51吃瓜

Obama visits Asia to heal past wounds, push for trade, deepen security ties, promote American interests and contain China in a masterly display of diplomacy.

The late Harold Macmillan, heir to a publishing business, a British prime minister and chancellor of the University of Oxford, was once asked what he feared most. His apocryphal response, 鈥淓vents, dear boy, events鈥� has in the words of Robert Harris become 鈥渋nfuriatingly ubiquitous.鈥� Yet events do matter and some of this week鈥檚 events have historic significance.

Many things happened over the last seven days.聽聽continues to fester; about聽听辞谤听聽have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya;聽聽over the failure of the Geneva peace talks backed by United Nations (UN);聽;聽and Australian scientists reported that聽聽in the northern and central parts of Australia鈥檚 Great Barrier Reef have been destroyed by bleaching because of warmer ocean waters thanks to climate change.

Each of these events is significant in its own right, but history hangs heavy this week. Exactly 100 years ago, the聽聽raged for 300 days and left 800,000 soldiers dead, wounded or missing. This week, French President Fran莽ois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel got together to honor the war dead as per聽. Hollande and Merkel did not hold hands like their predecessors and their time together seemed to be marked by some聽froideur.

Even so, Verdun lives on in the collective memory of聽la grande nation聽补苍诲听der Deutschland. Hollande warned against 鈥渇orces of division鈥� and Merkel declared that nationalism 鈥渨ould throw us backwards.鈥澛犅燼t a time when聽聽and the聽United Kingdom threatens to walk out of the fractious European family. Both Hollande and Merkel were awkward and neither spoke with inspiration or vision. Together, they personified why the European project is running out of steam. People are tired of mind-numbing banal bureaucrats with a聽penchant聽for spouting聽肠濒颈肠丑茅蝉. The EU is in crisis and needs more than the dreaded specter of the two world wars to muddle through.

Even as France and Germany confronted their ghosts of the past, the United States confronted its own.聽, two foes that have recently and not so recently turned friends. Obama is a post-Vietnam War president. Besides, he lived in Indonesia as a child. Southeast Asia is familiar to the president who has been attempting to聽聽for a while. As he makes his last bows on the international stage, Obama is seeking more than聽rapprochement with Cuba聽and a聽nuclear deal with Iran. This week, he decided to slay the ghosts of both Vietnam and Hiroshima.

Obama is an unlikely chief of the land of the Puritans that likes Judeo-Christian certitude and a clear ideology. In the aftermath of World War II, the descendants of Puritans reposed their faith in free markets. After all, the Soviet Union was a godless society ruled by tyrants who purportedly drank blood in lieu of wine.聽聽and the end justified the means in an existential battle where the winner would take all. Noble Americans had to vanquish evil Soviets to create heaven and save the world from hell. Collateral casualties were just part of the game.

Unsurprisingly, such a Manichean worldview led to聽. Some of the finest American intellectuals were persecuted, though, to be fair, they did not end up in the聽. Abroad, the US acted with a little less restraint. In 1953,聽聽to protect the interests of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. Mohammad Mosaddegh, the then prime minister of Iran, was ludicrously vilified as a potential communist and expected to persist with a聽.

Clearly, the US and the CIA were not cognizant of the idea of duress. Iran had agreed to that deal under a barrel of the gun, and the British聽. By siding with the colonial master, the US stabbed the newly independent and not yet independent colonies in the back. Now, the country of聽聽turned into a supporter of the South African apartheid regime. In fact, the聽CIA played a key role聽in the arrest of Nelson Mandela, who聽remained on the list of terrorists in the US till 2008. In the rigid ideological world of the US, anyone who was not a cheerleader in short skirts for Uncle Sam was an ugly enemy to be 鈥�.鈥�

The US failed to understand that many countries did not quite have a pleasant brush with capitalism. In 1602,聽聽was set up as a joint stock company. It is now regarded as the world鈥檚 first multinational. The company soon took over the Dutch East Indies鈥攎odern-day Indonesia鈥攁 part of the world Obama is familiar with. What followed was not pretty. In the name of trade, the company proceeded to rob and then conquer the natives. Capitalism was born red in the tooth and claw, with its evil twin, colonization.

Somewhere along the way, it became convenient for the Dutch to believe that they were benevolent. After all, they were civilizing the natives. So pervasive was this belief that the Dutch聽聽to recolonize Indonesia after World War II. The Dutch themselves had not enjoyed German rule during the war, but did not see the irony of Indonesians sharing the same aspirations for freedom.

