Contradicting Obama

Published in Frankfurter Rundschau
(Germany) on 29 March 2009
by Edgar Auth (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Ron Argentati. Edited by .
U.S. President Obama is showing his military claws. He wants an absolute military victory in Afghanistan and is sending more troops to the Hindu Kush. He's also preparing to spend more on the military campaign as well.

He has asked his allies to do likewise. At the same time, he has his warships maneuvering in the waters off Japan in order to put the North Koreans in their place.

One can only rub one's eyes in amazement. Is this the same Obama who campaigned promising a new approach, one where he wanted to be a partner to the world rather than continuing with power politics? He’s fallen rather quickly into the familiar pattern of the Bush era: muscle flexing.

President Obama apparently learned something from the Iraq disaster: he’s accelerated the withdrawal from Iraq because the United States was forced to the conclusion that the country couldn’t be pacified under American occupation.

Why should Afghanistan be any different? The allies haven’t had any success yet in their asymmetrical war against the Taliban. Germany and the other allies are probably seeing their first good reason to oppose Obama because the military solution will likely prove a dead end in Afghanistan as well.



Obama widersprechen
Von Edgar Auth
29.03.2009

US-Präsident Barack Obama zeigt militärisch die Zähne. Er will den Krieg in Afghanistan unbedingt gewinnen, schickt mehr Soldaten an den Hindukusch und macht mehr Geld für den Feldzug locker.


Die Verbündeten fordert er auf, es ihm gleichzutun. Zugleich lassen die USA Kriegsschiffe im japanischen Meer aufkreuzen, um Nordkorea in die Schranken zu weisen.

Man reibt sich verwundert die Augen: Ist das derselbe Obama, der im Wahlkampf ganz neue Töne anschlug und der Welt versprach, er wolle eher ihr Partner sein als Machtpolitik betreiben? Ziemlich schnell fällt Obama jetzt ins bekannte Verhaltensmuster der Bush-Ära zurück: Muskeln zeigen.

Dabei müsste der US-Präsident durch das Desaster im Irak eigentlich gewarnt sein. Den Rückzug dort beschleunigte Obama klugerweise, weil die USA erkennen mussten, dass das Land unter US-Besatzung kaum zu befrieden ist.

Warum sollte das in Afghanistan anders sein? Auch dort blieben die Alliierten im asymmetrischen Krieg gegen die Taliban bisher sieglos. Für die Verbündeten und Deutschland naht wohl der erste Anlass, Obama zu widersprechen. Auch in Afghanistan dürfte sich der militärische Weg als eine Sackgasse erweisen.

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  1. well written article.

    one has to understand the mentality of most americans.

    americans have been a super power status for a long time. it is a national ego thing. ie bully mentality.

    we will lose iraq to iran and the tally ban will send us home with our heads between our legs and then we will claim some sort of victory like we did in nam or tried to.

    we americans are learning harsh lessons. very harsh. we still think we are the good guys in the world it does not matter how many countries we invade and create chaos and steal their resources.

    we are an imperialist nation and dont have a clue we are. not a clue.

    bush should be brought up for war crimes but the world is too spineless to do it.

    only a total economic meltdown will stop american imperialism.

    go on send your troops to afhgan but it will be a lost cause. ask russia how afhgan worked out for them.

    but americans think they are better. ego thing.

    we are learning but we have some more learning to do. we have a huge industrial military complex in america could obama be afraid of their might?