Barak H. Obama is youthful, dynamic, intelligent and also inexperienced. There is no denying the fact that by occupying the White House he has performed a near-miracle. He overcame race and colour barriers to become America’s first black president. He has been hailed as the leader par excellence who can change America, and can especially save its ailing economy.
Obama’s electoral campaign was like a fairytale. He always looked oozing with confidence and self-belief. He successfully convinced America that he was their messiah. Initially the world took interest in him because of his colour and oratory. As he came near to winning the presidency, he grew in stature and the world leaders began to study his ideas and policies closely. Obama himself gradually became conscious of the high status and powers that an American president carries and began to believe that he could change not only America but also the world. He took independent positions on burning issues of the world including Palestine, Iraq and Afghanistan. Initially he expressed sympathy for the Palestinians and even criticized Israel for some of its excesses. He stood for an independent Palestine which angered the Jewish lobby in America. Under Jewish pressure the media launched attack after attack on his Palestine policy and forced him to openly support Israel. He immediately realized that the powerful Jewish lobby would hamper his campaign for American presidency and began to woo Israel. He even wrote articles in Israeli newspapers assuring Tel Aviv that his administration, too, would blindly support Israel. And today the world knows that Obama administration is not a neutral umpire in Israeli-Palestinian dispute but a strong ally of Tel Aviv.
Guantanamo Bay and Iraq were other issues on which Obama differed from the Bush administration. Steps are being taken to close the infamous Guantanamo Bay and Obama seems still committed to withdrawing American forces from Iraq. Insurgency continues in Iraq but not on the high scale it was a few years ago. The reason is not the so called “success” of Bush administration’s “surge policy” but rather it is Maliki’s accommodation of the elements of Saddam regime who were not avowed Ba’athist. Today Iraq does not need bulk of American forces any way which makes their withdrawal even more sensible. But it must be borne in mind that even Obama administration would prefer to have sizeable presence of American forces in Iraq to keep the insurgents at Bay. Even Maliki needs at least American Airforce to survive in office. Obama’s real test would be to engage Iran diplomatically. The Western world has realized well that Iran was determined to make nuclear bomb. They also realize that economic and diplomatic sanctions would not work. It is also clear that in the prevalent situation in West Asia any attack on Iran would prove to be counter-productive. Thus the only option which remains open is to engage Iran diplomatically. It is clear that it will take sometime when Obama would decide his Iran strategy.
Obama’s biggest challenge right now seems to be Afghanistan, the last victim of the cold war between the Soviet Union and the US. The country has been battered by continuous wars and conflicts. Obama thinks that by pumping more American forces into Afghanistan he can win the war. But this is a naïve thinking and smacks of Obama’s inexperience. Bill Clinton, the former US president, has recently warned that Afghanistan might prove Obama’s Vietnam. Wars never solve problems, rather they multiply them. It is diplomacy that ultimately succeeds. No one is sure when this wisdom would dawn on Obama. For many years American and NATO forces have been bombing and killing people, many of whom are innocent including children, women and the aged. But these bombings have yielded no results; instead they have aroused Afghans’ anger all over the country. This explains why the Taliban movement controls more than 70 percent of the country. Obama would be well-advised to engage Taliban diplomatically than try to batter them with more ferocious bombings. More than weapons, strategic and diplomatic moves solve problems. This is a lesson that Obama must learn sooner than later, as it would help both America and the world.
[ February, 2009]
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