Furthermore, the Americans failed to realize that the free market model the US set out to promote after World War II had many doubters. Far too many in the impoverished colonies did not want the unfettered preservation of the property rights of corporations, elites and individuals who had acquired their property through murder, threats and imposition of an unjust law during the colonial era. Hence, far too many liberation struggles tended to be left leaning.

Tragically, the US saw these struggles as left-leaning and not as liberating. 鈥溾�� was abandoned and support for imperial or right-wing regimes became absolute. Perhaps this was inevitable in the land of the free and the home of the brave. After all, white settlers had cheated, robbed and slaughtered natives to take over their land. Fortunes had been built on the backs of slaves to fund聽聽in the American South. Moreover, Uncle Sam聽. American claims that it stood for freedom were translated as freedom for the white man alone.

In some ways, Americans were only聽emulating John Stuart Mill of the British East India Company. He believed in liberty for those in 鈥�.鈥� White men were evidently qualified. Even white women were. Brownie fuzzy wuzzies were another matter. They did not quite deserve the benefit of Mill鈥檚 doctrine. That tens of millions died of famine under Mill鈥檚 company鈥檚 rule,聽in the 1770s, is mere piffle.

In Vietnam, the Americans operated from the same playbook as in Iran. They supported French imperial rule and turned new oppressors. Sadly for them, the Vietnamese were made of tougher stuff and did not quite roll over quite as easily as the Iranians.聽聽and American disgrace in Vietnam are now folklore. For years afterward, relations remained cool. Obama has changed that dramatically.

On May 24,聽. In his words, 鈥渓ike bamboo, the unbroken spirit of the Vietnamese people鈥� gave it the ability to cast off colonial rule. He blamed 鈥淐old War rivalries and fears of communism鈥� for pulling Vietnam and the US into conflict. Obama talked about reconciliation and removing Agent Orange. He announced that 鈥渢he Peace Corps will come to Vietnam for the first time, to teach English.鈥�

Obama extolled the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as a means to boost trade. At a time when聽, Vietnamese farmers are in deep distress. Along the 4,350-kilometer-long Mekong, rice, coffee, vegetables, freshwater fish and even seafood production is suffering. Farmers are fleeing to find jobs in factories, many of whom export to the US. It is little surprise that Vietnamese leaders are eager beavers for the TPP.

Apart from trade, Obama talked about security. This is code for China. Vietnam, Japan and many smaller nation states in Southeast Asia are petrified of an聽. It is little wonder that the crowd broke into applause when Obama declared: 鈥淏ig nations should not bully smaller ones. Disputes should be resolved peacefully.鈥� To promote peace and perhaps American business,聽. Now, Vietnam can buy American military equipment, train with US forces and together challenge聽. Little brother can now stand up to big brother for its share of fish, oil and gas, as well as the domination of a trade route already worth $5 trillion a year.

After Vietnam, Japan was the next stop for Obama where he became the first president to rock up to Hiroshima. He did not apologize on behalf of the US for dropping the atom bomb in 1945.聽聽do not allow him to. Also, as the dominant superpower, the US does not need to. History is written by winners and apologies are offered by losers.

In any case, Obama met survivors, listened carefully 补苍诲听. He聽, 鈥淲e have known the agony of war. Let us now find the courage, together, to spread peace, and pursue a world without nuclear weapons.鈥� Japan, an aging society with聽聽and horrific memories of the 1945 nuclear attacks, was impressed.

In his last year in office, Obama is settling past feuds and crafting new alliances. In a brilliant and extensive article in聽The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg dissected what he called聽, which involves the pivoting to Asia and managing the rise of China. In this Asia visit, Obama applied this doctrine masterfully by practicing crafty diplomacy, boosting trade, deepening security ties and increasing 鈥溾�� in Asia.

To provide contrast,聽聽because Americans need to take care of their own. He also declared that Bernie Sanders 鈥渋s right on one thing.鈥� That thing is trade. In this strange election campaign, both Trump and Sanders are trumpeting their opposition to trade, putting them on a collision path with the Obama Doctrine.

This bodes ill for the US. More than the raging feuds in the Middle East or the rise of the Middle Kingdom, it is discontent at home that threatens聽. As a modern-day聽, Obama can only hope that he is not succeeded by a contemporary counterpart of聽.

*[You can receive 鈥淭he World This Week鈥� directly in your inbox by subscribing to our mailing list. Simply visit聽51吃瓜聽and enter your email address in the space provided. Meanwhile, please find below five of our finest articles for the week.]

