Mahboob A. Khawaja, PhD

Leaders create new leaders with vision and integrity to imagine the universal phenomenon of change and futuristic developments. Human happiness and progress move horizontally in peace-time, not in continuing warmongering and irrational threats to other people and nations. America used to be a leader of change and new strategies to envisage global friendship, co-existence and harmony of the mankind. This week, President Obama morally stressful and intellectually exhausted in his final White House term of office, spoke on the American priorities on the War on Terrorism, global affairs and the overwhelming sexual assaults across the US armed forces.

Leaders provide assurances and comforts to the nation in moments of crisis, not so by the in-between striving president. If the American masses were waiting for actions to restore confidence in the administration, it re-ignited many critical issues being untouched by the president. The continued American led bogus War on Terrorism has wide ranging impacts on the America political and intellectual psyche. Americans are in the frontline of terrorizing the global mankind, not searching for strategic rethinking - what went wrong with one of the most cultured and intellectually enriched nations of the world. President Obama offered nothing new to the present and futuristic generations of America to build a peaceful relationship with the rest of the humanity. . “There are the times that try men’s soul”, noted Thomas Paine in his famous “Common Sense”, the moral and intellectual construct of the American independence. In situations of adversity and crises, competent leaders represent hope and optimism for change, not egoistic political agenda and animosity…….

Last year, President Obama abruptly recalled General McCrystal from Afghanistan because he clarified that al-Qaeda exists in name (total less than 100 activists) and that America was fighting a losing battle in Afghanistan. In his long waited leadership statements, contrary to the facts on the ground, Obama focused on counter terrorism surge for generations to come. No wonder, Obama could well contemplate Al-Qaeda involvement in the 26,000 rape incidents of the female soldiers. Blame game knows no bound but instills wickedness to escape the challenging facts of life. Strange as is, President did not explain why every day 18-25 US war veterans commit suicides. Do the leaders care to protect the precious human life? Most contemporary politicians are not responsible leaders but stage actors pretending to be representing the national interests. They learn to excite the emotions of the electorates to win elections but fail to act as responsible leaders. They view the humanity just in numbers, not an object of precious life and value in the larger universal context. Most often, these people are disconnected with the annals of normal human thinking and affairs, suspicious and paranoid and they see success to be achieved at the cost of ruthlessness, hatred, degeneration and viciousness - all part of their inborn value system, making politics as a dreadful game of egomaniac mind, deceptions and strategic priorities. Zars, Stalin and other Russian dictators, Hitler, Mussolini, George Bush, Cheney, Blair and now Obama are all the by-products of the same philosophy, policies and behaviors. In a knowledge-driven global culture of enhanced human communications and proactive visions for sustainable futuristic co-existence between Man and the encompassed Universe and divergent civilizations, we the educators and learners are to exercise rational capacity of thoughts, universal ideals and continuous intelligent foresights to change and adaptability to the future-making. This requires intelligent commitment to principles of international peace and security for all, non-aggression in the working of global systems, protection of life and a balanced ecological culture of co-existence within the encompassed Universe -Man and the Humanity. America, a leading industrialized power is indifferent to these pertinent factors of life.

To launch political campaigns and get elected, most of these politicians rely on consultants and strategic advisors. Once in office, these dummies cannot distinguish between the role of a national leader and a political campaigner. Often they lack moral and intellectual leadership visions, traits and proactive know-how. They flunk and always seek advisory opinions rather than having their own capability for change and adaptability to the new role-play. They enforce individualistic ambitions to be politician in policies and practices rather than a competent leader, always thinking to be re-elected and nothing else. People and nations lose precious time and opportunities for change because of the folly of the so called politicians.

The US foreign policy is intimately linked to its geo-political grandeur interests not to the common thinking and primary interests of the people of America. There is a continuing evolution of the War Thinking and conflict-making and conflict-keeping against Iran within the aegis of the current Obama presidency, more so during the re-election agenda campaigns. Did Obama learn anything from the past to change anything because of the knowledge, history and facts of life to know his weaknesses and strengths of vision and to change and reform his mind and behavior when facts warrant a change, be it in policy making or global interactive behavior? After all listening and learning are critical factors for the changing role of the 21st century political leadership and so is the flexibility mechanism to be built-in for effective leadership. But there are no intelligent and proactive leaders with a vision of the future to see the imperative of ONE Humanity except naïve and self-geared egomaniac full of the sensation of power using triviality and viciousness to torture and kill the mankind and destroy ecological habitats. But contrary to the brutal perceptions and actions of the US-former Europeans imperialists, the international community is informed, mature, and enjoys the moral and intellectual capacity to know and understand the facts of life and to challenge the politically imperiled insensitivity to universal accord and UNITY of the mankind against brutality of the Terrorism of Wars that unites them with a common fate more than divides them by any token of adversity and separate national identities.

Progressively evolving is a new information-age plausible global culture of Thinking of ONE HUMANITY and a new proactive civilization of strong bonds and affinity of people to people cultural communications – global citizenry participation in social, economic and political Thinking and Globalization - man in one part of the world feels, thinks and acts-reacts to what happens to any man in another remote corners of the globe. Mankind is neither blind, nor inept, it defines its own purpose, meaning and identity for peace and harmony that the established institutions of governance - be it in America or Europe or elsewhere miserably failed to recognize or value their importance in global political affairs. Given the inherent systematic deficiencies and moral and intellectual corruption in the US - European – worldwide political governance and policy formulation toward the international community, the global community is actively organized and morally and intellectually powerful to halt all the belligerent nightmares planned and orchestrated by the upcoming warmongering against Iran.

