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![]() Open letter to President Obama
Dear Mr President,
I am aware that the presidential campaign is not over and that surprises are to be expected, but I have no doubt that, all things being equal, you will be the future president of the United States of America. My reasons for saying so are many, and I do not need to go into them in detail here, as I did just that in an article entitled, "What if?" which ran in this same space right after Hillary Clinton bowed out of the race. Suffice it to say that I believe that th
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Sunday, August 24,2008 07:36 | |||||||
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Dear Mr President, I am aware that the presidential campaign is not over and that surprises are to be expected, but I have no doubt that, all things being equal, you will be the future president of the I am not oblivious to the significance of the election of a black man with a Muslim father in a country that practised racial segregation not so long ago and that has an administration that is currently engaged in "holy war" against Islam and Muslims. And having recently read a review of Jerome Corsi"s book, The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, I can appreciate the magnitude of venom coming your way from the I have no doubt that more of such slander and worse will be levelled against you as the day of the elections draws near. But I am confident that victory will be yours in the end. In its heart of hearts, Time will show whether my trust in the American people and their wisdom is well placed. But as alarmed as we are in the Arab world that someone like McCain may reach the White House, we have no illusions as far as you"re concerned. We don"t see you as a saviour. Some of your comments have lost you many friends in this part of the world already, especially your statement that I am no fan of The foreign policy of the neocons was based on the uncontroversial fact that the 20th century was an American century par excellence. But the neocons were wrong to assume that the 21st century can, or must, be a purely American century. It was the collapse of the Especially after 9/11, George W Bush thought that military means alone could sustain this new world order. History proved him wrong. It is now clear to all that the The Scenario one: The US replaces the current unilateral world order with a system of collective leadership that involves close cooperation with the Scenario two: The US uses its international leverage to establish a "new humanitarian world order" that promotes the safety of humans everywhere, regardless of their race, nationality, or creed -- thus making the safety of the human race a collective responsibility of the international community. This scenario is what draws the line between someone like you and someone like McCain. Obviously, Mr President, it is the one I wish to see you pursue. To create a new humanitarian world order, the UN needs to be restructured so as to confront a variety of international threats and challenges, including poverty, epidemics, pollution, terrorism and organised crime. Also, the UN Security Council would have to be restructured so as to become more capable of stopping military aggression against any state. For this to happen, the international community will need: first, to enlarge the Security Council and reassign its permanent seats to better represent the existing balance of power; second, to reconsider the manner and terms of the power of veto, so that no single country may challenge the combined will of the international community or undermine the new humanitarian world order; third, to boost the powers of the Security Council so that it may be able to respond to all types of threat to human safety with considerable speed and efficacy; fourth, to grant the General Assembly greater power of political oversight over the Security Council, and grant the International Court of Justice greater power of judicial oversight over the decisions of the Security Council -- such steps being needed to pre-empt any dictatorial propensities; and fifth, to give the International Court of Justice mandatory powers, binding on all nations, in matters of international legal disputes. This, Mr President, is the type of change that can truly help resolve international problems. It is the type of change that can turn
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Posted in Other Opinions , Obama |
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