Superdelegates Should Support Bernie

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It聽would be a mistake to assume while聽a聽battle is being waged for the Republican Party, that there is not a fierce fight for the soul of the Democrats.

Just like in 2008, it鈥檚 coming down to the superdelegates. Barack Obama鈥檚 win was secured when two-thirds of the superdelegates decided that he would be the better Democratic candidate for president. In order to serve in their envisioned role as an electoral corrective, the superdelegates should give Bernie Sanders the Democratic nomination.

Obama represented 鈥渉ope and change鈥� on immigration, climate change and health care. Sanders represents the future of the party through bold foreign and domestic policy positions that have put聽him聽ahead聽in national polls. His hark back to FDR-style politics鈥攊ncluding investment in infrastructure and people鈥攁nd his flat rejection of the neoliberal and neocon politics practiced by Hillary Clinton have galvanized the electorate. The Vermont senator polls鈥� Read more

Dilma Rousseff鈥檚 Impeachment Was Not a Coup

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Rousseff鈥檚聽impeachment aside, the truth is that her government was a tragedy for Brazil.

鈥淭here are three sides to every story: mine, yours and the truth,鈥� as my high school teacher used to say. But in the information age, the most important asset to public opinion is not the truth, but the 鈥渘arrative.鈥� It doesn鈥檛 matter what the facts are, but what one publicizes as 鈥渢ruth鈥濃�攊n politics that means spreading an easier-to-believe version than your opponent.

The problem starts when that version of a fact is not only false, but is a rhetorical device created only in order to escape from justice. As an old propaganda master once said, 鈥淭ell a lie聽often enough and it will become the truth.鈥� This strategy is prevalent in Brazil today, and that is exactly what Dilma Rousseff has been doing since her presidential impeachment on May 12. According to the law, she鈥� Read more

The Coming Drone Blowback for America

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The US conducts drone strikes worldwide with relative impunity. But when the first strike hits America, the real blowback will begin.

The targeted assassination of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour last weekend wasn鈥檛 just another drone strike.

First of all, it was聽conducted by the US military, not the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which has orchestrated nearly all drone strikes in Pakistan.

Second, it didn鈥檛 take place in Afghanistan or in the so-called lawless tribal region of Pakistan known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, or FATA. The guided missile turned a聽white Toyota and its two passengers聽into a fireball on a well-traveled highway in Balochistan, in southwest Pakistan.

Prior to this particular drone strike, Pakistan allowed the United States to patrol the skies over the northwest region of FATA, a Taliban stronghold. But President Barack Obama decided to cross this 鈥渞ed line鈥� to take out Mansour鈥� Read more

New Frontiers of Cancer Research

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In聽this edition of The Interview, 51吃瓜 talks to oncologist Vijay Reddy about developments in cancer research.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO),聽non-communicable diseases聽were responsible for nearly 70% of the 56 million deaths worldwide in 2012,聽with cancer claiming at least 8.2 million. Among the leading causes of cancer, including environmental and lifestyle factors, tobacco use is estimated to be responsible for over 20% of all cancer deaths.聽Incidence rates聽are almost 25% higher in men, with developing countries in Africa, Asia, and Central and Latin America accounting for 70% of global cancer deaths.

Finding a cure for cancer has been the Golden Fleece quest of modern science, with US President Barack Obama announcing a further $2 billion increase in funding for the 鈥渕oon shoot鈥� to cure cancer in his last State of the Union address. Yet drug research and development (R&D) brings enormous costs, often鈥� Read more

How Will Saudi Arabia Revamp its Education System?

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Without an educated and skilled workforce, it will be a tremendous challenge for Vision 2030 to meet its target goals.

As Saudi Arabia pursues economic diversification and sustainable development, the kingdom鈥檚 progress on these two fronts requires a reformed education system. In April, Prince Mohammed bin Salman鈥擲audi Arabia鈥檚 deputy crown prince, defense minister and head of the Council of Economic and Developmental Affairs鈥攁nnounced聽a new and progressive plan known as Vision 2030, which focuses on a variety of economic reforms, business and investment endeavors, as well as cultural and entertainment projects.

Without taking into account the importance, value and overall social implications of a quality education, it is not feasible to implement meaningful economic, cultural and business reforms. Without an educated and skilled workforce, it will be a tremendous challenge for Vision 2030 to meet its target goals. Because of outdated school curricula, ineffective teaching methods and low鈥� Read more

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.

Photo Credit: 听/听

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