The Indian Panorama

Tag: Foreign Policy

  • As i see it: Despite Failures, Obama is Heading For a Second Term

    As i see it: Despite Failures, Obama is Heading For a Second Term

    The majority of Indians living in America think that religion, region, caste, and color- factors playing a dominant role in elections in India- are irrelevant in American elections. But if one takes a close look at Presidential Elections in America, one can tell that all these factors do matter here too.

    Since Clinton ‘s time, Hispanic votes have remained a key factor for a Republican to win the White House. Romney, since he started campaigning, has alienated Hispanic voters by repeatedly declaring that he is not in favor of Amnesty to illegal immigrants, knowing that the majority is Hispanic. He is ignoring the fact that Bush owes both his terms to Hispanics for his promise of granting some kind of status to the illegal immigrants. The fact that Bush’s own party did not let him do so is besides the point. It looks like Romney is not practical at all for ignoring 13 million illegal immigrants as per official records, though the real number could well be in the vicinity of 20 million. Romney should know that all of them cannot be deported. They are human beings and we as Americans have to come up with some kind of amnesty scheme to honor humanity.

    If one looks at the simple mathematics, there are 16.5% Hispanics, 13.5% African Americans, and 6% Asian votes. In the last election Obama got 75% of the Hispanic vote, 96% of the African American vote and 95% of the Asian vote. Obama has done nothing wrong to this vote Bank other than annoying some African-Americans by granting Marriage Equality to gay and lesbian couples. At the same time, Obama has brought a scheme under which some of the illegal immigrants under the age of 30 can get an Employment Authorization Card and will not be deported for 2 years. The Hispanic votes will not drop; instead, they may go up slightly to keep the sum game for Obama to still lead by 32% over Romney.

    Obama’s Victory points to Immigration Reforms:

    Congress’ leading Hispanic lawmaker, Democratic Representative Luis Gutierrez, predicts that if President Barack Obama is re-elected, a weakened Republican Party will strike a deal with him on immigration reforms next year. The Illinois Democrat says he has received no promises from the Obama administration on immigration reform, but he tells The Hill he is “absolutely positive” that Obama will make immigration reform a priority during his second term.
    Now, let’s talk about 64% White votes of which Obama is sure to get 35-40% because of his support for gay marriage and some liberal views as well as support for illegal immigrants.

    Obama is also getting support for his foreign policy. This policy is of not starting new wars, rather gradually pulling American soldiers out from the countries that Republican President Bush put them in under a façade of War against Islamic Terrorism.

    The only thing Obama has to talk about with the voters is about his glaring failures on economic front. His opponent Romney is exploiting this to the maximum.

    Romney’s call for more military spending means more wars and trashing illegal immigrants is Economic recovery and jobs. Even this has become a center of a big controversy for him.

    The Tax Policy Center issued a report on August 1st, 2012 saying that Romney’s numbers don’t add up and his stated tax-reform goals can’t all be achieved simultaneously. The report cited five Romney objectives: cutting income-tax rates by 20 percent, being “revenue neutral” for the government, repealing the estate tax, repealing the Alternative Minimum Tax, and preserving and enhancing incentives for saving and investment.

    The Tax Policy Center calculated that even with all tax breaks they assume to be available under Romney’s criteria were wiped out for high-income earners; it wouldn’t be enough to keep Romney’s plan revenue neutral. Middle- or lower-income households would need to kick an extra $86 billion a year to meet the target.

    In effect, the report raised the prospect of higher taxes on the middle class. In stark language, it said achieving Romney’s goals is “not possible” without shifting a higher share of tax burden onto middle- or lower-income households. This is putting fears in the minds of the Middle class and dissuading them from voting for Romney. They would rather give Obama a second term despite his failures on economic recovery and jobs rather than take a hazardous chance with Romney.

