By Pablo Vivanco
Waking up to the reality that Obama will not bring peace to the World
Around this time last year, H1N1 was not the only epidemic spreading quickly across the world. Last November, a global population starved for a decisive departure from the perpetual conflict and fear scenario so synonymous with the administration of George W Bush joyfully welcomed the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. For many outside of the United States, Obama’s election was seen as a monumental step for the United States away from its history of racism and, it was hoped, imperialism.
This was not without good reason. Obama brought a history in grassroots organizing close Left of the Democratic Party, including his much publicized connections to ACORN. Moreover, Obama’s original commitments to an Iraq withdrawal and other overtures towards a significant break with the military industrial complex of the United States gave good reason for the world to hope that change had indeed come. However as his candidacy for the Democratic ticket appeared more plausible than originally thought, his discourse on these topics began to shift. Once his candidacy for the Democratic Party was confirmed he began making disturbing allusions to pre-emptive attacks on Iran and Pakistan, about a longer stay in Afghanistan and Iraq, and about recognizing Jerusalem as the Israeli capital (something even Bush never dared to do). Those voices critical of this shift were quickly told to be patient and to have some understanding of the complex circumstances of his campaign for the US President.
One year later, as President Obama inches close to completing one quarter of his term the debates about his policy agenda, inside and outside of US borders abound. Indeed certain sectors are now beginning to question whether the change that people believed in, in particular in the area of US foreign policy, is truly on the horizon. Certainly there are quarters that are keeping the faith. Count the awarding committee of the Nobel Peace Prize among them. They awarded President Obama with the highly coveted prize, along with the cash prize of $1.3 million much to the shagrin of the W. Bush loyalists. Obama joined a very select list that included not only Nelson Mandela and Mother Teresa but also individuals with more dubious track records such as Menachem Begin(1), Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Kissinger . Given this, perhaps it is fitting to award Obama with a prize paradoxically honoring the inventor of dynamite by recognizing those who have contributed to peace, at least sometimes. While right wing pundits questioned whether Obama had done enough to deserve the award others began to question whether he had actually done anything at all to promote peace.
After all, the prize was awarded to Obama just prior to his November announcement that he would increase US military presence in Afghanistan by some 30 000 soldiers. In receiving the award, Obama revindicated. Certainly his phraseology and oratory abilities are more eloquent than ex-President Bush, however his message was not dramatically different in this regard.
If that were not enough, the United States Military apparatus under President Obama appear to be preparing itself for activity in other theatres. Within the first few months of his administration, President Obama’s government announced that they would be utilizing at least 7 military bases in Colombia to continue to carry out the ‘Plan Colombia’ coca eradication/ counter-insurgency that began under the Presidency of the current Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s husband, Bill Clinton. This announcement provoked widespread condemnation in Latin America from nations including Brazil, Argentina and of course Venezuela who have accused Colombia of sending spies and paramilitaries into Venezuela. Despite President Obama’s assurance that the US had “no intention of sending large numbers of additional troops into Colombia”, the agreement would also increase the number of American troops from 300 to 800. The presence of US soldiers on Latin American soil is not the only reason why Venezuela and other nations are worried about this plan.
The week prior to Obama’s acceptance of the peace prize, Secretary Clinton announced that the United States would accept the results of the questionable elections in Honduras. Aside from the fact that this election took place under a military government that had the elected President holed up in an embassy after continually refusing him re-entry, there were also disputed figures on the number of votes by the main opposition grouping which had organized an election boycott. In spite of these circumstances, the US government and its allies in Colombia, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica and Israel announced that they would accept the new ‘President’, right-wing businessman Porfirio Lobo. Most Latin American nations maintain that recognizing this government would be ‘rewarding’ coup leaders, and would set the precedent for acknowledgment of future coup d’etat. Given the history of US involvement in overthrowing left-wing governments in the region and these latest events, many are worried about the possibility of overt or covert (as has been the hallmark of US involvement in Latin America under Democratic Governments in the last 50 years) actions against the governments on Ecuador, Bolivia, Nicaragua, El Salvador and particularly Venezuela.
Of course, there are even more examples of the overwhelming evidence of President’s Obama’s perpetuation of many of his predecessors predatory foreign policy. Obama has activated the Southern African Command of the United States Armed Forces. Even the continuation of ‘Plan Colombia’, a military aid agreement with a government and military that has been continually found to be in collusion with death squads responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands and the largest internally displaced population outside of Sudan betrays a commitment to continuing the geopolitical strategy he inherited over the principles which millions elected him on. With his most recent announcements and Clinton’s subtle threats* there is every indication that Obama will continue the path he has been carving out this year. At this rate, he may be in for a Nobel repeat.
(1)Begin was a member of the Zionist Paramilitary Irgun, and his government promoted the construction of Israeli settlements, as well as authorized the bombing of the Osirak nuclear plant in Iraq and the invasion of Lebanon. Roosevelt issued a Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine to justify invasions of Cuba and Nicaragua while Kissinger’s exploits include his involvement in the overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende in 1973.