America

I’ve been following the ongoing negotiations between Khartoum and the US envoy to Sudan closely. Can you blame me? Normalizing ties would be a huge positive and mutually-beneficial step.

I’m glad America has the right conditions in place.

April 14, 2008 (KHARTOUM) — The US special envoy for Sudan is expected to hold a meeting with a Sudanese delegation in Roma Italy on Wednesday to discuss the deployment of Darfur peacekeeping force and the bilateral relations.

… The US Administration wants Sudan to remove obstacles to the deployment of a U.N.-led peacekeeping force, stop violence against civilians in Darfur, and carry out the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between north and south Sudan, including elections in 2009, The Los Angels Times reported last month.

The U.S. offered to restore full diplomatic ties, lift sanctions and remove Khartoum from Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, Williamson said.

What we’re seeing here is a typical “carrots and sticks” approach which rests the decision upon Khartoum’s shoulders. I doubt that’s enough to move the Sudanese regime although with the approaching possible election of a Donkey president, they know they need to fix things fast. Like I said:

… given that it’s the Democrats who’ve been calling for a withdrawal from Iraq and a forced military intervention in Darfur, I’m not exactly ready to comfortably embrace Obama just yet. Darfur needs a political solution. Going back to Clinton’s approach is the last thing Sudan needs. Bush’s is better although it lacks sufficient pressure now because al-Bashir’s regime is heavily cooperating with the CIA again in sharing highly valuable terrorism-related intelligence. Moreover, last year the CIA convened in Khartoum at a conference attended by more than 50 African intelligence agencies.

Carrots and sticks isn’t pressure. It’s a form of seduction. I think that’s the most the Bush administration will do since it would like the valuable intelligence on terrorism to continue flowing in from Khartoum.

I hope Khartoum finds what’s on the table seducing enough.

Meanwhile, I continue to keep track of the developments involving current efforts directed at Sudan by the US administration and the US presidential race.

… needs to be declared!

Increasing obesity in U.S. requires new ambulance equipment

CONCORD, New Hampshire: Calls from obese patients had increased nearly 25 percent in recent years, and the Fire Department could no longer handle them.

The department’s gurneys could not adequately support the patients’ weight, and the department had to pay a private ambulance company.

Last fall, the department bought three gurneys that can hold patients weighing up to 600 pounds, about twice the holding capacity of a regular stretcher.

Am I the only who finds this funny and sad at the same time?

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

- Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968)

The former was really good. The latter is just plain nasty.

I thought Obama made a great speech in which he explicitly rejected and opposed the inflammatory and victimhood-infested statements made by his former Pastor. However he should have distanced himself away from Rev. Wright further than he already did.

At first, I thought the whole event was pretty screwed up for Obama politically but now I’m not so sure anymore because if it wasn’t for this controversy, Obama wouldn’t have made his speech, one which undeniably captured massive attention and scored him a lot of positive points with the American left and center. The media might have cooled down about the whole thing but I can imagine the kind of discussions brewing underneath the surface behind the closed doors of American homes.

Meanwhile the endorsement Obama received from Governor Richardson, someone who was part of the Clinton administration, must surely be good news to him.

Check out this piece by the Sudanese Mohammad Ali Salih and the great responses to it at Sudanese Online.

I too, found it troublesome that Muhammad Ali arranges the way he sees himself as follows:

When I came to Washington , D.C. , in 1980, I was ambivalent about the racial divisions in America . After I became a U.S. citizen 10 years later, I started searching for my identity. I didn’t want to be part of the “white guilt - black victimization” syndrome. It took me 10 more painful years to realize that the color of my skin is not part of my identity. And that faith (Islam) is the core of my identity. Then my culture (Arabic) and my citizenship (American).

A catastrophic problem in Sudan is that the vast majority of us place citizenship last. There is hardly any loyalty to the country itself.

Now this is a story you just don’t see everyday:

Mahagoub, 41, enlisted in September 2003, shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen and after living for nine years as a political refugee in Japan, where he had fled from his native Sudan.

He said he felt it was time to pay back all that the United States had given him.

