Nations traditionally in adversarial relationships with the United States began preparing for the post-Bush era last week.
George Bush came to office eight years ago proclaiming himself as “a uniter not a divider”, but last Tuesday he left office unpopular, both at home and internationally. Bush can hardly be blamed for failure to meet expectations, as his was a presidency born in division: the contentious election of 2000 that was eventually decided by the Supreme Court! Even his inaugural ceremony was marked by protest.
The failed Bush presidency will be best remembered in human history for the launching of two unpopular wars which have killed more than one million innocent civilians and displaced more than five million people in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the shameful abuse of the basic human rights at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, to the indifference to the suffering of his people following hurricane Katrina and to the failure of republic economic policies.
During the eight years of the Bush administration it boasted of the need to maintain full scale control over the planet, it disregarded treaties, scorned the UN and refused to talk to anybody they disagreed with.
George W. Bush’s presidency has not exactly been about diplomacy but rather to ‘shoot first’ and ask questions later. His failure to make peace in the Middle East and to solve the Arab-Israeli conflict have impacted the Middle East more negatively than anywhere else in the world. President Bush falsely campaigned for democracy and freedom for the Middle East, but then the Palestinian people voted for the ‘wrong’ party and the collective punishment of the Palestinians became more cruel and inhuman culminating in the recent Israeli atrocities in the Gaza strip.
But what now? An American man with a background from the colonised, with the name of Barack Hussein Obama, has been elected the head of the world’s largest empire on a wave of voter discontent generated by the failures of President Bush and the Republican Party.
In a way, it was neither a victory for Obama the individual, nor a defeat for McCain as an individual. Instead it was a victory of people over the establishment, new over old, of hope, peace and harmony over hatred and prejudice. It was a rejection of the politics of intimidation, hate, fear, deception, division and doubt. On the 4th of November 2008 the American people sent a great message to the whole world when they broke racial, generational and social barriers to respond to Obama’s cry for change.
Barack Obama became the most powerful man in the world and on entering the White House he will be faced by challenges almost unique in modern times, and it’s not just the US which is waiting to see what happens!
So what terrible legacy did Obama inherit from his predecessor? With barely time to enjoy his inauguration, President Obama has to confront with various international crises to test his mettle not to mention the worst American financial crisis at one of the most troubled moments in its history.
No less an important task for the new President lies in giving urgent attention to solve the problems of the Middle East, and hopefully the darkest hours for the Palestinians are over as a new dawn begins for America. Real progress with Syria and Iran could have a positive effect on Israeli-Palestinian talks and in turn will promote peace and stability for the region. It is to be hoped that the winds of change will clear the troubled skies of the Middle East. Next on the agenda is the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and the latter may cause Barack Obama more headaches, as Pakistan is the key for peace and stability in South Asia. In addition to this, in these difficult times, can the man elected as the 44th American President provide more leadership to help the world find a way out of the global economic crisis?
Hopefully Obama’s presidency will be of new over old, of hope, peace and harmony over hatred and prejudice!
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