The euphoria that aroused all over the world after the election of Barrack Obama as the 44th President of the United States seems to have ended for now. That the US has a coloured man as the President within half a decade of Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I have a Dream’ speech is in itself a matter of great pride for the Americans. But now its time to analyse the various challenges that Obama has to face at the helm of American Presidency. Let us discuss the various areas where he would have to concentrate if his promise of change has to become a reality.
• The Economy
The international economy is in serious turmoil and many American MNCs are destined to be doomed if there are no immediate financial package to bail them out of the sub prime mortgage crisis that they are facing. So Obama’s most important and urgent task should be to find a solution to the financial crisis. The American Congress has already announced a bail out package for the financial companies that are afflicted by the financial crisis. But now the automotive sector is also asking for a similar bail out package. The financial crisis has been the most important factor in this US election and therefore Obama has no other option left but to confront the gravest financial crisis that is all set to engulf America and the world since the great depression of 1930s.
• Domestic Health Care System
The domestic health care system in the US is in an absolute mayhem. The number of people out of the health care insurance net is increasing day by day and is going to become quite unmanageable in the near future. In a country where the cost of health care is ridiculously high, health care insurance is an absolute necessity. So it is imperative for Obama to take some immediate steps towards normalising this discrepancy. It is a very important step that he has to take for gaining the trust of the middle class as well as the blue collar workers.
• Internal Security
At a time when the gun culture is quite vibrant among the students and internal violence is on the rise, internal security is a very important concern of the Americans. The remarkable electoral victory that the centrist Democrats have won over the conservative Republicans would give Barrack Obama some serious moral authority to establish some fool proof regulations that would put an end to the reckless use of guns by the ordinary people. This would go a long way in making some headway in matters of internal security. At the same time other aspects of internal security will be taken care of by getting advice from the experts in the field.
• War on Terror
Since September 11, 2001, no American President would dare to forget the war on terror. From that day, capturing of Osama bin Laden and his fellow perpetrators of the heinous crime has been the most important task of any US patriot. But Obama has some serious ideological differences with the way George W.Bush had fought the war on terror. He was against going to war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq under the pretext of Weapons of Mass Destruction, which the Bush regime claimed Saddam had. In line with such an idea, Obama thinks that the real war on terror should be fought at Afghanistan and not at Iraq. He believes that Osama is hiding some where in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and hence pursuance of Osama should be directed at Afghanistan. Obama believes that the war front at Iraq is redundant and hence army should be recalled from Iraq. He also thinks that there should be an actual time frame for the troop withdrawal from Iraq. That is be an action that he is quite keen to take.
• Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib
Barrack Obama believes that Guantanamo Bay prison is one of America’s most loathsome historical mistakes and wants to close it down before it creates more damage to America’s moral standing in the world. The prisoners at Guantanamo are denied even basic human rights and a lot of politicians in America and human rights activists all over the world have been condemning the US for continuing with the prison. Flouting all international rules and regulations and human rights laws, the US administration under George W.Bush has been keeping the terror suspects without any legal trials or legal benefits. If Obama has to keep his promise of change and to show this world that he is a man who keeps his word, he has to act quickly in this regard.
Abu Ghraib and the gross human rights violations that were committed in that prison by American soldiers are fresh in the memory of this world. Though the US administration was able to instil some sense by bringing to book the soldiers that committed the violation of human rights, it is important for US to close down the prison and improve their moral standing in this world. Obama seems to be the right person to bell the cat and he is armed with sufficient public support and congressional backing to do the same.
• Foreign Policy
Barrack Obama has a very different foreign policy outlook from that of George Bush . He is not averse to talking to leaders of countries that Bush thought are too bellicose to talk to. Obama has already made his ideas clear by saying that he will talk to the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without any pre-conditions. In this regard his ideas were different from both Hilary Clinton and John McCain, who were opposed to this very idea of diplomacy offered by Obama. As Obama has almost decided to make Hilary Clinton as his Secretary of State, it is to be seen how he is going to move forward on this promise he has made.
