Will the new Democratic Presidential takeover herald the birth of anew USA? Will the over all perspective of US policies, both domestic and foreign, and ensure a peaceful world? Will, then, the USA be different from what it has been all these years "“ especially, under Senior and Junior Bushes who unhesitantly showcased state-terrorism based unilateralism quite vividly?  In simple terms, will Obama be able to change the religious contours of US politics in using anti-Islamism as powerful tool?

Foreign Policy

President-elect Barack Obama is considering making a major foreign policy speech from an Islamic capital during his first 100 days in office and this high-profile speech would seek to mend rifts between the United States and the broader Muslim world. The anti-Islamic strategists roaming about the White House are keen Obama could speak frankly about the repression, misrule and fanaticism that are sadly common in the Muslim world, while at the same time repudiating anti-Muslim extremism in the West. They want Obama to negate Islamaphobia and focus on Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism to further terrorize the Islamic world to bully them into surrendering to USA and other similar strong nations.  Many argue Obama's search for this generic thing called "an Islamic capital" in which to make a speech would be the first official indication that the U.S. considers Islam itself to be the problem. He should, therefore, scrap the idea, and put his energy into dealing with the unique problems of Iraq, Iran, and Pakistan and be a good US guy and pursue real US policy of invasions, annexations, terror attacks, genocides in Islamic world and, more importantly, control the energy resources of the Mideast.

Foreign policies of major powers, especially USA, EU, China and Russia are crucial for any normal functioning of the international society as these countries play very important cumulative role in regional as well as world politics. The confrontational strategies by USA and Russia have kept the world under tenterhooks for a pretty long period with high pitch during the so-called Cold war. They literally controlled the course of events in almost every region and fuelled the tensions by feeding "advices" and selling weapons. The fall of the mighty USSR eventually left the USA the only super power to showcase its unilateral military prowess and launch global terror agenda against Islamic world for advancing energy goals and kill and torture the Muslims and other "enemies".

Neo-cons, who directed the Bush team and the Pentagon terror forces, are deadly keen to keep the Bush polices alive and they are making strenuous efforts to influence Obama team selection as well as his policies. But Bush has brought the entire world under fire. Osama is expected to withdraw forces from the Gulf and Afghanistan.  Many US security experts stress for US-Arab security links. Gulf States and the U.S. must make major changes in their national security posture over the next few years. U.S. withdrawals from Iraq, the rising potential threat from Iran, and the need to meet new security challenges all require substantial changes in the security posture and forces of each Gulf country and in the size, structure, and deployment of U.S. forces in the Gulf. Cooperation between the Gulf States is only one aspect of these force shifts but it is a critical one.

The Democratic president-elect, who succeeds Republican President George W. Bush, told the conference in California he would stick to his promise of a sharp reduction in U.S. greenhouse gases by 2020 despite the ongoing financial crisis. Obama spoke by phone with six foreign leaders: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet of Chile, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev.

Obama appeared relaxed in the interview he gave to CBS's 60 Minutes program last month. He answered questions about national security, the economy and about future appointments to his administration ahead of his inauguration on 20 January.  Obama said getting a national security team in place as soon as possible was one of his top priorities, "because transition periods are potentially times of vulnerability to a terrorist attack".  Secretary of Defense Robert Gates had been approached about staying in his position, giving rise to suspicion if Obama is also going to pursue the same terror policies of Bush.

On the one hand, the president elect insists that he would close down the secret torture centers around the world, on the other, he supports the Georgian cause against Russia.  On the other, he seems to avail himself of the services of the Defense minister under Bush.

An indication to pursue the Bush policies, Obama also said a top priority would be "to stamp out al-Qaeda once and for all" and that capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden was "critical" to US security. He later confirmed that he intended to close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, and "make sure that we don't torture". "Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world," he explained. When asked about his promise to withdraw from Iraq, he said that as soon as he takes office he will "call in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, my national security apparatus, and we will start executing a plan that draws down our troops". We've got to shore up those efforts," he added.

