An Open Letter to Mr. Barack Obama, President-elect of the United States of America, from Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President, International Movement for a Just World (JUST) on some of the latter’s hopes and concerns about the Obama presidency — editor.
Dear Mr. Obama,
Peace!
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of open letters must have been addressed to you since you won the presidential race on 4 November 2008. Here is another one— this time from someone who lives in the Global South, home to billions and billions of human beings, who constitute the vast majority of the human family.
Victory
It is only appropriate that I begin by congratulating you for a stupendous victory. For two reasons your victory has tremendous significance primarily for your fellow citizens in the United States of America but also for people elsewhere on the planet. One, by becoming the first half black person to be elected president of the US, you have repudiated the colour barrier at the highest level of American society. Since the politics of colour has shaped so much of American history and society— African Americans in the southern states gained the right to vote only in 1965— your election is no mean achievement. Your triumph also resonates with the coloured peoples of the world — who are the bulk of humanity— given the dominance of the globe by a white minority for the last two hundred and fifty years at least. It is dominance that is conterminous with Western colonialism which has now metamorphosed into US helmed global hegemony.
Two, your victory carries the important message that change is possible through the electoral process. After eight years of George W. Bush— of wars and a sinking economy— you kindled hope in the hearts of millions of Americans, especially the young, who were yearning for change. People outside the US who are also hoping for change have been inspired by your electoral triumph. Some of them feel that if people of different racial and religious backgrounds can come together, they would be able to move mountains.
Casino capitalism
Yes, the American people voted for change. I hope you will not let them down. You must have the will and the courage to make substantive changes to the economy which undoubtedly will be your main preoccupation in the first two years of your presidency. Tinkering with a rotten, immoral financial system through superficial modifications here and there via a little more supervision and monitoring will not do. You must be bold enough to institute some radical measures such as a permanent ban on both unregulated short selling of stocks and shares and unscrupulous trade in derivatives. Are you prepared to prohibit speculation on shares, currencies and commodities? Are you willing to take the preliminary steps that are necessary to eliminate casino capitalism itself which owes its origin to the American financial system? Without at least trying to curb casino capitalism, would you be able to overcome the deep flaws in the real economy, including the widening income disparities between the super rich and the millions of Americans who are struggling to pay their house mortgages and health care bills? Would you be able to give priority to the well-being of the people through huge investments in education, health care, science, and infrastructure development— as you had promised the American voter— if you continue to allow casino capitalism with its currency speculators and hedge fund managers to dictate to the real economy?
If you are brave enough to make fundamental changes to the American economy, the global economy will also benefit. We are now seeing how the decline of the American economy as a result of casino capitalism— the loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs; the closure of businesses; the cutback in public expenditure— is impacting upon the whole world. It is not just the shrinking of global trade or the imminent danger of a global recession that is bad for economies of the Global South. In the past, we have suffered directly from the rapid exit of hot money—a feature of casino capitalism— from our financial systems leading to economic stagnation, massive unemployment and higher incidence of poverty. I am sure you know that Indonesia, the country where you attended four years of primary school in the late sixties, was a victim of casino capitalism in 1998.
Environment
There are other changes that you can make which will also have a salutary effect upon the rest of the human family. You must be aware that the nation that has just elected you president has less than two percent of the world’s population and yet consumes more than 30 percent of the world’s non-renewable resources. This cannot go on. There has to be a major transformation in the consumption patterns and the lifestyles of the people, especially the upper echelon of American society, including the upper middle-class. Public policy, legislation and social education will have major roles to play in this transformation.
In this regard, I hope that as president of the US you will work not only with other governments but also with civil society groups the world over in formulating more effective global laws aimed at protecting and enhancing the environment. Since the US is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and therefore the principal contributor to global warming, you have a special responsibility to ensure that present and future generations live in a sustainable environment. From some of your campaign speeches, I get the impression that unlike your predecessor you will not shirk your responsibility.
