[Sources used are TV and radio so no links, I’m afraid]
We’re getting ever closer to history truly being made when Barack Hussein Obama takes the reigns as president of the United States – my that’s a fine set of words, innit!
However, as many suspected, a nation has decided to both get moving with a plan that only the outgoing Bush would tolerate and test Obama on the international front before he even has his feet under the table. The tactical master and bull in a china shop that is Israel is beating the hell out of Gaza because some rockets have nearly killed people. Somehow they think that killing hundreds of Palestinian civilians is proportional to the miniscule number they have suffered in comparison.
As many an objective observer has said, you can’t justify it by saying that Hamas are hiding in heavily populated areas because Gaza is one big heavily populated area! There are no serene tracts of rural idyll in which Hamas might seek sanctuary and all that nonsense – this isn’t Afghanistan.
Also, as many a sage neutral has observed, everyone knows that this will be resolved somehow via talking so why delay the inevitable? It would stretch the realms of sanity if Israel seriously thought they could just extend their actions long enough to wipe out Hamas and permanently stop missiles from flying out of there. And now we see, as tiresomely predictable as ever, the Lebanese militants joining in.
So here we are, with Obama swamped in a country drowning in debt and recession whilst the main region it’s supposed to have any clout in – in a direct, getting their hands dirty, level – is starting, once again, to slide into conflict. If the right things aren’t done, the whole region could be sucked into it. But I can only hope that those in the thick of it understand the risks and will make the necessary detours to avoid Armageddon.
He will be (ably?) assisted by his VP in this matter, of course. If Biden is clueless on this then you’d have to assume everyone else would be given his huge experience in such delicate matters. I’m afraid I’m just not well informed enough to just his past record in detail but from a distance you have to be grateful Obama picked him for VP at this tense time.
Obama’s $800bn package to invest in the long-term future of the US is broadly sensible. The infrastructure, both steel and concrete and electronic, has been neglected for an embarrassingly long time. This investment is simply so they can catch up with the Koreas, Frances and Germanys of this world. Universal access to broadband has got to be a minimum goal for every country for whom it can be within reach.
I think, too, that the contrast between the sublime impression of Obama embarking on a brand new presidency set for a more sensible course and our little Gordon Brown already losing steam barely 18 months into the job is starting to tangibly hurt him. Brown just has the air of a dour accountant who gives me the feeling that he’s just a little over confident of his abilities. Exceptionally clever though he is, running a nation – and more importantly a democratic nation with diverse views – is just not his bag. Chancellor I could buy but I never sensed he was really cut out to the be the PM.
But I don’t want Cameron’s Tories in either! Oh Blow!