    It is a universal fact that Israel /the Jewish lobby has a big influence on America; financially, politically, judicially, militarily, and culturally. Both Obama and Romney are financed by this lobby. A majority of Americans think Obama will not put America under the Bus for this lobby, but Romney can certainly put America under the Bus and can push America into more wars to serve the interest of Israeli and Defense lobby. The proof is Romney taking money from Sheldon Adelson who keeps Israel above America. Moreover, Romney made a public statement that he will outsource America ‘s Middle East Policy to Israel .

    A majority of Americans are disgusted and disturbed with Adelson ‘s machinations with a view to creating world history as a single person by pumping in hundreds of millions from his $28 billion empire to defeat Obama for his personal reasons.

    1 Adelson does not like Obama’s 2 state formula for Palestine & Israel.

    2. He does not like Obama’s proposal to tax foreign income of US companies because Adelson makes 90% of his money from foreign countries.

    3. He does not like the Obama administration investigating him for money laundering and violation of Foreign Trade Practices.

    Sheldon Adelson’s money bomb to defeat Obama will be another factor in Obama’s favor to get him re-elected for a second term as US President.

    Looking at the above factors it looks like there is no alternative “TINA” to Obama. Americans, and the rest of the world, must prepare for Obama’s second term despite his glaring failures on economic recovery and jobs in America. Potential voters are prepared to ignore Obama’s failure on economic front in the face of an economic forecast by eminent economists.

    Macroeconomic Advisors in April predicted a gain of 12.3 million jobs followed by Moody’s Analytics prediction in August which said 12 million jobs will be created by 2016, no matter who the president is.. It looks like slow moving recovery is also in favor of Obama if Moody’s and Macroeconomic Adisors are right; that will put Obama in the leaugue of only 2 presidents Reagan and Clinton who created more than 12 milion jobs in 4 years.
    Obama is likely to stay put in the White House for another 4 years.

  • It’s Obama for Now

    It’s Obama for Now

    America is just 39 days away from Presidential election. The many surveys , including the Republican leaning Fox News survey gives Obama a 5 per cent lead over Mitt Romney. For now, it is Bam, Bam.

    The key issues being focused by the rival presidential candidates have not changed. Though of course, at some point, the position that Mitt Romney had taken on issues relating to poor and middle classes seems to has been revised by the Republican candidate. He is reported to have said recently that both Obama and he care for the middle classes. Something he may not have said earlier. Similarly, suddenly Romney’s heart goes out to the jobless. He feels pained to see so many jobless and sympathizes with them.

    On foreign policy, Romney is protective of Israel . He has categorically stated time and again where he stands. His approach to the Middle East is indicative of US involvement in another conflict in that region. Americans are already tired of US involvement in conflicts. Many that I spoke with have disdain for any American politician who talks in terms of an unnecessary conflict. How the Americans will react to Romney’s foreign policy is not difficult to understand.

    The Presidential debates -three of them- on October 3 on domestic policy; on October 16 on foreign and domestic policy; and the third and final one on October 22 on foreign policy are not likely to improve the fortunes of the Republican Mitt Romney. Clearly, Obama is a better explicator and orator and is likely to outdo his rival. Moreover, we have seen in recent weeks how Romney has been fumbling on issues. With his conviction level down, his persuasiveness will be weak. On top of it, he is no match to Obama when it comes to a debate.

    We are not jumping to the conclusion that Obama will win. We are not concluding that Mitt Romney will lose. We are only taking in to account the ground realities as of now that indicate a favorable position for the re-election of President Obama.

    The Indian American community in USA is evenly divided. There are diehard Republicans to match equally diehard Democrats. Also, the community is too small to make any difference to the outcome of the polls. However, it is an influential community, with many from it holding elected offices. Many are in US Federal and State administrations. Many more are officials at the lower administrative level. Whatever, the size of the community or the position of its members, it is imperative that the community should actively, even aggressively, participate in the political processes of the country. Only then it can make its presence adequately felt.