US President-elect Barack Obama who defeated Republican presidential hopeful John McCain in a November 4 election, has called Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on 17 Nov to assure Moscow 's outspoken foe of Washington 's continued support. The USA has led harsh Western criticism over Russia 's speedy recognition of Georgia 's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and what it sees as Moscow 's disproportionate use of force during the five-day war. Russia's chilly ties with the West cooled further after its war with Georgia in August, when Russian troops launched a massive counter-attack in support of rebels following Tbilisi 's attempt to retake one of its breakaway regions by force. Tbilisi's U.N. envoy said he expected Obama as a new U.S. leader would maintain strong U.S. support for Georgia's NATO ambitions. Outgoing President George W. Bush had pushed for swift acceptance of Georgia and Ukraine into NATO, a position that failed to win unanimous support among European NATO members and strained ties with Russia long before its war with Georgia. With the Bush administration's influence wavering, U.S. and European officials have said Washington is now studying whether NATO could give Georgia something short of a formal path to membership to satisfy European opposition to offering Tbilisi a so-called Membership Action Plan.

Russian premier V. Putin said recently he hopes to see positive developments in Moscow 's relations with Washington following the election of Barack Obama as the next United States president. Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama who has been struggling to obtain independence from China for his Tibet says he does not think there would be any marked change under Obama in US foreign policy.

Of course, what US President-elect Obama Barrack said before the poll campaign began or during the polls is not what he says now and, conversely, what he would say and do once he assumes presidency on January 20 by pushing out the incumbent GW. Bush. Obama would then be under Pentagon-CIA control. In keeping with his decision to maintain a low profile during the transition period before he takes office on January 20, Obama spent most of the day in private meetings at a federal office building near his home in Chicago.

  Financial Crisis  

Inspired by the G20 summit, president elect Obama said he intended to put into place new stimulus packages and help for the troubled US auto industry and struggling homeowners. Barack Obama said on Nov 22 that he was crafting an aggressive, two-year stimulus plan to revive the troubled economy, warning that swift action was needed to prevent a deep slump and a spiral of falling prices. He feels the consensus among economists from both the left and right was that "we're going to have to spend money now" to get the economy moving again. "And that we shouldn't worry about the deficit next year or even the year after; that short term, the most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession," he added.

Obama, who takes over from President George W. Bush on January 20, said he had directed his economic team to draft the stimulus proposal and predicted the Democratic-led Congress would quickly approve it for his signature. "If we don't act swiftly and boldly, most experts now believe that we could lose millions of jobs next year," Obama said in prepared remarks for the weekly Democratic radio and video address. The proposal for a two-year stimulus plan further indicated a sizable effort. Most such plans are aimed at covering a one-year period. The number of Americans on the unemployment rolls surged to the highest in 16 years, up more than 540,000. 

In darkest hours of USA, the American people have risen above their divisions to solve their problems, Obama said, and outlined his plan to create 2.5 million jobs in coming years to rebuild roads and bridges and modernize schools while developing alternative energy sources and more efficient cars. A trio of crises "” housing, credit and financial "” have badly damaged the economy, and financial analysts have projected the country's economic hardships will continue through much of 2009. Obama acknowledged that evidence is growing the country is "facing an economic crisis of historic proportions." He noted turmoil on Wall Street, a decrease in new home purchases, growing jobless claims and the menacing problem of deflation.

Subsequently, the Congressional Democrats have promised to make a broad economic stimulus a top priority when they reconvene in January. The package is expected to include tax cuts for the middle class and billions of dollars for public works projects, such as the construction of roads, bridges and mass transit. Hobbled U.S. automakers are negotiating with lawmakers and the White House over a bailout package which they say is urgently needed. While supporting the idea of a cash infusion for the automakers, Obama has kept a low profile in that debate.

Rebuild US moral stature

US President-elect Barack Obama has promised to rebuild his country's "moral stature in the world". In his first television interview since the election, Obama told CBS he would pull troops out of Iraq , shore up Afghanistan , and close Guantanamo Bay . Barack Obama says he aims to close the Guantanamo Bay detention centre within two years of becoming president. "I'm going to make sure that we don't torture," he said of the prison camp. Obama also promised to do "whatever it takes" to stabilize the US economy, including rescuing the struggling auto industry and assisting homeowners. He said the US was facing "the greatest economic challenge of our time" and urged Congress to help with "at least a down-payment on a rescue plan that will create jobs". His advisers later said he would support the co-coordinated response to the global financial crisis agreed by the G20 on Nov 15.