At the same time foreign policy experts are quite interested in knowing the policy that Obama would adopt against old rivals Russia and China. The relationship between US and Russia that became sour after the recent Russia-Georgia war and the rhetoric that followed needs some immediate remedy. After the war, Russia has become quite confident to impose its supremacy in the Caucuses, where as the US is hell bent not to allow it. In the post cold war era, after the fall of the USSR, there is more or less a unipolar world where the US is the sole super power. Hence the US doesn’t want Russia to again emerge as a world power lest their supremacy would end. But the resurgent Russia, under Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, is getting ready to usurp their appropriate position in this world as an answer to the US’ hegemonic ambitions. Barrack Obama would do good to reinvent the cordial relationship with Russia, because this world can ill afford another cold war.
The United States consider China as a threat in Asia and are quite interested in countering that country’s emergence as a super power. It is the main reason why the recent US Presidents were quite interested in improving the relationship with India. The US foreign policy think tank believes that economic and political revival of India can effectively defy China’s hold in Asia. The Indo-US nuclear deal should also be seen in this light.
The importance of India vis a vis China makes a lot of experts believe that Obama would continue the good relationship with India that George Bush started. Moreover the growing clout of Indian-Americans in US strategic and economic space makes it absolutely difficult for US Presidents to ignore India and its aspirations. The United States also want to invite India to its strategic embrace, so that they have a larger involvement in this region.
Obama believes that Pakistan should have a larger participation in the war on terror and is not that happy with its present level of unresponsive involvement. He wants Pakistan to focus more on their western borders along Afghanistan and not at the Indian side of Pakistan border. Hence Obama believes that India and Pakistan should discuss the Kashmir issue among them and find a solution to it. At the same time Obama has also said that he would resort to using force in Pakistan internal territory against the suspected terrorists even without the approval of the Pakistan government. But that would be a decision that he might have to rethink on after discussing with his foreign policy experts because it can cause serious damage to America’s moral standing in the world.
• Non-proliferation
Barrack Obama is a strong advocate of nuclear non-proliferation and believes that a world with no nuclear threats is the best possible option for a peaceful co-existence of various countries. He strongly supports the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and thinks that US should first sign it and then push other countries to do the same. India should not have any problem in signing the CTBT if other countries like the US, China and Pakistan sign it.
Right now the President-elect Barrack Obama is busy making his team for governing the country. The promise that he has made, the promise of change, to the Americans as well as to the world, is a very difficult one to satisfy. The expectations on him are quite high as well. But for the sort of person he is - committed, honest, brave and confident - we believe and trust that he would make some effective steps towards improving the moral standing of the United States as well as the future of this world.
• The Economy
The international economy is in serious turmoil and many American MNCs are destined to be doomed if there are no immediate financial package to bail them out of the sub prime mortgage crisis that they are facing. So Obama’s most important and urgent task should be to find a solution to the financial crisis. The American Congress has already announced a bail out package for the financial companies that are afflicted by the financial crisis. But now the automotive sector is also asking for a similar bail out package. The financial crisis has been the most important factor in this US election and therefore Obama has no other option left but to confront the gravest financial crisis that is all set to engulf America and the world since the great depression of 1930s.
• Domestic Health Care System
The domestic health care system in the US is in an absolute mayhem. The number of people out of the health care insurance net is increasing day by day and is going to become quite unmanageable in the near future. In a country where the cost of health care is ridiculously high, health care insurance is an absolute necessity. So it is imperative for Obama to take some immediate steps towards normalising this discrepancy. It is a very important step that he has to take for gaining the trust of the middle class as well as the blue collar workers.
• Internal Security
At a time when the gun culture is quite vibrant among the students and internal violence is on the rise, internal security is a very important concern of the Americans. The remarkable electoral victory that the centrist Democrats have won over the conservative Republicans would give Barrack Obama some serious moral authority to establish some fool proof regulations that would put an end to the reckless use of guns by the ordinary people. This would go a long way in making some headway in matters of internal security. At the same time other aspects of internal security will be taken care of by getting advice from the experts in the field.
• War on Terror
Since September 11, 2001, no American President would dare to forget the war on terror. From that day, capturing of Osama bin Laden and his fellow perpetrators of the heinous crime has been the most important task of any US patriot. But Obama has some serious ideological differences with the way George W.Bush had fought the war on terror. He was against going to war against Saddam Hussein’s Iraq under the pretext of Weapons of Mass Destruction, which the Bush regime claimed Saddam had. In line with such an idea, Obama thinks that the real war on terror should be fought at Afghanistan and not at Iraq. He believes that Osama is hiding some where in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border and hence pursuance of Osama should be directed at Afghanistan. Obama believes that the war front at Iraq is redundant and hence army should be recalled from Iraq. He also thinks that there should be an actual time frame for the troop withdrawal from Iraq. That is be an action that he is quite keen to take.
• Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib
Barrack Obama believes that Guantanamo Bay prison is one of America’s most loathsome historical mistakes and wants to close it down before it creates more damage to America’s moral standing in the world. The prisoners at Guantanamo are denied even basic human rights and a lot of politicians in America and human rights activists all over the world have been condemning the US for continuing with the prison. Flouting all international rules and regulations and human rights laws, the US administration under George W.Bush has been keeping the terror suspects without any legal trials or legal benefits. If Obama has to keep his promise of change and to show this world that he is a man who keeps his word, he has to act quickly in this regard.
Abu Ghraib and the gross human rights violations that were committed in that prison by American soldiers are fresh in the memory of this world. Though the US administration was able to instil some sense by bringing to book the soldiers that committed the violation of human rights, it is important for US to close down the prison and improve their moral standing in this world. Obama seems to be the right person to bell the cat and he is armed with sufficient public support and congressional backing to do the same.
• Foreign Policy
Barrack Obama has a very different foreign policy outlook from that of George Bush . He is not averse to talking to leaders of countries that Bush thought are too bellicose to talk to. Obama has already made his ideas clear by saying that he will talk to the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad without any pre-conditions. In this regard his ideas were different from both Hilary Clinton and John McCain, who were opposed to this very idea of diplomacy offered by Obama. As Obama has almost decided to make Hilary Clinton as his Secretary of State, it is to be seen how he is going to move forward on this promise he has made.
At the same time foreign policy experts are quite interested in knowing the policy that Obama would adopt against old rivals Russia and China. The relationship between US and Russia that became sour after the recent Russia-Georgia war and the rhetoric that followed needs some immediate remedy. After the war, Russia has become quite confident to impose its supremacy in the Caucuses, where as the US is hell bent not to allow it. In the post cold war era, after the fall of the USSR, there is more or less a unipolar world where the US is the sole super power. Hence the US doesn’t want Russia to again emerge as a world power lest their supremacy would end. But the resurgent Russia, under Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, is getting ready to usurp their appropriate position in this world as an answer to the US’ hegemonic ambitions. Barrack Obama would do good to reinvent the cordial relationship with Russia, because this world can ill afford another cold war.
The United States consider China as a threat in Asia and are quite interested in countering that country’s emergence as a super power. It is the main reason why the recent US Presidents were quite interested in improving the relationship with India. The US foreign policy think tank believes that economic and political revival of India can effectively defy China’s hold in Asia. The Indo-US nuclear deal should also be seen in this light.
The importance of India vis a vis China makes a lot of experts believe that Obama would continue the good relationship with India that George Bush started. Moreover the growing clout of Indian-Americans in US strategic and economic space makes it absolutely difficult for US Presidents to ignore India and its aspirations. The United States also want to invite India to its strategic embrace, so that they have a larger involvement in this region.
Obama believes that Pakistan should have a larger participation in the war on terror and is not that happy with its present level of unresponsive involvement. He wants Pakistan to focus more on their western borders along Afghanistan and not at the Indian side of Pakistan border. Hence Obama believes that India and Pakistan should discuss the Kashmir issue among them and find a solution to it. At the same time Obama has also said that he would resort to using force in Pakistan internal territory against the suspected terrorists even without the approval of the Pakistan government. But that would be a decision that he might have to rethink on after discussing with his foreign policy experts because it can cause serious damage to America’s moral standing in the world.
• Non-proliferation
Barrack Obama is a strong advocate of nuclear non-proliferation and believes that a world with no nuclear threats is the best possible option for a peaceful co-existence of various countries. He strongly supports the signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and thinks that US should first sign it and then push other countries to do the same. India should not have any problem in signing the CTBT if other countries like the US, China and Pakistan sign it.
Right now the President-elect Barrack Obama is busy making his team for governing the country. The promise that he has made, the promise of change, to the Americans as well as to the world, is a very difficult one to satisfy. The expectations on him are quite high as well. But for the sort of person he is - committed, honest, brave and confident - we believe and trust that he would make some effective steps towards improving the moral standing of the United States as well as the future of this world.
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