Oil
Pivotal to your country’s consumption of non-renewable resources is of course the question of oil. Here again, the US alone consumes 25 percent of the 80 million barrels of oil that the world uses up in a day! Changes in lifestyle may help to reduce the level of consumption. Besides, you are committed to exploring new sources of energy, which is commendable. However, this will take time. What this means is that your dependence upon foreign oil will continue well into the future.
Perhaps you should change your approach to foreign oil. Partly because of your country’s high level of domestic consumption, the US has in the last 60 odd years sought to control foreign oil rather than seek access to the commodity. The desire for control however is not just motivated by the domestic consumption pattern or by market considerations. It also stems from the US’s self-perception as a hegemonic power that has the right to control and dominate the world and its resources.
Iraq
It is because of the desire for hegemony that the US under Bush invaded and occupied Iraq in 2003. You opposed the invasion and occupation. You have promised the electorate that US soldiers will be withdrawn from Iraq within 16 months of your assuming the presidency. This would be earlier than the 2011 deadline that the Iraqi parliament has acceded to after much persuasion and coercion by the US occupier. It is quite possible that in the referendum that is supposed to be held in June 2009, the Iraqis may demand a quicker withdrawal. If that is the people’s wish you should abide by it— even if what they want is sooner than your own deadline. Indeed, you should do all you can to expedite US troop withdrawal for yet another reason. The invasion and the five year occupation has already cost the American taxpayer 3 trillion dollars. It is one of the factors that explains the mess the US economy is in.
Withdrawal does not mean that the US will not continue to control and dominate Iraq. This in fact is one of the tests you will face as president. If you are sincere about allowing the Iraqis to determine their own destiny, you should scrap the oil agreement that is being forced upon the Iraqi people. It is a lopsided agreement that grants US and British oil corporations real and effective control over Iraqi oil. Other critical areas of the economy linked to finance and trade have also been brought under the thumb of the occupying power and its British ally. In a nutshell, even after US troops leave the country, Iraq will remain under US-British economic occupation. Will you acquiesce with such a situation? You have not said anything against the proposed oil agreement or the other financial and economic arrangements forged through occupation.
Afghanistan
Your stance on Afghanistan adds to my doubts about your position on occupation and hegemony. You stated publicly in the midst of the campaign that you want to increase US troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO military presence. You have argued that this is necessary in order to stamp out terrorism especially since Osama bin Laden is supposed to be hiding in the mountains of Afghanistan. You forget that it is the NATO-US presence that has provoked acts of terror on the part of the Taliban and others who are resisting foreign occupation. Occupation — whether it is American occupation of Vietnam or Japanese occupation of China or Nazi occupation of France — often gives rise to terror. This is why if you are determined to end terrorism in Afghanistan and the Afghan-Pakistan border you should work towards the withdrawal of NATO-US troops from that region.
Terrorism
Terrorism cannot be defeated as long as there is occupation. This does not mean however that there are no other conditions or circumstances that spawn terrorism. The lust for power and ideological zeal may also be potent motivating forces. Nonetheless, it is undeniably true that it was the stationing of American troops in Saudi Arabia in 1991 that led to a series of terrorist attacks against the US in Saudi Arabia itself, in East Africa and in Yemen, culminating in 9-11. It is partly because of the occupation of Afghanistan in October 2001 that the Bali bombers struck one year later. The occupation of Iraq was one of the main reasons behind the Madrid bombing of 2005. Iraq was also cited as a reason by one of the London bombers in 2006. Even in the case of the recent Mumbai massacre of November 2008, the captured terrorist alluded to the Indian occupation of Kashmir, the American-led occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and the Israeli occupation of Palestine as some of the factors that motivated his group to commit that heinous crime.