As a surprise to the US electorates and the world a large, US President-elect Barack Obama has vowed to regain America's moral stature in the world when he arrives at the White House. And one of his first jobs will be to close down the controversial Guantanamo Bay detention centre. He said: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through on that. America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture. "Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America's moral stature in the world. "In his first television interview since winning the election, Obama and his wife Michelle answered questions ranging from the economic bail-out to the all important new family dog. Obama said he had made suggestions to Treasury Secretary Paulson about the banks bail-out. He did not elaborate but said the rescue plan had not focused enough on property repossessions. He promised to do whatever it took to avoid a deepening recession. Mrs Obama said there was no decision concerning the choice of family dog her husband promised the First Couple's daughters on election night. She said that as "responsible owners" they would make a choice once the family settles into the White House.

Barack Obama and his former rival John McCain have vowed to work together in a "new era of reform" to restore trust in government. Meeting for the first time since this month's election, they pledged to take a bipartisan approach on critical issues such as the US financial crisis. McCain said he "obviously" planned to help Mr Obama's administration. But neither man offered any hint of a specific future position for Mr McCain outside his current role in the Senate. While the president-elect has said he will include Republicans in his cabinet, it is not thought his former rival is among the likely candidates. But Obama's attempts to forge a bi-partisan consensus on key issues partly rest with the man he defeated so convincingly at the polls on 5 November.

 In a joint statement issued after the meeting, they said they had shared a "productive conversation" about the need to "launch a new era of reform". "We hope to work together in the days and months ahead on critical challenges like solving our financial crisis, creating a new energy economy, and protecting our nation's security," their statement continued. After the meeting the two men sat briefly for the cameras. Although neither gave much away, McCain's track record of working with Democrats on issues from climate change to immigration makes him a key figure in the new, Democratically-controlled Washington , says our correspondent. The Arizona senator's influence could be vital if Obama wants to push his ambitious plans through the Senate, correspondents say. Before the meeting, Obama told reporters he intended to "offer thanks to Senator McCain for the outstanding service he's already rendered". Also present during their discussion were Rahm Emanuel, who is to be Obama's White House chief of staff, and Senator Lindsey Graham, an ally of McCain.

Democratic sources said Obama had chosen Hilary Clinton as his Stat secretary and Geithner, the respected president of the New York Federal Reserve, to take the helm at Treasury and help pull the United States out of an economic nosedive. U.S. stocks, which had been sinking all week, surged more than 6 percent on the news that Geithner, 47, had been selected. U.S. Treasuries fell and the dollar surged. Obama also confirmed he had met his former Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, but refused to comment on speculation linking her to the post of secretary of state in his cabinet. However, Hillary said would take up the assignment if offered..  Obama also did say the Republican Party would be represented. This could be for securing consensus or avoiding unnecessary nuisance from the Republicans on account of his skin color.

Invoking, for his absence in G20 meet, the principle that the United States should have only one president at a time, he is focusing on forming his Cabinet and putting together his policy plans. Obama said. "That is the chance our new beginning now offers us, and that is the challenge we must rise to in the days to come. It is time to act. As the next president of the United States, I will."

Obama also said a top priority would be "to stamp out al-Qaeda once and for all" and that capturing or killing Osama Bin Laden was "critical" to US security. He later confirmed that he intended to close the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba , and "make sure that we don't torture". "Those are part and parcel of an effort to regain America 's moral stature in the world," he explained. The president-elect went on to discuss how he had been talking to top economic advisers about how to create jobs and get the economy back on track.

  US-Russia Conflict:  Georgia/NATO 

The former Cold war foes, the USA and Russia, are still at cold war.  Hours after Obama won the U.S. presidential election, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused Washington of "conceit" in causing turmoil on world markets and said it partly triggered Moscow's war with Georgia in August. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and U.S. President-elect Barack Obama agreed to meet soon during a telephone conversation, a Kremlin spokesman said. He said the meeting would most probably take place when they were in Washington for the G20 summit. The G20, comprising major industrialized powers and leading developing countries, met last month to discuss how to tackle the global financial crisis. The Kremlin spokesman declined to give details of the call, saying only that Medvedev congratulated Obama on his successful campaign for the presidency.

