Category: Politics

Musharraf: Pak’s Best Bet

There was an article in the Washington Post by Benazir Bhutto, making a plug for returning Pak to democracy and requesting the West to re-consider ongoing support for President Musharraf’s military regime. The article did make several good arguments though it was highly self-serving. The reality of the political situation in Pak is that the two main alternatives to military rule, Nawaz Sharif and Ms. Bhutto herself, have had their opportunities in the past and during which time earned little credibility to speak off. Ms. Bhutto is widely believed to have lead one of the most corrupt Governments in Pak history. Mr. Sharif on the other hand, gave us the Kargil (his pronouncements after his ouster not withstanding) war against India. If any of the civilian governments in Pak over the years had taken some bold steps to make lasting peace with a vibrant democracy like India, the overall environment in the region might have been very different from what it is today. Unfortunately, successive civilian governments in Pak have all been corrupt, consistently meddled with India (and now with Afghanistan), done little to curb religious extremism, all while enjoying the largesse of the US.

Historically, civilian rule in Pak has never really worked and has always been short-lived. In the current environment, it is even less likely to be successful and could possibly be dangerous if an extremist government came to power. It is increasingly obvious that there is an alarming rise of religious extremism in Pakistan. This has been further accelerated by the spill over from the troubles in Afghanistan. Pak’s role in instigating trouble in Kashmir is universally accepted, its 9-11 roots have been established, to name a few other signs of trouble. Under the circumstances, ironically, a military dictator whose survival is precarious, offers the best bet. He can successfully keep all the warring factions at bay, clamp down the troublesome democracy proponents, sporadically capture terrorists to appease the West, occasionally talk peace with neighbor India but never remain really committed to it, cozy up to China from time to time, but ultimately give the US a freehand in the fighting the terrorists in Afghanistan etc.

In short, its a win-win for most parties involved except for those seeking to return to power. In all likelihood, President Musharraf is here to stay (like General Zia) until the US feels it is had enough of him. The US policy toward Pakistan is based on a pragmatic “better to be safe, than sorry” philosophy. With the current US obsession with the war on terror, this policy is unlikely to change anytime soon.

Chuck Hagel’s Announcement

Senator Chuck Hagel called a press conference yesterday to announce that he has postponed his decision about running for President.

He said, “America is facing its most divisive and difficult issue since Vietnam — the war in Iraq, an issue that I have been deeply involved in,” said Mr. Hagel, a critic of the war. “I want to keep my focus on helping find a responsible way out of this tragedy, and not divert my energy, efforts and judgment with competing political considerations.”

With all due respect to Mr. Hagel, couldn’t he just have posted this on his blog or on his website. Did he have to call a press conference to say this? In other words, he announced that he hasn’t decided to announce his candidacy for President!!! It will be interesting to see how many folks show up for his next press conference 🙂

Hello??? How out of touch with the times are some folks in Washington?

Finally, Something on Obama?

Senator Obama’s opponents have finally found something to put him on the defensive? Well maybe, maybe not. So far he has little or no record, so his opponents have been working hard to drum up some scandal or the other. Have they found one? Not quiet.

The accusation is that he invested in some stocks (supported by his donors) and lost 13K! Let it pass, give the guy a break, he lost money after all! Dream up something more substantial — “I did not have s…. with that….” or “I did not inhale…” or something more beefy. This one is a poor attempt to dig up some dirt! Surely, his opponents can do better?

Book Review: Audacity of Hope

Title: Audacity of Hope
Author: Barack Obama

Mr. Barack Obama has obviously been toying with the idea of a run for President of the USA for quite some time. Perhaps this plan was further accelerated after his highly successful speech at the last Democratic Convention. His new book “Audacity of Hope” is further evidence that this run has been on the cards.

In this book he clearly outlines his views on everything from race to health care, from family to divisive politics in Washington. It does sometime read like one long political speech. Care to know his views on any of topics du jour? This book is the perfect place to start. Besides, this book gives a lot of insight into American politics and its functioning. The very first chapter, titled “Republicans and Democrats” traces the evolution of present-day political themes and issues and sets the stage for the rest of the book where each of the key issues are described and discussed. Mr. Obama also does well to trace back history and describes how things have reached it present stage.