  • India inks three MoUs with Palestine, pledges $10 m

    India inks three MoUs with Palestine, pledges $10 m

    New Delhi (TIP): Reiterating New Delhi’s support for Palestine’s bid for full and equal membership of the United Nations, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced that India would contribute $10 million to Palestine’s budget for this year to help address its financial requirements.

    India and Palestine also signed three MoUs in the areas of information and communication technology, vocational training and education after wide-ranging talks between the PM and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas here. The two leaders exchanged views on regional issues, particularly the developments in the West Asian and the Gulf region. In the context of the ongoing war in Syria, they agreed that the developments in the region must be addressed through political dialogue and peaceful means without recourse to violence and outside interference, while taking into account the legitimate aspirations of all people.

    “Support for the Palestinian cause has been a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy,” the PM said in a media statement issued after his meeting with the Palestine leader. He said he had reassured Abbas of India’s firm support for the struggle of the Palestinian people to achieve a sovereign, independent, viable and united state of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side and at peace with Israel.

    The PM pointed out that India had also played an active role in supporting the efforts of Palestine to secure full membership status at UNESCO. “We also look forward to early resumption of peace talks between the Palestinians and Israelis leading to a comprehensive resolution between the two sides,” he said. Manmohan Singh said India would continue to support the development and nation-building efforts of Palestine. The MoUs signed today were indicative of India’s commitment to contribute in the areas of information and communication technology, vocational training and education.

    Noting that the Palestine leader would inaugurate the new Palestinian Embassy building built in New Delhi with India’s support, the PM said the building was a symbol of the enduring friendship between the two countries and its people. Abbas, who was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhawan in the morning, described India as a true friend of Palestine.

  • Obama accepts Democratic Party’s nomination: Says ‘Our problems can be solved’

    Obama accepts Democratic Party’s nomination: Says ‘Our problems can be solved’

    President Obama assured Americans at the Convention of a better tomorrow. “Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.”

    CHARLOTTE, NC (TIP): President Obama took the stage shortly before 10:30 p.m. Thursday, September 6 and accepted his party’s nomination. A week after his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, accepted his party’s nomination, Obama promised Americans, wary of giving him another term, that “our problems can be solved” if only voters will grant him four more years.

    “Know this, America: Our problems can be solved,” he told thousands of delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. “Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future.

    ” His appeal aimed to build on a rousing speech from Michelle Obama and former president Bill Clinton. The first lady assured disenchanted voters who backed her husband in 2008 but are wary or wavering today that four years of political knife fights and hard compromises had not stripped her husband of his moral core. And Clinton cast the current president as the heir to the policies that charged the economy of the 1990s and yielded government surpluses. “I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have,” Obama told the cheering crowd in the Time Warner Cable Arena and a television audience expected to number in the tens of millions. “You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over a decade.

    ” Obama’s main vulnerability is the stills puttering economy with a stubbornly high unemployment rate at 8.3 percent nearly four years after he took office vowing to restore it to health. In Charlotte, he ridiculed the Republican approach championed by Mitt Romney. “All they have to offer is the same prescriptions they’ve had for the last thirty years: Have a surplus? Try a tax cut. Deficit too high? Try another. Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!” he said, to laughter and cheers from the crowd.

    And it was with ridicule, too, that he portrayed Romney and vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan as heirs to George W. Bush’s foreign policy, and unfit to manage America’s relations with the world. “My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy, but from all that we’ve seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly,” he said. “After all, you don’t call Russia our number one enemy-not al Qaeda, Russia unless you’re still stuck in a Cold War mind warp, he said. “You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally. My opponent said it was “tragic” to end the war in Iraq, and he won’t tell us how he’ll end the war in Afghanistan. I have, and I will.” (In fact, Romney has supported an Obama endorsed, NATO-approved timetable to withdraw the alliance’s combat troops by the end of 2014.) The speech reflected Obama’s drive to convince voters to see the election as a choice, and not as a referendum on an embattled incumbent whose job approval ratings are below the 50-percent mark, a traditional danger zone.

