\t\t\t\tNovember 4 2008<\/p>\n
Barack Obama\u2019s victory has enthused millions of people across the globe. But anti-war activists should be careful not to cheer him too loudly.<\/p>\n
Much was made of his claim to want to meet Iran\u2019s president Ahmadinejad \u201cwithout preconditions\u201d to sort out the \u2018disagreements\u2019. And, after all, both have quite a lot in common: they want to see the Shia government succeed in Iraq and are strong opponents of the Taliban in Afghanistan. But Obama has also made clear that he will do \u201canything\u201d to stop Iran from developing the facility to produce nuclear weapons. He has \u201cnot ruled out\u201d the prospect of war.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, \u201cIf Iran continues its troubling behaviour, Obama and Biden will step up our economic pressure and political isolation\u201d, it says on Barack Obama\u2019s campaigning website. So, even harsher sanctions and economic warfare are likely to be introduced by new US President \u2013 which will hit the poor and the working class the hardest.<\/p>\n
Much has been made of Obama\u2019s announcement to \u201cwithdraw American troops from Iraq by 2010\u201d \u2013 less well known is the fact that 30,000 soldiers will remain in Iraq after that, to protect foreign businesses and diplomats and to train the Iraqi security forces. He also wants more troops in Afghanistan and extend the so-called \u2018war on terror\u2019 to Pakistan: another 10,000 soldiers will be sent there.<\/p>\n
A quick look at his advisers and potential cabinet members he is currently assembling also tells us a lot about his views on the future of the Middle East:<\/p>\n
– There is speculation that Hillary Clinton might become his Secretary of State. She has, of course, voted for the war on Iraq and has threatened to “obliterate” Iran if it uses nuclear weapons against Israel.<\/p>\n
– Madeleine Albright (appointed by Barack Obama to represent him at the G20 meeting last weekend) was Bill Clinton\u2019s Secretary of State and as such responsible for Clinton\u2019s Nato-war on Yugoslavia and imposing the horrific sanctions on Iraq. In her now infamous TV interview on the programme \u201860 minutes\u2019 in 1996, she said of the estimated 500,000 deaths resulting from the sanctions: “We think the price is worth it”. She also couldn\u2019t rule out a war against Iran: \u201cThis last resort can never be given up\u201d, she told Prague-based CT1 television.<\/p>\n
– The Republican Colin Powell, rumoured to be given the post as Education Secretary, was George W. Bush\u2019s Secretary of State during the 2003 Iraq invasion and the head of the US armed forces during the 1991 Gulf war.
\nWhile President Obama might suspend the sable-rattling against Iran for a while, it is clear that he will not bring war in the Middle East to an end. And the threat of an attack on Iran has certainly not gone away. Quite the opposite: the global financial crisis is making imperialism more belligerent, not less.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
November 4 2008 Barack Obama\u2019s victory has enthused millions of people across the globe. But anti-war activists should be careful not to cheer him too loudly. Much was made of his claim to want to meet Iran\u2019s president Ahmadinejad \u201cwithout preconditions\u201d to sort out the \u2018disagreements\u2019. And, after all, both have quite a lot in … <\/p>\n