There exists a foreboding murmur in the wind - young in age but formidable in intention. It was on May 12th that an article curiously titled "President Apostate?" (by Edward N. Luttwak) appeared in The New York Times. The writer, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, vehemently argued that Sen. Barack Obama would further deteriorate America's relationship with the Muslim world since many on this side of the so-called fence view him as a Muslim-by-birth who shunned the religion of his father and apostized.
On the surface of it, the article achieved little since it diverged rather blatantly from the methodology of sound argumentation via abusing the very fundamental principle of such discourse - the principle that the core of any argument must not be a difficult-to-take-seriously myth.
]]> However Dr. Luttwak's article contained one seemingly objectively-stated subtlety. The subtlety that Sen. Obama is de facto a Muslim.In the doctor's own words: "As the son of the Muslim father, Senator Obama was born a Muslim under Muslim law as it is universally understood. It makes no difference that, as Senator Obama has written, his father said he renounced his religion. Likewise, under Muslim law based on the Koran his mother’s Christian background is irrelevant."
These are significant words and Dr. Luttwak has let out a glimpse of the neoconservative plan of action for the upcoming election. His matter-of-factly stated take on Sen. Obama's religious affiliation is the more likely raison d’etre of his article, and it is not unimaginable that perhaps he himself finds his ill-considered conclusion of a Muslim world grieving over the American president's perceived apostasy as the reddest of red herrings. The neoconservative propaganda playbook espouses advancing a position through manipulating the politics of incertitude rather than directly arguing for that position; and so Dr. Luttwak’s commentary is as close to conflating Sen. Obama with terrorists as the neocons can get without jeopardizing the bounds of argumentative decency.
Dr. Luttwak and his reflections do not stand alone, but rather signal the onset of a full-blown neocon project. His battle-cry has been enthusiastically endorsed by his peers and the gears of their propaganda machine have started churning – Dr. Shireen K. Burki, professor of political science at the University of Mary Washington, offered a nearly identical echo of his assertions in her article "Barack Obama - Muslim Apostate?" (appearing in The Christian Science Monitor on the 19th of May).
On the whole, voices like those of Dr. Edward N. Luttwak cannot hope to have a far-reaching effect in the presidential campaign - for they mostly preach to the choir and are viewed sceptically by the rest given the inherent conflict of interest neoconservative commentators overtly have with framing a balanced discourse on opposing views. However this does not imply that the neocon doctrine of fear dissemination is ineffective - far from it. For every Dr. Luttwak in the neocon arsenal, there exists a Dr. Burki.
Dr. Burki, whom her article touts studied 'Islam at school' in her childhood in Islamabad (Pakistan), gives the argument a chillingly legitimate feel for the average non-hyphenated American voter due to the perception of neutrality her background undoubtedly accords her reasoning. And over the course of the coming months as more Dr. Burkis raise their voices, the US news media will in all probability resonate with their congregated effort and the witch hunt will achieve full swing.
After eight years of reeling under President George W. Bush and his neoconservative advisors, is America ready to exorcize her own demons? Or will it once again succumb to the spectre of an Islamic terrorism threat borne of a sole terrorism incident and perpetuated by torrential media bombardment? The path Americans choose will be crucial for our collective, inter-twined destiny.
Links:
]]>This initiative and the corresponding song (video below) has been featured on Time Magazine, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC.
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| In The Post-American World, Fareed Zakaria (editor of Newsweek Int'l) sees the "rise of the rest" -- the growth of countries like China, India, Brazil, Russia, and many others -- as the great story of our time, and one that will reshape the world. The tallest buildings, biggest dams, largest-selling movies, and most advanced cell phones are all being built outside the United States. |
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Fareed received a B.A. from Yale and a Ph.D. in political science from Harvard. He lives in New York City with his wife, son and two daughters.]]>
The race for choosing the Democratic nominee for Election '08 is not over yet, however it is no longer an even contest. Having amassed substantial momentum, Barack Obama has a lot going for him. However there is a very high probability that in the case of him getting the nod, the knockout blow to Hillary Clinton's aspirations would have been her own doing.
With a little more homework and prudence, her mistakes could have been avoided – creating a campaign trail which could have been a lot less littered with political speed bumps. Needless to say, these mistakes have made her task of neutralizing one of America’s greatest campaigners all the more difficult.
]]> Trying on Obama's Change outfit. It just doesn't fit.Barack Obama stands in the very epicenter of some of the most divisive issues of the current times; those of race, creed and geo-ethnicity. Borne of a white American mother and a black African father; raised in Hawaii and later in the Far East (Jakarta, Indonesia); possessing a close hereditary link with the Muslim world and being a member of Chicago's Trinity United Church; dabbling in drugs and later becoming Harvard Law Review's first ever black president - these all make for an extremely intriguing mix. And possibly a dangerous one too, for these ingredients make him so far removed from the ideal, pure US presidential candidate that it is a wonder he is still alive and kicking in this campaign. And it is a greater wonder still that he has meticulously channelled these disparities into a very empowering, potent idea - the idea of him being the commonality that binds us all. This is precisely what makes Barack Obama a very special individual.
Hillary Clinton has just not been able to do Change like Barack Obama has done it. She has simply failed to recognize what Obama represents – and what she does not. She has tried on his Change mantle many-a-time during her deliveries – all the while strengthening her image of being a candidate who would flip flop in the bid to amass leverage in the political field. From the very start she has held the miscalculated belief that potentially becoming the first US woman president is, in itself, Change enough for voters – enough to overshadow the baggage represented by her name and the idea that a Clinton is as a Clinton does. This has been utter folly.
Failing to explain how her experience makes her special.