Palestine
Of the various kinds of occupation today, it is the Israeli occupation of Palestine that has created a great deal of unhappiness over a long period of time, especially among Muslims all over the world. You have to persuade Israel to withdraw — a genuine withdrawal — from Gaza and the West Bank, to share Jerusalem with the Palestinians, as the joint capital of two states, and to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their land in accordance with international law. I know that there is nothing from your writings and your speeches to indicate that you will apply even the slightest pressure upon the Israeli government to do any of these. On the contrary, you have gone out of the way to endorse the arrogant, hard-line position associated with the Israeli establishment that many Israeli peace activists reject such as the idea of an exclusive Jewish state with Jerusalem as the eternal, undivided capital of the Jewish people.
But you will do well to remember Mr. Obama, that if there is no justice for the Palestinians there will be no security for the Israelis. There will be no peace in the Middle East. As long as there is no peace in the Middle East, there will be no peace in the world. Whatever the political postures that you had adopted prior to your presidency, you should approach the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a more even- handed and balanced perspective.
Waning Hegemony
Will you be able to do that? Or, are the pro-Israel lobbies and interest groups in Washington D.C. so powerful that any attempt to ensure justice to the Palestinians will be thwarted at once? Isn’t this — the influence of powerful vested interests— one of the reasons why the US has not been able to uphold justice in the international arena and in the domestic sphere? Aren’t there vested interests in the financial sector and the economy that will hamper meaningful reforms? Wouldn’t the oil lobby and the weapons lobby want you to pursue policies which have been the hallmark of the US in the last five or six decades— policies which seek to perpetuate its global hegemony? Aren’t these the policies which explain why the US maintains more than 800 military bases that gird the globe? Isn’t it because of its desire for hegemony that the US has embarked upon the militarisation of space? And didn’t you promise just the other day, in the midst of announcing your new Cabinet, that you will ensure that the US remains the strongest military power on the planet?
Though the forces that attempt to perpetuate US global hegemony are still strong, the fact is US global hegemony is waning rapidly. The US financial and economic crisis bears testimony to this. When you are the world’s biggest debtor nation, living beyond your means as no other nation has in history, you cannot hope to continue to dominate the planet. One of the reasons why its debts have become a millstone around its neck is because of the US’s military adventures in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Besides, there is a great deal of resistance to US hegemony. It is because of resistance from not only the Palestinians and the Iraqis but also the Lebanese and the Syrians that the US has failed to dominate and control the Middle East. It is equally significant that Washington has failed to force Iran to submit to its will and the will of the Israeli government. Seen in that light, your offer to talk to the Iranian leadership, rather than continue with the bellicose attitude of the Bush Administration, is a sensible move.
It is not just in the Middle East that the US bid for hegemony has been stymied. A number of Latin American states have revolted against the Washington Consensus. Russia is re-asserting its military might. China is an ascendant economic power with a global reach. Even Europe appears to be developing its own political identity. At the same time, a sizeable segment of global civil society remains opposed to US or any other hegemony for that matter.
Historical Role
What this means is that it will be much more difficult for your Administration to dominate and control other nations and peoples. You should see this as a blessing which incidentally is what your first name, ‘Barack’ means in both Arabic and Hebrew. Barack Obama, this may well be your great historical role: to preside over the decline and the eventual demise of US hegemony. If you provide leadership in this transition from a hegemonic power to a normal nation you would have done a splendid service to humanity. Transforming the US from an empire to a republic: let that be your most magnificent contribution to your people and the people of the world. A republic that upholds the ideals of equality and freedom, a republic that does not seek to conquer other lands or dominate other peoples, a republic that demonstrates through deeds its commitment to justice and dignity for all human beings, was what the founding fathers of the United States envisaged. The crisis that confronts your nation and the nations of the world has bestowed you with the opportunity to make that dream come true. If you succeed, you will open a new chapter in America’s relations with the rest of the world. It will be a new dawn for the human family.
Give us a glimpse of that new dawn. That is the change that we in the Global South yearn for.
May God protect and guide you as you don on the mantle of the president of the United States of America.
Sincerely,
Chandra Muzaffar.
3 December 2008.