President Obama greeted President Karzai in Washington today (Wednesday, May 12, 2010) for what has been termed a "charm offensive". The plan was to put to rest the recent disagreements between the Karzai regime in Afghanistan and the White House. The argument centers around Karzi's pressuring for peace feelers to the Taliban, while the US would rather keep up the military pressure. I watched the TV broadcast and listened to both men carefully. Karzai sounded like a man who loved his country and was willing to work toward some brighter future with perhaps some elements of the Taliban included in the Afghan government . He answered a question posed by a reporter and took the opportunity to explain and expound on his plan for peace talks with the Taliban. He added that most of them were just "country guys" who are fighting for their clan or their ethnic group and could be lured back to support the Karzai government. Obama seemed ticked off at that. Candidate Obama promised us he would talk to the Iranians ....(but never actually got to it) and encouraged us all by his reasonable arguments in favor of persuasion and dialog, seemed positively turned off by Karzai's sensible plea for a "Peace Jurga" in Afghanistan. Rather, Obama gave the certain impression that he would have to be pulled kicking and screaming, clawing those long thin fingers of his into the thick White House carpets before he would agree to let Karzai talk with the Taliban. His demeanor and speech, though literate, more latinate, and lawyerly, was all too reminiscent (frighteningly so) of Mr George Bush. Also scary was that the much-touted Obama intellect, here it apparently failed since it could not or would not recognize the irony and hypocrisy of statements which made Obama sound so much like Bush-- his supposed political antithesis.
To my ear, his words were "Bush-speak". He countermanded Mr. Karzai with "no talks until we decapitate and degrade the Taliban (there was no mention of the thousands of innocent Afghanistan civilians who happen to live with or near these "targets" who are indiescriminately "degraded" also.). "Furthermore", he added, "the Taliban would have to "lay down their arms" before any talks would be possible." That last was a typical Bush-ploy. Our former president always had his speech writers include a "killer" clause that would obviate any possibility that an opponent would ever acquiesce to his over-the-top requirements for talks. That statement alone revealed just how distasteful Mr. Obama found the idea of peace talks with the Taliban.
Recall how Obama has followed obediently in his predessors steps. From his persistence in the illusion of an all-powerful "imperial presidency", to his failure to close Guantanamo (as he promised), to his military surge in Afghanistan, and the enormous expansion of US military bases there, to his bending over backward to the intransigent Israelis, and refusal to change the inefective, dangersouts Middle East game plan, by refusing to extend an honest "open hand" to the Iranians, to keeping Syria on the terror nation list, for his increase in targeted assassinations in allied Pakistan's tribal areas (using drone attacks which have far surpassed even the Bush presidency's actions there), to his acquiescence with the CIA to illegally target for assasination American citizens abroad (establishing presidential a death penalty with no due process, no jury) he has deonstrated a continuity of past policies which we can rightly interpret is the continuation of the George Bush presidency. Add to this his domestic policies, with its slavish support for Wall Street, big banks and big business, and the Mr Bush's favorite--the oil industry (for whom Obama has opened up the entire east coast for drilling), and finally as did his predessessor who tried to seat Harriet Meyers in the Supreme Court, we find Obama nominating a personal friend, Ms Elena Kagan, a stealth candidate, whose judicial philosphy is a mystery. With all this evidence, one has good reason to conclude that President Obama appears to have silently morphed into a "black Bush" sometime just after assuming office.
Yes the election of President Obama certainly brought change, but perhaps it was only the superficial change of the president's slim build, loquaciousness, (ability to pronounce "nuclear" properly) and as, well those seemingly thoughtful pauses interspersed into his speeches, and---oh, yes, the amount of melanin in his skin.
Might we were asking too much of Mr. Obama? Maybe all he was set to do, was to get a Pulitzer prize, and keep plowing the same furrow as GWB so that he could prove that a black guy could be as "good" as any white guy in the job! Admittedly, not a bad goal, but the citizenry who supported Mr. Obama so eagerly, were hoping he would be a different president, that is, be better than that last white guy. Didn't he get that?
Get the picture?
(I wish Obama would.)
rjk
To my ear, his words were "Bush-speak". He countermanded Mr. Karzai with "no talks until we decapitate and degrade the Taliban (there was no mention of the thousands of innocent Afghanistan civilians who happen to live with or near these "targets" who are indiescriminately "degraded" also.). "Furthermore", he added, "the Taliban would have to "lay down their arms" before any talks would be possible." That last was a typical Bush-ploy. Our former president always had his speech writers include a "killer" clause that would obviate any possibility that an opponent would ever acquiesce to his over-the-top requirements for talks. That statement alone revealed just how distasteful Mr. Obama found the idea of peace talks with the Taliban.
Recall how Obama has followed obediently in his predessors steps. From his persistence in the illusion of an all-powerful "imperial presidency", to his failure to close Guantanamo (as he promised), to his military surge in Afghanistan, and the enormous expansion of US military bases there, to his bending over backward to the intransigent Israelis, and refusal to change the inefective, dangersouts Middle East game plan, by refusing to extend an honest "open hand" to the Iranians, to keeping Syria on the terror nation list, for his increase in targeted assassinations in allied Pakistan's tribal areas (using drone attacks which have far surpassed even the Bush presidency's actions there), to his acquiescence with the CIA to illegally target for assasination American citizens abroad (establishing presidential a death penalty with no due process, no jury) he has deonstrated a continuity of past policies which we can rightly interpret is the continuation of the George Bush presidency. Add to this his domestic policies, with its slavish support for Wall Street, big banks and big business, and the Mr Bush's favorite--the oil industry (for whom Obama has opened up the entire east coast for drilling), and finally as did his predessessor who tried to seat Harriet Meyers in the Supreme Court, we find Obama nominating a personal friend, Ms Elena Kagan, a stealth candidate, whose judicial philosphy is a mystery. With all this evidence, one has good reason to conclude that President Obama appears to have silently morphed into a "black Bush" sometime just after assuming office.
Yes the election of President Obama certainly brought change, but perhaps it was only the superficial change of the president's slim build, loquaciousness, (ability to pronounce "nuclear" properly) and as, well those seemingly thoughtful pauses interspersed into his speeches, and---oh, yes, the amount of melanin in his skin.
Might we were asking too much of Mr. Obama? Maybe all he was set to do, was to get a Pulitzer prize, and keep plowing the same furrow as GWB so that he could prove that a black guy could be as "good" as any white guy in the job! Admittedly, not a bad goal, but the citizenry who supported Mr. Obama so eagerly, were hoping he would be a different president, that is, be better than that last white guy. Didn't he get that?
Get the picture?
(I wish Obama would.)
rjk
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