For the first time in American history, when an African colored man walked into the White House, he promised to change the US belligerent policies and practices and showed interest to make peace across the globe. But it was all delusional imagery to win the elections. Paul Craig Roberts called him “The World’s Least Powerful Man – the Obama Puppet”, rescinding all his commitments to “Yes We Can” and global peacemaking. Rational people are always open to listening and learning and to change their views and stance for a navigational change when facts of life warrant a change but irrational people insist on individualistic absolutism and never make out of the darkness. Obama does not know the people of Iran nor understand the Arab-Islamic culture and civilization to deal with them. There are no problems except America and Israel is creating new ones for their sake. This is what caused strategic failures to the US-NATO in Iraq and Afghanistan. The animosity dots are disconnected. Obama apologized for the unknowing act of the Qur’an burning in Kabul. Thomas Jefferson had three volume copies of the Al-Qura’an (English translation) in the library that he used to devise legal jurisprudence and moral and intellectual stipulations for rights and obligations for the American Constitution. Was this historical fact unknown to the US politicians-leaders?

Comforting the major paradoxes of history as Arnold Toynbee (A Study of History) described warrior as dreamers devoid of moral and intellectual imagination when they come close to stagnation they jump to irrational outbursts and conclusions about the facts of life. Wrong people, glued to wrong THINKING, do the wrong things without any rational sense of time, people’s interest and history. Obama failed to see the interests of the global community to a peaceful approach to conflict management through dialogue and non-rhetoric belligerent statements. Naïve egoism and one-sided complacency to Israel’s interest cannot further the cause of peace in the region but an America free to think on its own and defining its own policy free of the lobbyists entrapment could opt out of the political fantasy to global outreach to regain respect and reentry into global moral and intellectual consciousness.

The hired media agents of influence continue to poison the masses of war against Iran. Every day, there are more abstract accusations of the nuclear development program in Iran. For sure, the large segments of mankind do not believe in these theories and vicious propaganda onslaught. Aggressive thinking is propagated, echo of peace is silenced. Peace requires new Thinking and New Visions that American President and Israeli PM do not have except the WAR agenda. Would Peace and Security grow out of the nowhere? Threatening rhetoric of pre-emptive war strikes on Iran nuclear’s centers and the nuisance of individualistic political indoctrination do not articulate rational and responsible opportunities for rational and intelligent people to engage in peaceful dialogue or conflict resolution. Obama failed to see the bigger picture of the American national interests and the converging essence of the vital interests of the international community; he remained entangled to worship the form in attracting roaring applause and forgot the essence of peace and security. In a political culture much charged by conscious intransigence of the few, America and Israel are fearful of the unknown and have no vision for peace and co-existence either in the region or in a global context. Peace and security are not one sided pursuits nor can be experimented in a lab. There are many who could do a better and more productive leadership in America and Israel. America and Israel both need change for their future. Both desperately proactive, culturally conscientious and intellectual unbiased leaders who could see the bigger picture of futuristic world - a different world of tomorrow of peace and co-existence rather than perpetuated animosity and extreme naïve belligerent behaviors, leaders who will serve the people and could learn to make a navigational change and adaptability to the making of a promising future for all the mankind. President Obama appears to be standing at the end-game of his career and engaged in time-killing exercises, not an intellectual and proactive person leading to the future-making. All absolute rulers and leaders tried to run down the mankind as if it was a conscious less entity. But all of them fell in disgrace destroying their own nations and empires. This author had first-hand opportunities to walk through the historic remains of many so called great nations of their own time span who were playing lord of the world but ended-up being destroyed by their own plans and designs against the Nature of Things. America was enriched with intellectual foresights to safeguard the rest of the mankind. But its contemporary leaders and major institutions seem to defy the logic of co-existing with the global community. Late historian Howard Zenn calls “History is a Weapon and tyranny is tyranny.” For sure, historical change will replace America’s global time capsule with others, more understanding and relevant to the mankind. After eight years of Bush-like warmongering, perpetuated hatred for others and degenerating impacts, history will judge Obama by his actions, not by claims. Paul Craig Roberts (“the Next War on Washington’s Agenda.” OpenEdnews: 01/12/2012) offers an insight to the political dilemma facing the American masses:

We, as Americans, need to ask ourselves what all this is about? Why is our government so provocative toward Islam, Russia, China, Iran? What purpose, whose purpose is being served? Certainly not ours…………Where do we go from here? If not to nuclear destruction, Americans must wake up. Football games, porn, and shopping malls are one thing. Survival of human life is another. Washington, that is, "representative government," consists only of a few powerful vested interests. These private interests, not the American people, control the US government. That is why nothing that the US government does benefits the American people.

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(Dr. Mahboob A. Khawaja specializes in global security, peace and conflict resolution with keen interests in Islamic-Western comparative cultures and civilizations, and author of several publications including the latest: Global Peace and Conflict Management: Man and Humanity in Search of New Thinking. Lambert Publishing Germany, May 2012)