… Mahagoub said he found himself immersed in the Midwest’s culture of “beef, beer, football and country-western music.”

Until then, “football” meant “soccer,” and when asked by his new neighbors if he liked “country” music, he replied, “Which country?”

He found himself accepted by his neighbors, and keeps the tenets of a Sufi Muslim by eating at kosher restaurants.

During his tour in Iraq, Mahagoub rode with supply convoys as a linguistic analyst tasked with interrogating bystanders when convoys came under attack or were struck by roadside bombs.

… “The locals would see me in a U.S. uniform, and I spoke their language. I’m one of them, one who brings peace,” he said.

A few considered him a traitor for working for the Americans and wearing the uniform, he said, so “I had to be careful.

Most of the Sudanese I know who enlisted in the US military did so purely for the money. They say so themselves. There are a few however like the guy in this story who join up for genuine reasons of gratitude. They can easily find well-paying jobs but instead choose to serve in the military, a move that causes divisive reactions within the Muslim Sudanese Diaspora in America. In the eyes of those who have lived in the United States for a long time and are well integrated, it’s normal but in the eyes of those who recently arrived, putting on the uniform is at best “sinful” and at worst a huge betrayal. The reason for the latter is confused and divided loyalty between the country of origin and the new adopted home.

Last night, I discovered this jaw-dropping video of Micheal Scheuer, former head of the CIA’s Bin Laden Unit.

As a Muslim, I found it upsetting (and I’m sure Israelis will too for their own reasons). Frankly, I’m actually very dumbfounded that someone who used to be in the CIA has these kind of ludicrous opinions.

Apparently, Michael thinks Bin Laden is not a terrorist but a resistance fighter. Yes, an insurgent and a freaking “resistance fighter”. Oh and guess what his solution is in a post 9/11 world - killing more of the enemy without a great deal of concern for civilian casualties!

Yes, dear Michael, that’s exactly the solution. No need for putting any effort whatsoever in winning hearts and minds. Screw the civilians too!

The foreign policy of the United States has a lot to answer for in the Middle East but it’s not really the reason for why Bin Laden is waging his war against America and the West. It has everything to do with al-Qaeda’s ideology and goal of establishing (through means of violence) a global Caliphate which enforces their vision of “holy laws”.

If today America withdrew from Iraq and Afghanistan, dismantled its military bases in the Gulf, stopped supporting dictatorships like Mubarak’s and the House of Al Saud, stopped backing up Israel, and Palestine finally got fairly established, many, many Muslims and Arabs will be very happy. They won’t march in streets and call for America’s death anymore. However, for the Bin Laden types, it will never be enough.

Ali Eteraz too, shares a similar view in the second block-quote of his post “The Fanatics, Not Foreign Policy” which I encourage you to read.

Knock, knock Micheal Scheuer. It’s time to wake up.

Thomas Barnett is an international security strategist who has advised US leaders on national security since the end of the Cold. In this funny lecture, he explains how the United States has an amazing capability to wage war and win it but isn’t particularly good at everything else. By “everything else” he means stabilizing a country and winning the peace. Good talk.

I’ve seen too many Elephants engaging in smear and personal attacks against Obama. Others keep banging his policies. This article, by an Elephant however is different. It criticizes what Obama stands for but doesn’t miss a very important part of the big picture, one that puts a big smile on my face and cheers me up. Nice!

Regardless of how you feel about Obama’s ideas, the man has already achieved the seemingly impossible, and for that he has my admiration.

On a related note, I’m quite irritated by the focus on his “blackness”. He’s as black as he is white, but somehow he’s touted constantly as the “black” candidate. Not nice!

This one was certainly an amusing “wtf moment”. I’ve been having many of those recently.

Who knew there’s actually one in America alive and well, and promoting socialism? Not me. They should at least change the name to Social Democrats or something. Or better still, wake up. It’s 2008.

If anything, the practice of capitalism in America needs to be tweaked because seriously, when there are war vets, and old women and men who are homeless in the wealthiest nation on earth, something is pretty screwed up. But socialism? Please. That’s not a good solution.

