If anyone has had to come to terms with the full meaning of the expression "baptism of fire" it will be Barack Hussein Obama. He has been elected to the office of the leader of the so called free world at a time when everything is all but free and expectations are so high that he might never be able to fulfill them. The key word at this stage of the world's history is crisis because it is the word that is pronounced almost every milisecond on our news networks and it fills every aspect of our existence as a race. The election of Barack is therefore seen as an intervension by the higher forces that change the rules of the game of life occasionally to ensure the survival of the human race. Most people I know have coined the term "obamessiah" to display the messiah status they have assigned this young, promising and bright black man. All of a sudden, to the ladies, cute means Barack Obama and that leaves me wondering how come a set of ears large enough to serve as a helipad could be described as cute. But all these have me seriously worried because with his first few 'baby steps' as a world leader, though he seems to be fulfilling expectations, critical silent mistakes are being made that may preclude his abilities as a peacemaker at home and on the international scene.Emmanuel Rahm. That is the name of the man who will be celebrating his 49th birthday as Chief of Staff designate for President elect Obama and may very well be the man whose appointment can cause hell to break loose on Obama. Known in washington as a politcal gangster, a pitbull, an attack dog, a warrior and a man whose anger may be much more popular than the man himself, I am very worried that Obama chose this man as his gatekeeper. I have heard the pundits argue that this is probably the beginning of a good cop/ bad cop routine of controlling the white house but to my budding strategic eye, I tend to see that as a move that will backfire. The point is that Obama won the election based on his appeal for change, on his simpilicity and straight forward honesty. It was his honesty and willingness to tell the truth no matter how bitter it may be as well as that almost childish ability to admit errors that won him the election. His selection of Emmanuel Rahm seems to indicate a willingness to deviate from that.So what is the problem with that? Eventhough Obama's presidency will be very much tested overtime, it also has one of the easiest tasks when it comes to governance styles. Why? Well because the style has already been chosen for him. Obama has to govern by galvanising support from both the left and the right and that means he has to govern in the center. He has to take but the left and right onto his team and get the support of the skeptics who were told by Maccain that Obama is not who he says he is. The problem is that right now, with the appointment of Rahm, how is he going to be able to convince anyone that he truely wants to govern from The center? Is it a case of deja vu for the skeptics? Only God can tell but that was the very first critical error in his baby steps.
Another thing that serves a vestige that Obama may well be a mordern day messiah came just a few days after his election, when the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sent a letter of congratulations to president elect Obama. Why is that so significant? The diplomats will gladly explain that that defies the norms of diplomatic relations, considering the artic cold relations that exist between the U.S. and Iran presently. So at least Iran showed some form of warming up to America and to Barack Obama. For what it is worth, Ahmadinejad may have believed that Obama may be a messiah afterall. That to me, was a golden opportunity to let the past be the past and look forward to a bright and shining morning of gold for all. For the president of a seemingly hostile nation to extend such warm wishes to a man who will become the president of America was a very significant move and it is noteworthy that Ahmadinejad could have displeased the radical elements of his nation by making such a move. But what did Barack Obama do to such a gesture? To me, he blew the golden chance in a huge way.In his first news conference as president elect, a reporter asked him of what he would do about the letter sent him by the Iranian president and Mr. Obama replied by first stating that America should not forget about the ways of Iran and their desire to acquire nuclear weapons as well as their sponsorship of terrorrism. Then he went on to say that he would take a look at the letter and give it an appropriate response. To the casual observer, that was a well thought through answer and maybe that did help his approval ratings quite a bit. But to the pundit, to the keen observer, to the critical ear that listens and scrutinises, that was a huge blunder. Someone might have screamed "and there goes a huge opportunity" and yes I do agree with that sentiment.I do not blame Mr. Obama for his position because like most of the American population, he has been told by the once credible intelligence agencies that there is so much happening in Iran. Well, that may be true but critcally, it may also be false and that is why this blunder was one that is very critical and shameful. The facts are that it was these same intelligence agencies that said Iraq had nuclear weapons and so war should be taken to them and five years on, not a single capsule powerful enough to destroy my big head has been found. It was these same agencies that promised a quick and