Christopher King argues that President Barack Obama is no different in substance from his predecessor, George W. Bush, and that the European Union should detach itself from the coattail of the USA and develop constructive national and foreign policies based on the European culture and geo-political situation.
We’ve now seen Barack Obama’s first 100 days. I said I wasn’t hopeful that he would bring any change in US foreign policy but I’m disappointed nevertheless. Deep down I was hoping for the best, although the evidence was against it. Barack Obama is America’s Anthony Blair: looks good but rotten inside. To approve an escalation of killing in Afghanistan has to be rotten but, to be fair, he did warn us. So what has the president given the world so far?
Escalation of troop numbers in Afghanistan
The Af-Pak [Afghanistan-Pakistan] war extension with destabilization in Pakistan
Permanent stay in Iraq with troops miraculously transformed to “trainers”
No change on support for Israel and repression of Palestinians
No change in sanctions or subversion against Iran
Continued provocation of Russia with NATO exercises in Georgia
Promoting India against Pakistan
The president has ordered Guantanamo closed, although there’s no hurry about it. Innocent victims are apparently being pressured to confess to terrorism in order to get released -- after illegal torture and imprisonment for five or six years. He has made proof of torture and CIA lies public, although no one will be punished for it, nor for CIA kidnapping and transport of victims to third party countries for torture.
He has made a minor concession to Cuba, and friendly noises to all the big countries, including Venezuela, and South American generally. He has offered an open hand to Iran if Iran will unclench its fist, but as the Iranians told him, it’s the USA that has the clenched fist against Iran, commencing with CIA subversion of the democratic Mossadeq government. Really, he’s realized that, following Bush, most of the world is anti-American and he hasn’t the cash or armies to invade everyone he doesn’t like.
President Obama undertook to Turkey’s parliament that he would support Turkey’s accession to the European Union, clearly seeing nothing wrong with saying this. It provoked his dedicated Zionist supporter, President Sarkozy of France, to protest that EU membership was no business of the USA. Call me cynical, but Sarkozy’s protest is probably to support his slumped popularity at home both for his domestic policies and toadying to Obama in rushing more troops to Afghanistan and taking France into NATO. Obama’s open meddling in European Union business shows both arrogance and that Sarkozy and Gordon Brown are not the only European politicians in his pocket.
At home, President Obama plans to give away USD 1 trillion to buy up the banks’ worthless assets. The spin is that the banks are too big to be allowed to fail. Gordon Brown claims to have originated this policy which has been inflicted on our children and grandchildren in the UK as well. Good for bankers, disastrous for everyone else, particularly those of us who work, save and are careful with our money. If the banks are too big to fail, it’s obvious that they should be broken up. If they’re supported by taxpayer money and won’t lend, the government should make them lend -- but this whole approach is wrong. You might have noticed that stock markets in the US and UK have been rising despite worsening conditions for the general economy. The stock markets are openly feeding on public money now and are disconnected from the wider economies of the USA and UK.
To summarize: Obama means no change from Bush. That’s bad for America and bad for everyone else. We should forget positive expectations of him now and save time. Obama and the USA are no models, ethical or economic. The USA continues to mean only trouble. The EU should withdraw its troops from the Af-Pak debacle and develop constructive European national and foreign policies based on its own culture and geo-political situation.
Christopher King is a retired consultant and lecturer in management and marketing. He lives in London, UK.
