CHANGE has come to the USA and it is imminent elsewhere in the world through diplomacy and soft power. The George W. Bush’s war machinery has given its place to Barack Obama’s diplomacy and pro-civilian politics to heal the post-9/11 injuries.
For eight years the world suffered under a parochial administration in the Washington which effectively divided the entire humanity between “with us or against us” borders. The ‘against us’ were brutally suppressed and denied even the right of a “prisoner of war”. The ‘with us’ - mostly totalitarian, corrupt and warlords – were cherished against the will of millions.
The Obama administration is not another utopian inertia. It is the ultimate rational reaction of the American people to a deeply antagonized world in which once-loved American ideals have been besmirched by the Guantanamo prison, the Abu Ghraib and the pure politics of war.
Like a post-disaster expert, President Obama has a long list of problem-fixing from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the greater Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
Easy is always to make foes and ruin, as was for the former President Bush. For Obama, however, it will be extremely challenging to revive trust in US leadership and pacify antagonist forces around the world.
Thus far, the Obama administration has managed to attract some of the best people in the American diplomacy community in order to breathe life into global diplomacy and save emergencies like Afghanistan and Pakistan from collapse.
Vice President Joe Biden’s pre-inauguration mission to Afghanistan and Pakistan and President Obama’s numerous references to both countries clearly indicate that Kabul and Islamabad will be hotspots in the American foreign policy in the coming years. Both countries are technically at the verge of security and political collapse and the White House has tasked a senior diplomat, Richard Holbrooke, to prevent an unexpected breakdown.
In Pakistan where the military and the intelligence have always wielded the real power, Mr. Holbrooke’s job will be to strengthen President Asif Ali Zardari’s grip on power and decision-making. The civilianization of politics and governance in a country where George Walker Bush spent over US$10 billion American dollars on military and intelligence build up will be an extremely delicate mission for Mr. Holbrooke and his seniors at the State Department.
There will be real risks of backlash from the Pakistani military establishments which have traditionally used Islamic fanatics as strategic tools in the regional power-politics. The repercussions of such a scenario will be dreadful for the entire world. No one would like to see Al Qaeda and Taliban lieutenants holding a remote control of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.
Mired in corruption, weakness and widening unpopularity - Hamid Karzai’s government in Afghanistan will not enjoy unconditional support from the Washington as it did over the past seven years.
Mr. Karzai has a very short time to show that he also believes in CHANGE. He will have to prove his effectiveness and use in the new American agenda for the region or will have to back of politely.
But if Karzai defy the US and seek Russian, Iranian and Chinese protection, his country will probably plunge into chaos and more bloodshed.
[ENDS]
For eight years the world suffered under a parochial administration in the Washington which effectively divided the entire humanity between “with us or against us” borders. The ‘against us’ were brutally suppressed and denied even the right of a “prisoner of war”. The ‘with us’ - mostly totalitarian, corrupt and warlords – were cherished against the will of millions.
The Obama administration is not another utopian inertia. It is the ultimate rational reaction of the American people to a deeply antagonized world in which once-loved American ideals have been besmirched by the Guantanamo prison, the Abu Ghraib and the pure politics of war.
Like a post-disaster expert, President Obama has a long list of problem-fixing from Afghanistan and Pakistan to the greater Middle East, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
Easy is always to make foes and ruin, as was for the former President Bush. For Obama, however, it will be extremely challenging to revive trust in US leadership and pacify antagonist forces around the world.
Thus far, the Obama administration has managed to attract some of the best people in the American diplomacy community in order to breathe life into global diplomacy and save emergencies like Afghanistan and Pakistan from collapse.
Vice President Joe Biden’s pre-inauguration mission to Afghanistan and Pakistan and President Obama’s numerous references to both countries clearly indicate that Kabul and Islamabad will be hotspots in the American foreign policy in the coming years. Both countries are technically at the verge of security and political collapse and the White House has tasked a senior diplomat, Richard Holbrooke, to prevent an unexpected breakdown.
In Pakistan where the military and the intelligence have always wielded the real power, Mr. Holbrooke’s job will be to strengthen President Asif Ali Zardari’s grip on power and decision-making. The civilianization of politics and governance in a country where George Walker Bush spent over US$10 billion American dollars on military and intelligence build up will be an extremely delicate mission for Mr. Holbrooke and his seniors at the State Department.
There will be real risks of backlash from the Pakistani military establishments which have traditionally used Islamic fanatics as strategic tools in the regional power-politics. The repercussions of such a scenario will be dreadful for the entire world. No one would like to see Al Qaeda and Taliban lieutenants holding a remote control of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal.
Mired in corruption, weakness and widening unpopularity - Hamid Karzai’s government in Afghanistan will not enjoy unconditional support from the Washington as it did over the past seven years.
Mr. Karzai has a very short time to show that he also believes in CHANGE. He will have to prove his effectiveness and use in the new American agenda for the region or will have to back of politely.
But if Karzai defy the US and seek Russian, Iranian and Chinese protection, his country will probably plunge into chaos and more bloodshed.
[ENDS]