fast war that has so far lasted five years and has no end in sight. I guess we have a new definition of quick and fast then. It was these same agencies that failed to act on the subtle but reliable information it received on the 9/11 attacks and the result is something we all want to remain in the past and out of our memories. The point I am making is that these intelligence agencies have been known to make some very serious blunders and so their recomendations and practices should be questioned a bit. They are now saying that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons and that it wants to wipe Israel of the map. There is a huge claim that Ahmadinejad has made so many anti-semitic remarks and comments but the question I ask is that are those really true?Just last year, in his appearnce at Columbia University, Mahmoud Ahamdinejad categorically stated that he had never made such remarks and that his statements were taken out of context to pursue an overall agenda. That is an eye opener because seriously speaking how many of us have an understanding of the persian language? So all we know is what we are told right? But we have an interpreter who has shown in the past that he can make a few "changes' to help himpursue an agenda so should we totally trust him?And let's even assume that yes Iran is pursuing a nuclear arsenal. By showing an interest in peace at change, would it not have been more appropriate for Mr. Obama to have just acknowledged the effort and said he looks forward to working with them in pursuing the agenda of peace? Well he made another critical error. Another blunder. He blew it. Let us all pray that God grants him a second chance at that because Ahmadinejad stated in his letter wisely that "opportunities that are granted human are shortlived ."In what I regard as a statement of how Iran will deal with an Obama led U.S., he shut down a weekly newspaper that carried a picture of the president elect after his gesture of peace was presumably rebuffed.However, I do not believe that all is lost on this case. We all just have to pray that things change. As to the question : " can we change this situation?", there is only one answer. YES WE CAN.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
CRITICAL MISTAKES IN THE FIRST FEW STEPS . PART 2.
Another thing that serves a vestige that Obama may well be a mordern day messiah came just a few days after his election, when the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, sent a letter of congratulations to president elect Obama. Why is that so significant? The diplomats will gladly explain that that defies the norms of diplomatic relations, considering the artic cold relations that exist between the U.S. and Iran presently. So at least Iran showed some form of warming up to America and to Barack Obama. For what it is worth, Ahmadinejad may have believed that Obama may be a messiah afterall. That to me, was a golden opportunity to let the past be the past and look forward to a bright and shining morning of gold for all. For the president of a seemingly hostile nation to extend such warm wishes to a man who will become the president of America was a very significant move and it is noteworthy that Ahmadinejad could have displeased the radical elements of his nation by making such a move. But what did Barack Obama do to such a gesture? To me, he blew the golden chance in a huge way.
In his first news conference as president elect, a reporter asked him of what he would do about the letter sent him by the Iranian president and Mr. Obama replied by first stating that America should not forget about the ways of Iran and their desire to acquire nuclear weapons as well as their sponsorship of terrorrism. Then he went on to say that he would take a look at the letter and give it an appropriate response. To the casual observer, that was a well thought through answer and maybe that did help his approval ratings quite a bit. But to the pundit, to the keen observer, to the critical ear that listens and scrutinises, that was a huge blunder. Someone might have screamed "and there goes a huge opportunity" and yes I do agree with that sentiment.
I do not blame Mr. Obama for his position because like most of the American population, he has been told by the once credible intelligence agencies that there is so much happening in Iran. Well, that may be true but critcally, it may also be false and that is why this blunder was one that is very critical and shameful. The facts are that it was these same intelligence agencies that said Iraq had nuclear weapons and so war should be taken to them and five years on, not a single capsule powerful enough to destroy my big head has been found. It was these same agencies that promised a quick and fast war that has so far lasted five years and has no end in sight. I guess we have a new definition of quick and fast then. It was these same agencies that failed to act on the subtle but reliable information it received on the 9/11 attacks and the result is something we all want to remain in the past and out of our memories. The point I am making is that these intelligence agencies have been known to make some very serious blunders and so their recomendations and practices should be questioned a bit. They are now saying that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons and that it wants to wipe Israel of the map. There is a huge claim that Ahmadinejad has made so many anti-semitic remarks and comments but the question I ask is that are those really true?
