By Marwan Bishara
Al-Jazeera
"While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the US' military presence in the Muslim world is actually expanding and this is exacerbating tensions and inflaming animosities.
Barack Obama's promise to open a new page with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and interests - supplemented and enforced by the use of soft rather than hard power - now rings hollow.
This is most evident in the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and the corresponding surge in Afghanistan - an exercise in redeploying military forces, not extracting them.
As the gap between words and deeds; declarations and policies; public diplomacy and military strategy deepens, so the political and strategic crisis facing the Obama administration continues to deepen.....
Some reckon Obama, a liberal who never served in the military, is worried about being seen as a wimp. Others lament that he has been out-manoeuvred by powerful forces in Washington, including the Pentagon and its generals. And yet others remain hopeful that he will prevail and eventually downsize the US military presence overseas.
Consider me a realist, but I doubt the empire will be downsized any time soon.
However, the good news is that the majority of Americans today - like the absolute majority of the Greater Middle East - would like to see the US mind its own business and stop interfering militarily around the world.
Call me an idealist, but I think in a democracy, it is the people and their political representatives that have the last word, not the generals....."
Al-Jazeera
"While the Obama administration continues to affirm its intention to withdraw US troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the US' military presence in the Muslim world is actually expanding and this is exacerbating tensions and inflaming animosities.
Barack Obama's promise to open a new page with the Muslim world on the basis of mutual respect and interests - supplemented and enforced by the use of soft rather than hard power - now rings hollow.
This is most evident in the withdrawal of combat troops from Iraq and the corresponding surge in Afghanistan - an exercise in redeploying military forces, not extracting them.
As the gap between words and deeds; declarations and policies; public diplomacy and military strategy deepens, so the political and strategic crisis facing the Obama administration continues to deepen.....
Some reckon Obama, a liberal who never served in the military, is worried about being seen as a wimp. Others lament that he has been out-manoeuvred by powerful forces in Washington, including the Pentagon and its generals. And yet others remain hopeful that he will prevail and eventually downsize the US military presence overseas.
Consider me a realist, but I doubt the empire will be downsized any time soon.
However, the good news is that the majority of Americans today - like the absolute majority of the Greater Middle East - would like to see the US mind its own business and stop interfering militarily around the world.
Call me an idealist, but I think in a democracy, it is the people and their political representatives that have the last word, not the generals....."
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