Though I’m basically supporting Obama – for his brilliant speeches alone – I have one thing which would make it very hard for me to vote for him and I think this is one thing very important for the Middle East:

Obama said it was ok to attack third-party fighters in foreign countries without an UN resolution in case these countries do not cooperate in the “war on terror”.

While I’m heavily critical of the whole idea that there can be a war on terror that’s not what this is about. The reason named may be terror, money, drugs… in the end, the “reason” doesn’t matter.

What do you think about this “Obama doctrine”? (Yes, I know, he is not the first American president to support this tactic)

Obama said it was ok to attack third-party fighters in foreign countries without an UN resolution in case these countries do not cooperate in the “war on terror”.

It is disappointing and dangerous, but unfortunately I cannot imagine a U.S candidate who wishes to win and doesn’t say this. His stance on the blind and overwhelming support of Israel is also worrying.

… in the end, the “reason” doesn’t matter.

Whether we like it or not America will get what it wants, no matter who’s President. We’ll always be a game in the government’s hand, the question is who will be less of a careless freak in this game, and I can’t see how anyone can deny that it’s Obama.

Is anyone else getting unwelcome spam from the McCain campaign? I got about 4 of these this morning, in 3 different accounts.

Finally, I ask that you never forget that much has been sacrificed to protect our right to vote. We must never forget those Americans who, with their courage, with their sacrifice, and with their lives, have protected our freedom.

It’s funny how no one acknowledges the millions of lives who were brutally taken away because of U.S aggression. It is shameful to see the word “freedom” being abused like this.

I have also been following the election closely, to the point I am now sick of it and just want it over with. The relationship with ME is not as high up the list of priorities for either side in the US. The debate is much more about sustaining the prosperity of the American people. The whole US economic model is based on continued growth. Unfortunately for the US this model has reached the end of its capacity and no matter who wins they have to face the reality that their economy can only shrink from now on. Continual growth and expansionism has resulted in a considerable amount of friction with the rest of the world and has also wasted huge amounts of resources, which could have been used for the benefit of mankind as a whole. Despite the fact that Barack Obama’s ego is very considerable and he can motivate and sway large numbers of people, when he is faced with the resistance that will come from inside the US, he will have to back down and put internal considerations first.

It is shameful to see the word “freedom” being abused like this.

Absolutely. “Freedom” in the US now is an Orwellian codeword. The ideas of “Freedom” that are built into the US constitution were coined at a time when the population of the world was much smaller, and so needed much less close management. Once the world population got to be over 3Billion, the fundamental principles upon which the US constitution was formed became null and void. At that point sadly socialist, controlling and management ideas became somewhat more appropriate.

Don’t be fooled by Obama’s empty slogans – he’s just a dictator in disguise. You want proof, you say?

He was named after Saddam Hussein!

That article shows the hatefulness of McCain’s campaign and many of his extremist, utterly racist supporters. Saddam was a nobody when Obama was born, to even suggest that he was named after him is disgustingly ignorant.

Such violent stupidity makes me cringe! McCain’s campaign is the joke of the century.

I agree wholeheartedly with you here Esra’a.

There are still Americans who, thanks to the misinformation campaigns of the Republican party, think that Senator Obama is a Muslim! Yet in the same argument they will bring up his association with Reverend Wright, a Christian minister! How such contradictory statements can be brought up is beyond me…

It is embarrassing as an American to see so many of our people so easily fooled by this hate-filled rhetoric.

As you have watched this campaign unfold from afar, what similarities and/or differences do you see with elections in Bahrain or the rest of the Middle East? Are personal attacks and misinformation campaigns as frequent as they are here or do campaigns take on a different tone?

I’m very interested in how the populations that, for so long, our government has attempted to “save” with “democracy” and “free market values” view our own convoluted process to elect officials. Many Americans are highly critical of our election process and I was curious as to how the rest of the world, particularly the Middle East, feels about it.

Adam
Philadelphia, USA

PS. I love reading your blog. Keep it up!

According to CNN and many other news networks, Obama has won the election. We’ll see if he makes good on all his promises.

Dear Adam, thanks for your comment!

It is embarrassing as an American to see so many of our people so easily fooled by this hate-filled rhetoric.

I bet you are extremely proud though that so many of them were able to unite in these difficult times and commit to positive change, it shows that most Americans are so sick of their policies and cannot tolerate another Bush administration. They have really echoed my fears as an Arab and a Muslim, voiced their frustration at their government’s foreign policy, and then most importantly, they did something about it! Today I feel like we really are one nation – all of us, not just Americans, and that this has been achieved for us all. Today is an important day because we truly understand that America respects diversity and has no place for racism and corruption. We only hope that these values will allow Obama’s administration to respect all our civil rights in the region, and to consider war only when completely necessary, as opposed to attacking us at every opportunity.

The country is ready to move forward, leaving the many bigoted folks behind who for years justified racism, discrimination and war. Today the repuation of America in the Middle East is nowhere near as bad as it was yesterday.

As you have watched this campaign unfold from afar, what similarities and/or differences do you see with elections in Bahrain or the rest of the Middle East? Are personal attacks and misinformation campaigns as frequent as they are here or do campaigns take on a different tone?

Our elections here are far from being as important or exciting as the Presidential elections in the USA, most of us do not live under a democracy and therefore our votes don’t count for much. At least me personally, I never had the chance or pleasure to elect anyone to be my leader.

Are personal attacks and misinformation campaigns as frequent as they are here or do campaigns take on a different tone?

Personal attacks and misinformation campaigns are definitely as frequent as they are in the USA, the only exception is that they tend to get more violent. However such campaigns are directed towards a much smaller audience, and has less of an impact on the rest of the world, so the importance of the results are not as major. I’m sure others in the region with different experiences might have a different take on that.

Dear Madmax,

We’ll see if he makes good on all his promises.

We are hoping. I am really ready to hear what he proposes to fix the garbage policies of Bush in the Middle East, and what he plans to do for some of the innocent civilians who were wrongly imprisoned at Gitmo or under the U.S occupation in Iraq. He has voiced criticism of such vile actions which makes his Presidency even more welcome. To this point I believe that he is the right man who came at the right time. We all need this.

PS: Congrats also to Congressman John Murtha, the brave vocal critic of the war in Iraq and the way it has been handled, for winning re-election in Pennsylvania. This is just a victorious day.