Washington 's relations with Moscow plunged to a post-Cold War low during George W. Bush's presidency, and many in Russia have been cautiously hopeful for an improvement under Obama. Medvedev also said in a state of the nation address that Russia would respond to U.S. plans to build parts of a missile defense shield in eastern Europe by stationing new missiles near Poland's border. Poland said earlier that Obama had declared he would continue with the missile shield, but an Obama aide in Washington said he had given no commitment to deploy the system. The US insists the shield is incapable of threatening Russia and is designed solely to guard against missile attacks by "rogue states". Relations between Moscow and Washington have been particularly strained since August by Russia's war with Georgia over the breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.  Medvedev said the first step to restoring relations would be a meeting soon after Obama's inauguration, "without prevarications or preconditions". Medvedev said he had been encouraged by signs that Obama was less enthusiastic about the shield than President George W Bush. The president also said that Russia would not be the first to escalate the situation over the plans for the US missile shield in Europe. "We will not do anything until America takes the first step," he said.

  Russia remains a formidable challenge to US global interests and its unilateral actions, including invasions and destruction of people and property. USA, on its part, scuttles the Moscow moves on economic and security fronts. Russia considers USA and its NATO a serious threat to its own security. Russia is also keen to deploy new missiles in a Baltic enclave near NATO member Poland, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says.. Short-range Islander missiles in the Kaliningrad region would "neutralise" the planned US anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, he said. The US says its shield is a defence against missiles from "rogue" nations, but Moscow sees it as a direct threat.

In his speech to the Council on Foreign Relations following the G20 summit on the global economic crisis in Washington, President Medvedev welcomed the election of Obama on 4 November. But, "US-Russian relations lack the necessary mutual trust. We pin such hopes on the arrival of the new US administration," he explained. Medvedev said Russia had a strong "strategic partnership" with China, "a very good, full-fledged, friendly exchange". "Of course I want to have the same kind of relations with the United States," he went on.

The Russian president also indicated that Russia might accept a compromise over a planned US missile shield in Europe. Two weeks ago, he said Moscow would neutralize the possible deployment by the US of a tracking radar in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland by stationing short-range missiles in its western enclave of Kaliningrad. French President Nicolas Sarkozy warned Medvedev about deploying missiles in Kaliningrad, which borders Poland. At an EU-Russia summit in Nice, both sides agreed there should be no provocative moves before another meeting next year to discuss Moscow's security plans.

Emerging super power, Russia hopes US President-elect Barack Obama will help rebuild the strained relations between their two countries. In a speech in Washington, Medvedev said that a new US administration might be able to address what he described as a lack of "necessary mutual trust". He said he wanted to meet Obama soon after he takes office in January. Washington's irritation, however, increased that Medvedev became the first Russian leader in eight years to visit Cuba, a key client of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Insisting on the central for UN in global and regional disputes, Russia uses its multilateralism policy as a bargain chip to enter WTO. The Russian president also for the first time suggested Moscow might accept changes to the US shield plans, rather than simply their abandonment. The two men met at the Chicago offices of Obama's transition team.

For the last portion of the interview, Obama was joined by his wife, Michelle, who talked about her priorities as First Lady and how her family would cope with the pressures of living in the White House. Obama said she was looking forward to moving to Washington, where the family would be under one roof again after 18 months, during which her husband had been traveling around the country.  

"The primary focus for the first year will be making sure that the kids make it through the transition. But there are many issues that I care deeply about," she said. "I care about military families and the work-family balance issue." Mrs Obama also revealed that their daughters, Malia and Sasha, would have to wait at least two more months for the puppy which her husband publicly promised them on election night.

 Policy Shift? A Word with Obama

Dear Barack Hussein Obama: Regards and best wishes to you. The world has been used to know a lot about one Osama Bin Laden, a software specialist who produces specialized tapes for occasional release and a close ally of USA. I have ready written about the confusion the names have created among the US voters and the world at large and global media tried to link both with "terrorism". But now you name is trying to replace him for a differently reason:  the president-elect of the USA.

With some knowledge about how the US foreign policy works, I for one do not expect any great change emanating from your assumption White House chiefly because you world be greatly controlled by those who brought you to power and the die-hard strategists and the Pentagon nearby.