Experience was never going to be a strong selling point in the current presidential race. In fact, Clinton's appeal has never stemmed from the lengthiness of her Washington experience in the first place. And any traction the argument may have had would have eventually dissipated in the event of a nomination and face-off with the veteran John McCain.
Clinton and her advisors have been unsuccessful in realizing that against Barack Obama, it would not be the quantity of her experience that would attract public support, but the quality of it. Intentional or not, her mistake has been conflating the term experience with political age instead of political wisdom. And every time she chides Obama for his political novicehood and flaunts her 35 years of public policy experience, she fans this mismatch further.
Bill Clinton's antics in South Carolina.
Bill Clinton, widely regarded as one of the best public speakers of his generation, suffered an unlikely faux pas in South Carolina while campaigning for his wife. Being astute enough to recognize that Obama's main strengths were also his greatest weaknesses, Bill reasoned he could quell the Change tide by instilling racial politics into the race. Whereas the reasoning was sound, the execution was not – by then most voters had already heard Obama's stirring spiel of unity, hope and Change. Bill Clinton's offensive came too late.
Also, while taking verbal barbarism to unexplored heights, he did not anticipate the damage his belligerent canvassing was doing to his wife's White House bid in terms of the public's perception of her independence and ability to handle an out-of-control husband. It was around this time that the 1992 controversial "two for the price of one" quote and the "Billary" moniker started discovering perverse momentum in the news media. Bill's final assault on Obama - a crass invocation of the "Jesse Jackson" vignette - did not ameliorate matters and all quarters were quick to deride the comment as the dirtiest of dirty politics. By then Hillary's campaign had started showing signs of wobble.
Negative campaigning.
Presidential campaigns are known to repeat blunders more often than learning from them. Hillary Clinton's story is not any different - after silencing Bill and removing him from the equation (post South Carolina), she went on to take the responsibility of roughing up Obama herself. Poorly attempted scripted sarcasm including the "celestial choirs" comment, the "change you can xerox" swipe and most recently, the SNL inspired "ask Barack if he needs another pillow" retort have all made Hillary Clinton look far less presidential than she actually is. She likewise has not helped her cause by heavily criticizing Obama for his NAFTA and healthcare adverts while generously indulging in negative advertisement herself. Letting elements in her camp disseminate 'Obama: The Muslim' literature on multiple occasions has been another campaign blunder she could have done without.
Barack Obama, for his part, is a quick-learner and has meticulously hovered above pointed political-mudslinging ever since learning a tough lesson at the three-way Myrtle Beach (South Carolina) debate – the one where John Edwards ephemerally differentiated himself as a mature candidate against a backdrop of a squabbling Clinton and Obama. Hillary on the other hand has kept succumbing to this temptation to the extent of artlessly overdoing it.
No Plan-B to fall back on.
A few months ago as Hillary Clinton first began slipping from the "inevitability" podium her managers and advisors had hoisted her upon, an intelligent reaction from them to stop and then reverse her demise never materialized. It seems they never had an effective contingency plan to fall back on; as a result of which her campaign has been merely reactive to Obama's rise instead of being in active competition against it.
By her own frequent admission Hillary Clinton is a fighter. However ironically that is the precisely quality her campaign has lacked during this nomination race. They came ill-prepared into this fight, probably looking forward to quickly dominating and dispatching Barack The Wimp before moving on to the more pressing issue of handling the Republican propaganda machine. This was pure short-sightedness and, at worst, incompetence.
After the assassination, all businesses were closed and public transportation was stopped. Domestic flights were canceled and streets were deserted in anticipation of violence. Fuel tankers could not get to gas stations and basically everyone was stuck wherever they were. Amidst these circumstances, people still showed up in hundreds of thousands to pay their final respect to Bhutto.
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Within five to ten minutes of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto, even before the news channels reported anything, almost everyone in Pakistan knew about the news. Cell and land phones were ringing non-stop. Within the next half an hour, there was considerable panic in the air. There was an unsaid fear of riots and violence on the streets. Shops started closing in the lively city of Lahore. A city that never sleeps. A city that was celebrating the colorful wedding season. Family members and friends were desperately trying to get in touch with their loved ones, trying to ensure that they are home and safe. The violence followed ...
Pakistan's "fair" elections are fast approaching. This picture shows state police putting up banners for the pro-Musharraf PML-Q party. Bike is the election symbol of PML-Q. How can the elections be fair if state resources are used to promote a particular political party?
This image is from December 17th 2007, the state of emergency in Pakistan is officially over. Can't you tell that from the treatment human rights activists are getting for expressing their views? These images make us ashamed of being associated with Pakistan.
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Musharraf declared an end to the emergency situation in Pakistan on Dec 15th 2007 citing a more stable situation in the fight against terrorism. This statement is a mockery of the current situation in Pakistan, as the emergency had nothing to do with any fight against militants.
]]> "Musharraf can be confident that his gambit has worked as well as he could have hoped. In six weeks, he has packed the courts with loyal judges, amended the Constitution to protect him from legal challenges, and eviscerated the media's powers. And his political opposition is weaker and more fractured than before." (Asim Tanveer/Reuters)The win for Musharraf is that he is still the President of Pakistan and the dust of opposition against him seems to be settling down in the country with people returning to their daily lives. The win for those who protested against the emergency situation and violation of human rights is that Musharraf resigned as Chief of the Army Staff - a long awaited move. There were fears that he might never resign from the country's most powerful post, turning into an evil dictator with no check on his powers. The recent crisis and the resulting international pressure helped in taking his "second skin" away. With the judiciary still crippled, a to-be-rigged election coming up, and an increasingly unpopular retired General as President, the fight for freedom and justice is far from over. This end to emergency holds little meaning, apart from stating that Musharraf is feeling relatively comfortable and in control.
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