The chapters have been written such that each chapter stands by itself and can be read independently. The most interesting parts of the book (as in the case of most such books) are the “personal experiences” such as meeting with President George Bush, other Senators, his Senate experience, deciding on how to vote for specific legislation in the midst of pressure from various groups, his family life, etc. He has interspersed these across the book but the book could clearly have used more of these to give it a more personal touch. The part about Indonesia in particular, though interesting could have used more personal experiences. Unfortunately, Mr. Obama lived there when he was a kid of 6 years, so I guess experiences are hard to recall from that phase of his life.

Given that there is an increasing groundswell of support for an Al Gore run (check out the editorial in the SJ mercury New) , a part in the book about Al Gore seeking funding from investors for a startup after his last failed Presidential bid is of special significance. To quote the executive (from the book), “I hate to admit it, because I really like the guy. But at some level he wasn’t Al Gore, former VP. He was just one of the 100 guys a day who are coming to me looking for money. It made me realize what a big steep cliff you guys are on.” This conversation is quoted in a part of the book where Mr. Obama talks about the importance of winning in politics and the fact that there is no second prize.

Through several examples, Mr. Obama highlights the role of money in winning elections, the role of media (how they tend to take things out of context and blow them out of proportion to make news) and how American politicians are forced to remain highly scripted because of intense media scrutiny on every word uttered in public.

For Silicon Valley lovers, there is a discussion surrounding his visit to Google headquarters in Mountain View.

Overall, the book made interesting reading. It has a terrific title, and is extremely well packaged, yet sufficiently genuine. If you closely follow American politics or care to know about someone aspiring to be the next US President, this book is definitely worth reading.

Mr. Obama has plenty going for him: His consistent anti-war stance, his mixed race background, his childhood overseas, his great campaign skills, his Harvard connections, the glamor associated with his bid, among other things. This book appears to be one more attempt to reach out to the voters and it certainly does justice to that goal.

Will he make a good President? Its hard to predict merely based on this book. He certainly hasn’t made any “If I were President” quotes in the book! There is no question that Mr. Obama is clearly a “center-left” candidate. He is smart for sure, speaks and writes well and it does appear as though he has the skill to drum up the resources needed (though the real proof though lies in the $ he can raise). In short, he has a great story up until now. If he doesn’t falter on the long campaign, he stands a good chance of the Democratic nomination or at a minimum a shot at being VP. In either case, this book can only help and not hurt him in any way.

Indian Economy Heatin’ Up

There are no shortage of news reports and articles about the overheating of the Indian economy. Meanwhile on main street the prices have sky-rocketed for everything from vegetables to real estate. The common man is struggling for survival and Wal-Mart’s first launch in India in August is still months away (!!). The BJP Govt. was driven out of power supposedly because the benefits of economic growth (remember “India Shinning”) did not “trickle” down to the masses. I guess “Incredible India” or India Poised leaves the man on the street far behind. Oh well…

Top 10 things You Won’t Hear in Tonite’s State of the Union Address

10. Darn it, what’s with the weather, its f…. cold these days!
09. Hey, what’s the lady doin’ behind me?
08. You might not like my Iraq policy, but don’t tell me you like Hillary!
07. I hereby announce that Jeb has just formed a Presidential exploratory committee.
06. Jenna wants a book contract, Anybody?
05. Born in Hawaii to a Kenyan father and a Caucasian woman from Kansas, a man who has dedicated his life for American working families, please join me in recognizing, on my far left, America’s first black President, Barack Obama.
04. I have a new Iraq policy. It is called, “No troops left behind”. I am sending all our troops to Iraq.
03. Sorry folks, you are not the first ones to hear my speech. A short while back, one of my body guards uploaded a camera phone recording of my speech on Youtube.
02. My fellow Americans, I screwed up in Iraq. Big time. Yes, BIG BIG time.
01. Goodnight & Good Luck, God bless my Iraq policy.

Arnie Shines

Arnie’s state of the state speech last night was pretty impressive. It was crisp and well-delivered. One can’t help but wonder what Arnie is doing in the Republican party. I guess his idea of bi-partisanship is to be a Republican on paper but be a Democrat otherwise!