Readers' corner
Worse than Bush
Sir-- Re 'Untying the Gordian Knot' ( Al-Ahram Weekly 13-20 November), Obama's election is a truly impressive, strategic move on the part of the ruling elite and one which has co-opted the minorities and even hitherto strong leftists into a continuation of the 16 years of Clinton-Bush domestic and foreign policy. Obama has already allowed himself to become an "Uncle Tom" and while his rhetoric at times seems "cagey", there is certainly nothing cagey about his appointments for his new administration. His election is a coup by the power elite for the new world order and he is a stealth weapon against real progress. What better colour to put on the illusion of change than black?
It's not difficult to see Medvedev's preference for Obama. Better to have dialogue than confrontational use of force. President Chavez agrees. But I know you will agree that Obama's new (old Clinton) administration is certainly not lost on Medvedev, Putin and other Russian leaders. The Clinton and Bush regimes have wreaked destruction in the Middle East and the US economy and are giving way to an empire with a softer tone, a black face, and a media blitz that has conned the masses -- strategy and tactics straight out of PNAC. In some ways I personally view Obama to be more dangerous than Bush and will not lend a word that suggests anything otherwise.
You wrote, "It is unlikely that Obama will run such a wild, unpremeditated foreign policy as his predecessor." Bush's foreign policy was not "wild, unpremeditated"; it was planned and premeditated for 25 years by the Ziocons. It looked "wild" but was not wild at all. It was cultivated and controlled just as Obama's staff is cultivating and controlling the next four years under Obama. I suspect that when Obama made his deal with the devil to be the first black US president in history, his cabinet and staff were already picked for him and these appointments were part of the deal.
Les Blough
Caracas
Venezuela
Walk gingerly
Sir-- I think Obama, with his huge ego, will want to be America's greatest modern president, and he is smart enough to know he cannot do this by engaging in mini-wars all over the place. For the spending programmes he wants to crank up, he will have to shift some funding around. (Did you notice he mentioned right in his acceptance speech that this would take two terms?) To pull off major changes he will have to carefully pick some things with a high degree of success, as you build on that to take on the tougher ones. The flip side is that if you stumble on the first ones, you lose the ability to do the others. The Congressional leaders will know this, also. Initial failures will take the wind out of the sails for what they want to do -- stay in power. I doubt there are even a dozen of them there to serve the public.
I have always had great sympathy for the Count Bernadotte killing, and the unfortunate French officer who had the misfortune to be sitting next to him. What a story it would be if Emanuel's father had been on that team. I have some books here where Irgun members describe the need for the killing and they are quite unapologetic... "you get in the way, we kill you". What a crazy world. You would think this was a movie script someone had written.
Jim Bruster
Texas
USA
Give him a chance
Sir-- Many on the left are already dismissing Barack Obama as a puppet of the Israel lobby and American empire. I think we should give him a chance. It's insane to condemn someone who was elected before he's even taken the oath of office. Bush was never elected legally, so no courtesy was ever owed to him. The neocons have made a mess of the empire over the past eight years. No one can argue the US is not in better shape now than before 9/11. At least I don't think it is. The liberal faction of the US ruling elite are better at networking with the rest of the country, and I agree Obama was given the nod by them and is under their power. Obama is being set up as an Uncle Tom but he may wisen up a bit. My (naïve?) hope is that he will eventually try to take some initiative (I know, look what happened to JFK). As a liberal, at least Obama will be more likely to rely on soft power (undermining other governments in the name of democracy) vs outright war. We should be pushing him to take more progressive stances, not just dismissing him.
Lori Price
Massachusetts
USA
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