Imperial Presidency: Time Running Out for Barrack Obama

For centuries, the white house has been resident to forty three questionable characters. The entry of the new occupant, Barrack Hussein Obama signified an age of renewed hope for most if not all people hitherto dissatisfied with US imperialism. What does his presidency herald for the world’s citizens? Disillusion if you ask me.

US presidents have done everything from time immemorial to push for own interests at the expense of the rest of the world. They have used the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to stamp their authority on a rather reluctant world. Up to now, I still don’t understand for what reason they fought communism when this great ideology was already in danger after being hijacked by the dictatorship of Josef Stalin and his mad brethren. Nonetheless, they still managed to push the world into a reckless arms race that threatened the world’s very existence.

US presidents have always been silent on the Middle East problem particularly the Palestine question, at times aggravating the problem instead. The question has always remained this: Do they have the interest of the world at large? I really doubt it. The United States has the power to end conflict in the Middle East, but with vested interests, this remains a tall order. They would rather keep sending soldiers and spending billions of dollars on this senseless conflict than solving it once and for all. For ages they have supported Israeli imperialism and further destabilized the region. Their only claim to democracy is when it seems to work in their favor. I have examples of questionable support for Apartheid South Africa and the rebel Jonas Savimbi in Angola. They have been for a long time against Iran, Iraq, North Koreas, and Venezuela among others. If you were to ask why they haven’t intervened in the decades long war in Colombia I wonder what the answer would be. The same reluctance is encountered when it comes to signing treaties as important as the Kyoto protocol that would have seen a commitment towards reducing emission of green house gases. The same reluctance is also registered when it comes to reducing nuclear stockpiles. They’d rather lecture the rest of the world on the necessity of Tehran and Pyongyang not having these weapons. For God’s sake, nuclear weapons are as dangerous in the hands of a US president as they are in the hands of Osama bin Laden. Let’s not pretend that some people are reckless and shouldn’t have this or that weapon, the time has come for the world to demilitarize and spend less on war and warlike activities, the time has come for the whole world to reduce their stockpiles; the time has come for the world to say no to imperial presidency.

Barrack Obama gave excellent speeches in Prague and Istanbul when he toured NATO allies. He showed a great understanding of world affairs than his predecessors. A time has come for him to walk the talk. He has to move positively and work on making his talk a reality, if not, he risks perpetuating the old imperialism of the US presidency and widening the gap between the US on one side and its perceived enemies on the other. He hasn’t been president for long, but he took over the reins when the world was already impatient and must not only promise a great future but also move towards its realization.