    “On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties. It will be a choice between two different paths for America. A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future,” he said. At the same time, he did not spell out in detail his plans for a second term should he get one–even as he acknowledged that he is not the candidate he was when he pursued his history-making 2008 drive for the White House. “You know, I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention. Times have changed-and so have I,” he said. “If you turn away now-if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible, well, change will not happen.” Obama’s speech came after an evening studded with stars, from Hollywood’s Scarlett Johansson, who pressed young voters to register and cast ballots in November, to James Taylor, who quipped: “I’m an old white guy and I love Barack Obama” in between renditions of his folksy classics. And he was preceded onstage by Vice President Joe Biden, who gave a long-form version of this memorable reelection slogan: “Osama Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive.”

    In addition to the economy, the president highlighted his support for access to abortion, and offered his longest remarks on the fight against climate change in recent memory. “Yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They’re a threat to our children’s future. And in this election, you can do something about it.” Obama had moved his speech from nearby Bank of America Stadium into the Time Warner Cable Arena citing concerns about the weather. Republicans charged he merely feared not being able to fill the 74,000-seat space. Democrats countered that they had more than 65,000 ticket holders.

  • UK Wikileaks’ Julian Assange ‘threat’ over, says Ecuador

    UK Wikileaks’ Julian Assange ‘threat’ over, says Ecuador

    LONDON (TIP):
    Britain has given up its threat to enter Ecuador’s London embassy to arrest Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, Ecuador’s president has said, says an August 26 BBC report.
    Rafael Correa told reporters “we consider this unfortunate incident over”, following assurances by the UK.
    A diplomatic row broke out after Ecuador granted asylum to Mr. Assange, who faces extradition to Sweden to face questions over alleged sexual offences. He denies any wrongdoing.
    The UK says it never made any threats.
    The Foreign Office (FCO) said it sent the Ecuadorean embassy an official letter on Friday, aimed at “calming things down” and allowing talks to resume.
    Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, August 26, Mr. Correa said: “We consider this unfortunate incident over, after a grave diplomatic error by the British in which they said they would enter our embassy.”
    Ecuador’s government also said it had received “a communication from the British Foreign Office which said that there was no threat to enter the embassy”.
    Ecuador had accused Britain of threatening to enter its London embassy and seize Mr. Assange – who remains inside the building – after UK officials said a 1987 law gave police the power to enter diplomatic premises.
    ‘Constructive discussions’
    Former computer hacker Mr. Assange, 41, has been taking refuge at the embassy since June.
    The FCO says the UK has a legal obligation to extradite him to Sweden, and he will be arrested if he leaves the embassy.
    In a statement on Sunday, it said it remained “committed to the process of dialogue we entered into in good faith some weeks ago.
    “We invite the government of Ecuador to resume, as early as possible, the constructive discussions we have held on this matter to date.”
    It also reiterated a statement made in a letter sent to the Ecuadorean embassy on Friday that said “at no time has the UK government made any threat against the embassy of Ecuador.
    “Respect for, and compliance with, international law is at the heart of the conduct of the foreign policy of the United Kingdom.”
    In 2010, two female ex-Wikileaks volunteers accused Mr. Assange of committing sexual offences against them while he was in Stockholm to give a lecture.
    Mr. Assange says the sex was consensual and the allegations are politically motivated.
    He says he fears onward extradition to the US if extradited to Sweden because of his website’s publication of confidential documents.
    But in May, the UK Supreme Court dismissed Mr. Assange’s bid to reopen his appeal against extradition and gave him a two-week grace period – during which he entered Ecuador’s embassy – before extradition proceedings could start.
    Meanwhile, the US is carrying out an investigation into Wikileaks, which has published a mass of leaked diplomatic cables, embarrassing several governments and international businesses.