Global media, including India, projected you as a Muslim and threatened the world with sinister thought that you might have an association with terrorists. I know you are a practicing Christian even if you had a Muslim history too. Let me personally, as a member of Indian Muslim minority community, congratulate you on reaching the White House-  the world's top most and the most powerful seat, as its legal master for a full term as the first ever Black President. You are likely to face more problems that Bush has encountered so far. But the fact that you have inherited notorious Bush legacy would haunt you more than you would foresee now. 

As you know, the world is being badly terrorized by anti-Islamic forces and their originating nations, like the USA, Israel and India, and Islamic nations are being subjected to huge losses and the Muslims torture by these nations.

USA influenced by the Neo-cons has complicated the world and international relations. With US-led terror forces occupying Afghanistan and Iraq on fabricated pretexts only in order to control their resources, fascist counties like India also have pursued terrorist policies in neighboring nations like Kashmir.

Unchallenged by any other power, the illegal invasions and terror wars in Islamic world have given the USA legitimacy it seeks. Obama could now direct the Pentagon-CIA to stop scheming against Islamic nations and harbor anti-Islamism and stop preparation to invade Iran and other Islamic nations on some vague pretexts. Obama need not take pains to let the world know about its military and technological or economic capacity and help build a new friendly world, a trustful multilateral world.

When Ban ki-Moon took over as the UN Chief I thought he would herald a new them of universe brotherhood and peace, but he has remained under the US shadow and is finding it hard to come out of that. But as a former foreign minister of South Korea, he seems to be a humble practical person in international affairs knowing the illegal course the powers pursue at the cost of less privileged ones.

As president of the USA, you are the real hope of the billions of people, the entire humanity for future. UN chief seems to be freedom minded but has no support from he largely anti-Islamic world.. You could try to free nations that are under foreign occupation right now.. Not only Afghanistan and Iraq, but Kashmir, Palestine and Chechnya merit your concentrated attention for quick resolution.

You could prevail upon UNSC to impose sanctions against India for it terrorist actions in Jammu Kashmir killing over ten millions of innocent Kashmiris. At the same time in order to protect the innocent Kashmir Muslims, UN Special Forces could be deployed to gradually replace the Indian terror forces. You could even use the NATO for a good humanitarian purpose in flushing out the Indian forces form Jammu Kashmir region and save both Kashmiris and Kashmir form Indian custodial genocide and destructions. If freedom seeking Kashmiris retaliate the state terrorism, they are killed en-masse in groups by the trained Indian terror forces.

 As you know, India has plenty of money now from sales of public sector property to grow capitalism in Gandhian India and it believes in bribing the world leaders to get their "things" done. Indian media want to make the entire world a pro-India basin to control the world a resources. Indian wants to retain the occupied Jammu Kashmir at any cost. Indian terror forces have already killed thousands of innocent Kashmiris for seeking independence form hegemonic India. Discovery of graveyards in Kashmir tell the whole truth about Indian democracy and secularism.

Obama, you must be aware that world considers USA the global terrorist nation, though not many dare admitting it openly. The president elect must reset the US policies so as to help the nation herald a new phase of humanism in international arena. As the custodian of the White House, you have to reveal the entire hidden deals between Bush and Osama. President Bush has forgotten about Osama now ands we have no idea about his fate.

Let me tell you: I am being closely watched and my movements are being monitored by political Muslims for Hindu parties, among others, how can I believe that all powerful USA does not have remote gadget to observe the movements of one Osama, the most important "terrorist"?

Your assuming power of the most powerful country of the universe should herald a new era of confidence among the global Muslims and Islamic world. How far you would be able to reign in the Pentagon-CIA hidden agendas will determine the future of the world not just the USA. If, however, if you prove me wrong, which I earnestly desire for humanity's sake, then I would write again requesting the Republicans to wind sup their political outfit and rally solidly behind you and your Party of Democrats. Is it just a wishful thinking on my part, dear Obama? I know your smile has got some American mischief too- is that intentional? Are you really sincere enough for an infrastructural reform in USA?  World is looking forward to watching your actions, dear Obama.  

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Yours Sincerely,

DR.ABDUL RUFF Colachal

Columnist & Independent Researcher in International Affairs, The only Indian to have gone through  entire India
South Asia.