Obama & The Movement

[Judi Lynn]

Shifting Landscapes
Obama & The Movement
December 03, 2008 By Max Uhlenbeck
Source: Left Turn

~snip~
Real change?

Barack Obama did not get elected on a left platform. He has not promised to fundamentally reform either domestic or US foreign policy and a quick look at either his voting record or his recent cabinet appointments should paint a very clear picture for all of us. Still, Obama takes the helm at a particularly precarious time in history, both for the US ruling class and the people who have endured its policies. US economic hegemony, the centerpiece of international politics since the end of World War II, is in a sudden free fall, following a slow but steady decline since the 1970s. This shift in power relations will seriously limit the Obama administration's ability to act on the global stage in the way that the US has grown accustomed to. World systems theorist Immanuel Wallerstein recently noted "two major centers of power issued statements on the geopolitical scene that were quite forthright. Both the European Union in a unanimous statement and President Lula of Brazil said they looked forward to renewing collaboration with the United States, but this time as equals, not as junior partners."

One of the main questions will be whether an Obama administration will recognize the fact that other parts of the world will no longer be "junior partners" and accept this new multipolar reality. The recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai are disturbing, not only for the extreme human toll that they took, but also because they could well provide the pretext for a new front on the so called ‘war on terror'. Regionally the Indian government has been framing the terrorist attacks as "our 9/11," a tactic aimed at preparing neighboring countries for possible military combat with Pakistan. The Obama administration has also made several disturbing rhetorical gestures towards Pakistan, suggesting a continuation or even expansion of the recent illegal attacks inside Pakistan under the Bush administration.

Still, events are very fluid. During his nearly two-year campaign, Obama has challenged the "either your with us your against us" dichotomy that so marked the post September 11th climate. In stark contrast to Bush, who, following the February 15th, 2003 global protests against the war in which over ten million people in every single major city in the world took place, famously said that ‘he doesn't base his policy decisions on focus groups,' Obama gained much of his early popular support by engaging the protest movement, occasionally even speaking at local antiwar rallies. Recently he has pledged to close Guantanomo Bay, a key issue for many antiwar activists. Antiwar coalitions might take advantage of the moment to push forward their continued demands for a withdrawal from Iraq and no new incursions into other parts of Asia in this more favorable political climate. These demands will have to be tied into a broader framework including the economic crisis, universal healthcare and green jobs, as it has become harder to mobilize strictly on a "troops out now" platform.

More:
http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/19826