‘Oval’ Planet

Tomorrow American presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney will aim for the conquest of the Oval Office. But, above all, they have to “conquer” the 215 million American voters. Although according to the latest reports the two men are neck and neck, the fact remains that everything depends on the “magic” of the ballot. In effect, the eyes of the world will be on the United States this election day. This vote is a matter for the country of Uncle Sam and for the entire world. This is evident in Algeria, where voting taking place thousands of miles away has literally eclipsed local elections whose electoral campaign has timidly begun. Tomorrow, therefore, the planet will be “oval,” and the election of the 45th president of the most powerful country in the world will stir up hopes and apprehensions.

On the one hand, we fear that if Romney arrives in the White House the world will fall into chaos in view of his go-to-war politics inspired not only by the tenants of the military industrial complex, but also by the Zionist lobby that wants, at all costs, for the United States to get involved in armed conflicts around the world – starting with the menace of Israel attacking Iranian nuclear sites, one option that the incumbent president set aside during the whole electoral campaign. It is, indeed, incoherent for a Nobel Peace prize winner to get bogged down in new conflicts after managing the bet to withdraw American troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, “orchestrating” the elimination of Osama Bin Laden — an episode that did not deliver all its secrets — and rejecting all attacks on Iran.

Also, even though promises of inter-religious reconciliation and the creation of an independent Palestinian state next to the Jewish one made during his famous Cairo discourse are far from being realized, Obama’s gesture merits notice all the same. The other argument, and it’s not an insignificant one, in favor of Barack Obama’s reelection is notably the “revolutionary” reform of the healthcare and social security systems, which provoked an outcry in the financial milieu and within the lobbies.

On the plan of Algerian-American relations, the incumbent president’s reelection would allow for completion of projects already started, notably in matters of security. Algeria and Washington, who, since the attacks of September 11 have maintained very good relations in the areas of the war on terror and the exchange of information, hope for better coordination in managing the Sahalian deal. To put an end to the lust for war, the United States secretary of state could not have been clearer during her visit to Algeria. The message was clear: Every chance should be given to dialogue between different parties involved in the conflict – a process that is, apparently, on the right track.