Yaay to communists.

Yes, believe it!

This race is getting so much more interesting with every passing minute. A new website called Republicans for Obama has popped up. And no, it’s not fake. It’s real and was even featured on Time!

On a related note Susan Eisenhower, Dwight D. Eisenhower’s grand daughter has a super interesting article in the Washington Post. She’s a self-proclaimed Elephant - a lifelong one - who’s backing Obama! Amazing!

I am watching the Obama phenomenon with great fascination. Sure, he’s vague when it comes to foreign policy but his appeal is so strong and his speeches so inspirational and uplifting that they’ve attracted the seemingly impossible. (His speeches are written by a 26 year old in case you didn’t know). The great discontent felt by some Elephant voters towards their party also made the shift easier.

Meanwhile, many conservatives are sad that Rudy quit the race and are now busy dissing McCain. (what’s so wrong with McCain that makes him deserve all this bashing?)

Also over at Digg, some are saying that Elephants who support Obama are not true Elephants. Barbara Gordon, at Republicans for Obama, responded to the accusations on the website’s blog and explained her reasons for supporting Obama. It’s one hell of a super unique perspective I must say! Her stance is summed up in these two sentences:

We didn’t leave the party behind. The party left us.

At the end of the day, it’s about what issues voters are concerned with most. We could very well be witnessing history in the making!

Sorry guys, my internet connection got screwed again over the weekend. For now I leave you with this interesting article. The emphasis is mine:

US politics often look absurd from a European perspective, since the entire bipartisan system maps onto the conservative half of European politics. A case in point is that the US “Left” is called “the liberals”, while the Liberal Party in Sweden is part of the Right wing. How could it be otherwise? Liberalism is about free-market capitalism, small government, low taxes, all Right-wing ideals. Yes, both US parties advocate lowNormal taxes are 30% to a Swede. taxes. And that’s rock bottom, before adding the effect of progressive taxation. That’s how we can afford universal health care. Hint, hint.

So, believe me, US politics don’t have a Left. Looking at the presidential candidates, I am frankly appalled. None of them would be a viable politician in Sweden. They all support the death penalty, none advocates strict gun control and all make frequent mention of their religious beliefs in public. These are extremist stances. Not even the tiny Christian Democrat party mentions God publicly in Sweden, for fear of alienating the pragmatic rationalist majority.

From a European perspective, US politics are an ongoing battle between the extreme Right and the middle Right. The Republican presidential candidates are really, really scary people in my view. So all of us in the world at large who live under the shadow of US political hegemony are holding our breaths, hoping that Clinton or Obama will make it into office. They’re pretty bad, but the alternative would be unspeakably dreadful.

And there you have it, America through the eyes of a Scandinavian!

What? What? What?. It might actually happen! Cool. So Rudy Giuliani who is Bushier than Bush seems ready to quit the race? Phew!

My ideal candidate would be the best of a McCain-Obama combination but too bad that imaginary candidate doesn’t exist. If Obama wasn’t supportive of withdrawing from Iraq, I think I would have picked him immediately. But he wants immediate withdrawal and I believe such a haste move will bring along grave consequences for Iraq, the region and even America.

Foreign policy towards Sudan is another aspect that concerns me of course. Donkey Bill Clinton bombed al-Shifa factory (supposedly a chemical weapons manufacturing facility) and applied harsh sanctions. Long story short, he did us no favors. Bush (regardless of how much you hate him for badly screwing up the Iraq war) took a different approach and the result was the peace agreement signed between the SPLM and Khartoum. It’s the best damn thing that ever happened to Sudan in a long time. These are reasons that make me lean towards an Elephant candidate who will continue that approach.

If only that ideal centrist candidate existed. It would have been more fun if Collin Powell was in this race.

For now, it’s increasingly looking like this: Hillary or Obama Vs McCain or Romney.

He likes to sing, he loves American girls from their hair to their “nebble” and he’s absolutely HILARIOUS! It’s a MUST-watch video!

(hat-tip: diptychal)