President Obama's second turn

By: Ali Ashraf Khan

After having watched the speech of President Barrack Hussein Obama at his inauguration of the second turn in office the result is a bad taste in mouth. It is amazing how Americans including the president lie into their own pockets by trying to sell a defeat for a victory and by talking about freedom, equality and happiness, while in reality a crusade has been launched under the garb of so-called terrorism and Islamophobia. One wonder how an intelligent man, I still suppose Barack Hussein Obama is one, can switch off his brain so easily and completely and sell such crab to the masses and media. America has lost the war on terror and the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as it has lost the war in Vietnam.

While doing so it has ruined its economy to such an extent that its first position in the world is under threat. Trillions of dollars has gone down the drain in war in Afghanistan and Iraq, net result is that a large number of Americans are jobless, homeless and foodless. Many companies including CACI, Titan Corporation and KBR have been awarded prime contracts under multiple-award services program with US army for millions and millions of dollars and ex-detainees in prisons run by these contractors have sued these contractors accusing them of torturing prisoners and lawyers.

The financial crunch that was delayed rather than prevented earlier in January is going to come back soon and blow up all the talk about equality and freedom. You ask the people how much freedom you have when you have no money to pay for your house, for the school of your children and your health. How much equality is there when you live in a container or in your car and others in a big mansion when they are not jetting around the world? What happiness is this, when you lost your job or wait to find one for the last many months and may be years? And what is this democracy, when candidates like the one of the Green party are not given media time and are not only harassed but detained by the police?

Does Obama really believe that the time of war has ended now? Does he really think that his weapon lobby and war industry will slow down or close down with thousands of jobs lost? They will keep producing and they need wars to sell their deadly products to sustain their defense establishment. The latest decisions about the unlimited use of drones against Pakistan and others are just one example in the case. There will be always new wars in Syria, in Lebanon, in Mali and elsewhere. And finally where does he see that economic recovery has started?

Well, we will see in a couple of weeks rather than months how 'unlimited' the opportunities are in the US when the fiscal cut negotiations start. Anyway, the 'common people' even in America want this circus and what was this long march in Pakistan another Tamasha. In US President and his wife - clad in a red dress that reveals more than what it hides- kissing and dancing in public celebrating themselves and showing to the public that all is hunky-dory. Given Obama's plans for his second term in office - on a closer look though - he might end up at the same place as he ended his first: even the promise to close Guantanamo Bay prison was not fulfilled. Plans like reforming the immigration laws, tougher weapon laws, environmental laws to prevent climate change and others may be hard to get acceptance for in a Congress and Senate that has strong Republican presence.  In a country where under the guidance of the Republicans the richest one per cent of the people is exempted from tax rise and for that they have the support of almost half of the population there is not much hope for change. But that nobody wants to know on a day of celebration and high spirits.

The crisis before the world today is that the super power is desperately trying to build an American Empire. In pursuit of its goal, the super power has to find excuses to subdue the other nations and even colonize their natural and mineral resources. To achieve this goal a black American President with second fiddler UN and American manned NATO is being successfully used and abused for that purpose. Ignoring the famous speech made by John Luther King "A Time to Break Silence," delivered on April 4, 1967 at the Riverside Church of New York City, King condemned the Vietnam War, prophetically saying that America was "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today" and naming the three sins of the American nation - racism, materialism and militarism. What has changed since then? Until today America is plagued increasingly by racism and materialism, but worst of it is the violence of militarism that often goes unnoticed after the 9/11 and so-called war against terror's assessment due to their ulterior motives.

It is high time now that President Obama instead of acting on the destructive policy of the past and his first term adopts the policy of live and let others live and not destroy humanity any further. This is the only honourable and sensible way of life otherwise law of God is bound to come into action and take its toll. This is what happened to Namrod during the days of Prophet Abraham, this is what happened to Ramses during the days of Moses and the law of God has never been defied nor can it ever be defied. The preachers of democracy, who turn themselves into dictators through sheer brute majority created by power politics, may want to take serious note of this facet of history.

But we in Pakistan should not get carried away with American dreams and hopes. We have our own problems and the part that is connected to American is not going to change. US will not release its grip on our country that they need for their exit from Afghanistan and for that lolly-pops and tamashas will be staged to fool the people. And unfortunately, there are enough people in the country and the government - the current and the coming - who are not ready to challenge the American grip on us. That means we will have to endure US security agents in our country and will have to endure when they go rampant again. We have to endure drone attacks on our population that not only kills many more civilians than Taliban, but that further undermines the authority of the Pakistani government in the tribal areas and thus makes reconciliation in our country a far cry.

The jubilation of the US and the West on the inauguration of President Obama's second term can not be shared by us: too much of our blood has been shed by them, too much of our country is held hostage by them and too much of socio-economic devastation has been caused on us with the threat of sending us in stone age. God bless the suffering humanity and Pakistan.

Ali Ashraf Khan 

Karachi