Playing the Tibetan Card Will Not Help Barack Obama

The fact that the U.S. president is deeply bogged down in the economic disarray of his country seems to be nobody’s secret. Recovery is painfully slow, unemployment (or under-employment) continues to rise. The debt crisis is overwhelming, whilst the general mood in the American streets seems gloomy in parallel with a continuing social decline. Medical reforms are on hold; some even say that they are blocked permanently.

On the foreign front, the war in Afghanistan is dragging on; some experts describe it as “unwinnable.” The campaign in Libya is becoming an embarrassment, and the rest of Africa, from the Democratic Republic of Congo to Somalia and Rwanda to Uganda, suffers from aggressive American policies orchestrated to cover up the pillage of natural resources.

There really is little to celebrate as the 2012 U.S. presidential election approaches. Many voters remember the moving rallying cry, “Yes we can!” but at present they are wondering what exactly it was all about.

It seems that in order to have a breath of fresh air and to alleviate the political pressure a little, the best thing to do would be to attack someone else, preferably a country that is doing much better economically and socially.

And so, like a long serving workhorse of Western propaganda, the Dalai Lama visited the White House on July 16 to lend his support to the beleaguered American president and to a whole system that is equally so.

Of course, China immediately protested, accusing President Obama of undermining relations between the two countries. However, acts such as these are appealing to some circles of the introspective country that is the United States. By inviting the Dalai Lama, Barack Obama is showing the Republicans that he is “tough on China” and “indifferent to foreign pressure.”

As an American scholar said, in the United States, the Dalai Lama is regarded as a religious symbol — a holy man — and who would not feel sympathy for this old man who likes repairing watches?

Of course, the Dalai Lama’s visit to Washington has not brought anything concrete to American voters. And there was nothing particularly brave or innovative in President Obama’s invitation: For decades the Dalai Lama has willingly traveled the world, criticizing China, offering a helping hand to politicians who believe that the West has a moral mandate to teach the whole world about good governance and human rights, in spite of its terrible colonial past and current neocolonialism.

For some reason, many in the American establishment think that affronting China is a brave and productive act. But, in reality, this approach only serves to divert Western public attention from the real problems and to undermine the prospects of a peaceful coexistence between the West and the most populous country on earth, which is also the second largest economy.

As the 2012 presidential election approaches, the battle between the Democrats and the Republicans becomes more intense. The Republicans have blocked almost all of Barack Obama’s proposed progressive legislation, and they are even trying to destroy those that have already been adopted, for example, health care reform.

Barack Obama must fight back, but the embarrassing internal political and economic blockade has once again turned into an unfortunate vilification of China. And this time he has used the Tibetan card, while the Dalai Lama is doing everything he can to divert the world’s attention from Tibet’s achievements, after sixty years of peaceful of peaceful liberation, to the Tibetan separatists.

A small bespectacled man arrived with a false smile, well-choreographed gestures and a clear agenda. Servile exchanges followed. And this is what the Dalai Lama replied to a question from the AFP: “President Obama showed concern about basic human values, human rights and freedom. He showed genuine concern about suffering in Tibet and also other places.”

Let us note, however, that problems concerning human rights and human values are not always high on the agenda of this former feudal lord, especially when they are grossly violated by the “largest democratic country” itself, or by other Western powers. The Dalai Lama’s criticism is almost exclusively reserved for China or for other countries aiming for economic development and social and political independence.

The meeting between Obama and the Dalai Lama faced strong protests from China. It will damage China-U.S. ties, but it is still to early to say to what extent.

On one hand, China is now accustomed to hostile remarks from Western leaders, who either need to show off their muscle or escape from public attention at home. On the other hand, welcoming someone who is openly hostile toward China and her unity to the White House is, without doubt, a serious act. To put this into perspective, it would be exactly the same as the Chinese government’s officially inviting an individual who was fiercely determined to separate one of the states from the United States.

This little game is ridiculous. China and the United States may have two different systems, but their economies are interdependent. What’s more, hostility is something that the United States cannot afford.

As the Telegraph reported on July 17: “Obama’s meeting came at an especially sensitive moment, with leaders in Washington at odds over how to raise the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt ceiling in time to avoid default. China holds more than $1 trillion in U.S. Treasury debt and would be particularly exposed should Congress fail to reach a deal by Aug. 2. A U.S. default could rocket up interest rates, sink the value of the U.S. dollar and hurt the global economy.”

It would be wise for American politicians to focus on their own economic and social problems, rather than interfere in the internal affairs of other countries in order to hide Washington’s decline.

The author, Andre Vltcheck, is an American novelist, documentary maker and investigative journalist