Never has the election of a leader of any country in modern times been greeted with such euphoria, such fervour as the appointment of Barack Obama in 2008. As the first African-American ever to achieve the highest office in the States, Obama represented change. Indeed, 'Change' was Obama's favourite buzzword throughout his election campaign and his appointment was seen as a sea change in American politics. After eight long years of George W. Bush making America, in amazing synchronicity, the most hated nation in the world and the laughing stock of the world, Barack Obama with his fine oratory skills and slender frame was meant to re-establish America's role as 'the greatest country in the World™ '. Obama, to be blunt, has been an unmitigated failure. He is no different to George Bush, his persona as a caring beacon of hope is merely a facade. His 4 years in office have exposed him as a liar and a crook. 'Why has he been a failure?' I hear you ask. Right, let's get down to it.
In 2009, a year after winning the presidential election, Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Now even back then many were perplexed as to why Obama should receive such a prestigious award that has been bestowed on the likes of Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa in the past. And now, in 2012, it is safe to say that awarding Obama the Nobel Peace Prize is akin to awarding Katie Price the Nobel Prize in Literature. Under Obama, America has now attacked more countries than under Bush thanks to the air strikes and drones, often used against civilians, in Libya, Pakistan, Yemen and probably Somalia. Then of course there is the continued operations in Afghanistan and the only very recently ended presence in Iraq. It is argued that the blame for Iraq and Afghanistan cannot be levelled at Obama as it was Bush who sent troops in and while this is true, Obama has committed more troops to Afghanistan and had the temerity, the audacity, to describe the American occupation of Iraq a 'success'. The murder of over 100,000 civilians does not sound like a 'success' to me.
And now of course we have the prospect of Obama engineering a strike against Iran in the near future. Iran is thought to be developing nuclear weapons which is not good news obviously. Nuclear weapons are dangerous tools that could eventually lead to the destruction of our world and Iran should be shunned if this is the case. But is it really America or Obama's place to criticise them? Let's just remember which country invented the atomic bomb and which country currently has the second largest arsenal of nuclear warheads (Behind only Russia), Yep, you guessed right. Obama has come out in force against Iran stating "And if they are pursuing nuclear weapons, then I have said very clearly, that is contrary to the national security interests of the United States; it's contrary to the national security interests of our allies, including Israel; and we are going to work with the world community to prevent that," . Iran has not started a war/invaded a country in living memory. They war engaged in a war with Iraq in the early 80's granted, but that was as a result of Iraq invading part of Iran. America on the other hand has invaded two countries illegally in the last decade, killed countless civilians and engaged in acts of torture and depravity of human rights. In essence, I am a lot more afraid of America than I am of Iran so Obama can stick that 'national security' lingo up his arse.
One of Obama's most enduring promises during his election campaign was that he would close down the infamous Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba that the US had been using to house suspected terrorists since 2002. This facility is a bastion of torture and interrogation, a place where human rights are deprived on a grand level. Amnesty International has declared it the 'Gulag of our times'. The men housed here have no legal rights and no access to a fair trial. The infamous torture technique 'water-boarding' is practised here and it has even been revealed that children as young as 13 have been detained in Guantanamo Bay. Even more incredulously, in 2010 Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson who was a former aide to Secretary of State Colin Powell during the Bush administration stated that President Bush and his cabinet knew that most of the detainees were innocent but decided to imprison them in Guantanamo for 'reasons of political expedience'. So why doesn't Obama close the evil place down? I don't know. He might know. But what I do know is that A) He lied about closing it down. B) He does not care one bit about freedom or liberty or human rights that him or his country apparently espouses.
Domestically, Obama has also fallen short. Obama and The Democratic Party were especially vocal in their oppositions to Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy in the mid-noughties that saved the wealthiest in America around half a trillion dollars in taxes. Again, it appeared that their bark was worse than their bite as in 2011, Obama agreed to extend Bush's tax cuts till 2013. Obama has vowed that he will get rid of them in 2013 if he is still president that is but after him lying so many times before, how are we to know? Obamacare has failed, many Americans still can't afford good healthcare. And just over a week ago on the 2nd of January 2012, Obama signed the NDAA into law, an act which effectively means that the US military can detain US citizens without trial, something which Johnathan Turley in the Guardian described as a 'historic assault on liberty'.
Maybe Obama might get another 4 years in office come November or maybe Mitt Romney or Ron Paul might take his seat. But it doesn't really matter. The Democratic Party and the Republican Party might have differing ideals and attitudes, but they're both friends of big business and the military industrial complex. Obama has conned America and indeed the world with his suave speeches and attractive soundbites but he is still merely a poster boy for Wall Street. He's George W. Bush MK II but just with better oratory skills and a more acceptable face. Nothing has changed and with the system as it is in America, nothing will.
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