Just last year, in his appearnce at Columbia University, Mahmoud Ahamdinejad categorically stated that he had never made such remarks and that his statements were taken out of context to pursue an overall agenda. That is an eye opener because seriously speaking how many of us have an understanding of the persian language? So all we know is what we are told right? But we have an interpreter who has shown in the past that he can make a few "changes' to help him
pursue an agenda so should we totally trust him?
And let's even assume that yes Iran is pursuing a nuclear arsenal. By showing an interest in peace at change, would it not have been more appropriate for Mr. Obama to have just acknowledged the effort and said he looks forward to working with them in pursuing the agenda of peace? Well he made another critical error. Another blunder. He blew it. Let us all pray that God grants him a second chance at that because Ahmadinejad stated in his letter wisely that "opportunities that are granted human are shortlived ."
In what I regard as a statement of how Iran will deal with an Obama led U.S., he shut down a weekly newspaper that carried a picture of the president elect after his gesture of peace was presumably rebuffed.
However, I do not believe that all is lost on this case. We all just have to pray that things change. As to the question : " can we change this situation?", there is only one answer. YES WE CAN.
In his first news conference as president elect, a reporter asked him of what he would do about the letter sent him by the Iranian president and Mr. Obama replied by first stating that America should not forget about the ways of Iran and their desire to acquire nuclear weapons as well as their sponsorship of terrorrism. Then he went on to say that he would take a look at the letter and give it an appropriate response. To the casual observer, that was a well thought through answer and maybe that did help his approval ratings quite a bit. But to the pundit, to the keen observer, to the critical ear that listens and scrutinises, that was a huge blunder. Someone might have screamed "and there goes a huge opportunity" and yes I do agree with that sentiment.
I do not blame Mr. Obama for his position because like most of the American population, he has been told by the once credible intelligence agencies that there is so much happening in Iran. Well, that may be true but critcally, it may also be false and that is why this blunder was one that is very critical and shameful. The facts are that it was these same intelligence agencies that said Iraq had nuclear weapons and so war should be taken to them and five years on, not a single capsule powerful enough to destroy my big head has been found. It was these same agencies that promised a quick and fast war that has so far lasted five years and has no end in sight. I guess we have a new definition of quick and fast then. It was these same agencies that failed to act on the subtle but reliable information it received on the 9/11 attacks and the result is something we all want to remain in the past and out of our memories. The point I am making is that these intelligence agencies have been known to make some very serious blunders and so their recomendations and practices should be questioned a bit. They are now saying that Iran wants to develop nuclear weapons and that it wants to wipe Israel of the map. There is a huge claim that Ahmadinejad has made so many anti-semitic remarks and comments but the question I ask is that are those really true?
Just last year, in his appearnce at Columbia University, Mahmoud Ahamdinejad categorically stated that he had never made such remarks and that his statements were taken out of context to pursue an overall agenda. That is an eye opener because seriously speaking how many of us have an understanding of the persian language? So all we know is what we are told right? But we have an interpreter who has shown in the past that he can make a few "changes' to help him
pursue an agenda so should we totally trust him?
And let's even assume that yes Iran is pursuing a nuclear arsenal. By showing an interest in peace at change, would it not have been more appropriate for Mr. Obama to have just acknowledged the effort and said he looks forward to working with them in pursuing the agenda of peace? Well he made another critical error. Another blunder. He blew it. Let us all pray that God grants him a second chance at that because Ahmadinejad stated in his letter wisely that "opportunities that are granted human are shortlived ."
In what I regard as a statement of how Iran will deal with an Obama led U.S., he shut down a weekly newspaper that carried a picture of the president elect after his gesture of peace was presumably rebuffed.
However, I do not believe that all is lost on this case. We all just have to pray that things change. As to the question : " can we change this situation?", there is only one answer. YES WE CAN.
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