Has Change Really Come to America?

Many promises, few real changes: 600 days of Obama have yet to make much difference.

War in Afghanistan, nuclear weapons policy, health care reform, economic crisis. Barack Obama is busy with many issues, but has little to show for it as yet. First off, he lacks the popularity, and secondly, he lacks the will to change things. If his election as the first black president caused euphoria in 2008, there’s not much of that feeling left now.

“It takes more than just words to change something,” says Dr. Subrata Ghoshroy, adding that to get America back on the right path the president needs something more than just “Yes, we can!” The Indian-born scientist was a member of Congress during the Clinton administration and is still active as a consultant on military issues. He is critical of Obama’s current strategy and fears he will be on his way out if he persists in breaking his promises.

What did the world expect from Obama? The dawn of a new era; that America’s image would hopefully change, especially in the foreign policy arena; that dialogue would be sought with the Islamic world.

Is it fair to criticize Obama for being unable to pull off a miracle in just two years? He’s America’s first black president and he preaches peace; but he’s also still an American. And Ghoshroy knows one thing for certain: Americans want to remain the world’s only superpower above all else. The usual way to achieve that is with war. In that respect, nothing at all has changed since George W. Bush’s era.

What was called the “War on Terror” during the Bush years is now called the “War Against al-Qaida” in the Obama White House. Obama stands for the exact same foreign policy that Bush followed. But at least Bush was honest about it.

In Ghoshroy’s opinion, Obama failed principally with his foreign policy. Fifteen percent of America’s budget still goes to military purposes. Each year, $100 billion flows to Afghanistan to fund a war Obama has declared to be “necessary.”

We need to stop seeing Obama as a prophet of peace. Just like every president before him, he wants to secure America’s global supremacy. Ghoshroy says America is a superpower without parallel, and in order to maintain that status quo, Obama’s peaceful policies stop where the limiting of American military power begins.

Obama gives reason for disappointment when it comes to the Iraq war and disarmament. Despite Obama’s taking credit for an Iraq troop withdrawal, the fact is that 50,000 U.S. soldiers remain in the country. Another paradox: Obama promised the abolition of all nuclear weapons, yet has since decided to upgrade America’s nuclear arsenal. With the “Prompt Global Strike” initiative, the United States is capable of a nuclear attack on any nation on earth within one hour. That doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in those nations that are already encircled by long-range nuclear weapons.

Regarding environmental policy, Obama is unable to fulfill the environmentalist’s expectations. Although binding global climate resolutions can only succeed with the support of the United States, Obama hasn’t made sufficient effort toward that goal. Not even the Gulf of Mexico oil catastrophe appears to have been enough to open his eyes. At the end of the day, terrorism isn’t the only problem that requires decisive action.

The inescapable fact is that the international community has been deeply disappointed by Obama’s unchanged foreign policy. He has a much larger problem, however, with the dissatisfaction of his own fellow Americans. Not only Republicans oppose his domestic agenda; his health care and financial reforms in general get too little support. People are enraged, and when that happens, the danger of radicalization increases. Among Republicans, this is embodied in the racist ultra-conservative tea party movement. While this movement is able to organize demonstrations at the drop of a hat, Obama seems incapable of uniting any support from either the right or the left.

Dr. Ghoshroy fears for the future of Obama’s presidency, saying if he doesn’t change tactics soon, he will have insurmountable problems. With congressional elections looming on November 2, Obama doesn’t have much time left to mobilize his forces. Obama needs to make good on his promises to the people and show them exactly where he stands. If he fails to do that, the era of America’s first black president may be over far earlier than people might wish.