Is Obama fake?

Change was Obama’s rallying cry. Change is what he has promised and continues to promise. But what does change mean?

Change will mean different things for different people: for a vast majority of Afro-Americans, President-elect Obama’s promise of change would mean a way out of their perpetual misery in the land of opportunities—a country where they have lived like slaves for over three centuries and where they continue to suffer from racism built into the system. For the few of their race who have been able to break the chains that bind the majority, it would mean greater share in the American pie. Will Obama be able to satisfy both groups of this racial polity? Almost impossible.

For middle-class Americans now suffering from the economic meltdown which is rapidly shooting up the number of jobless men and women, a change will mean some kind of economic security in a system that has been thoroughly emptied of its resources during the eight years of the Bush era. The cost of the US war and occupation of Iraq alone stands at $572,515,493,835 at the time of the writing of this column on Nov 19, 2008. Can Obama turn around the recession? Almost impossible.

For the small minority of the fabulously rich Americans, change will mean new ways of making money, some recompense of what this segment of American society has so generously contributed to Obama’s campaign. Will Obama provide the means for them to become more rich? Perhaps.

For a very large number of politically aware Americans, whose feelings, ideals, and cherished dreams have been trampled over by the Bush-Cheney regime, a change will mean a radical change in American foreign policy. These were the millions who walked on the streets of Chicago, San Francisco, and New York against the invasion of Iraq, but whose voices were drowned by the war machinery. Will their voices be heard now? Perhaps.

For the Muslim world, the change promised by Obama will mean a fundamental, clear-cut and definitive break from official American hostility toward Islam and Muslims, a shift away from the doctrine of pre-emptive strikes, and a solution to the suffering of Palestinians. Can Obama do this, considering that this is a tall order for any American president, a man who is always hamstrung by so many other powerful players in American polity? Can Obama win against American power-politics godfathers? Supposing Obama is not fake, he will have to fight an internal battle with the entrenched interests. Will he wage this war? And even if he wages this war, will he succeed? Perhaps not. But if Obama is not fake, he will have to start immediately by distancing American foreign policy from its traditional pro-Israel stance. In Iraq, he will have to begin with an official apology, a very large investment of resources for rebuilding that ravaged country, and with an immediate restructuring of the whole American involvement—from the removal of troops to the reduction of the size of the largest US embassy in the world. Will he do this? Perhaps not.

As for Afghanistan, a change will mean a clearly stated policy of withdrawal of American and NATO troops under some kind of international agreement within a specific timeframe, followed by a free and fair election in the country—an election which will give equal chance of participation to all Afghans. Will he do this? He has not even promised this.

A change for the greater Middle East would mean withdrawal of American support for puppet regimes in Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, the Gulf States, and Saudi Arabia. Such a withdrawal will prove fatal for the Hosni Mubaraks of this world, but it will ensure an organic process of political stability for the region. This is something that no American president has done so far because of self-created fears. A change would mean getting over these phobias and acting in a mature statesmanlike fashion to create space for an organic growth of genuine political process in these countries. Will Obama do this? Perhaps not.

By universal consent, the occupied territories of Palestine remain the main hurdle in American-Muslim relations in general. As soon as this hurdle is taken away, these relations will experience a phenomenal change in the most natural manner. Furthermore, it is an open secret that without the US military, economic, and diplomatic support, the State of Israel has little resources of its own to keep its occupation of Palestine. As soon as this support is removed, a natural settlement of the conflict will emerge. Will Obama do this? No one but a fool will consider this possible, given the history of American policies under both Republican and Democratic presidents.

Does this mean Obama is fake? Readers are free to deduce their answers.