Are all candidates’ cards on the table?

Kambiz Shabankare, Geanina Armani

The last election was important not only for USA but also for people around the world. According to many political experts, the American domestic and foreign policies failed during the presidency of George Bush.

“George W Bush broke faith with the American people and with American values. He violated his oath of office by failing to faithfully execute the laws, and by undermining--instead of preserving, protecting and defending--the Constitution of the United States.”

Middle East was one of the most important issues that George Bush had to deal with. However, he not only didn’t try to find a solution for it, but also helped deteriorate the situation in the region. Sending troops to Iraq and Afghanistan and starting the long war, on several fronts and unidentified areas, lead America to endure very serious human and material damages.

The economic crisis that occurred after the starting of the war placed the Republicans and George Bush in a difficult and insurmountable position.

“The war has claimed many lives and usurped over 1 trillion in tax dollars, with the President requesting tens of billions more……. This year, a record 3 MILLION Americans have lost their homes, breeding the worst mortgage crisis in U.S. history that George Bush does not have the mental capacity to fix.”

On the other hand, America's behavior raised outraged public opinion in the world and in the US. After the mistakes and behavior of some American soldiers were published in Iraq and other countries, many called George Bush a big liar.

The news of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp were a coup de grace for the Republicans and George Bush.

This was a chance for the democrats and especially for Barak Obama to change the scene of the American presidential campaign and make Barak Obama a winner.

Obama came to the presidential election with many promises to overcome the existing problems.

“I'll be a president who finally makes health care affordable and available to every single American, the same way I expanded health care in Illinois, by… And I'll be a president who ends this war in Iraq and finally brings our troops home… “

Obama came with the promise to change things, not just in the US, but in all the other countries that were affected by America’s policy.

But Obama doesn’t have a brilliant record. After 4 years he couldn’t change anything about medical insurance in US which is still is a big problem for the people in United States.

In addition, Guantanamo’s situation hasn’t changed at all. While it is true that a large number of American troops left Iraq, there is still the condition of Iraqis not being better than before.

Not only war has not finished there, but also it turned to a new form and, as a result, many innocent people were still killed. The issue with Afghanistan finds new dimension every day.

Still, there is the exorbitant cost of the American military presence in other countries, especially in the Middle East, while people in America are suffering from bad economic conditions.

It seems that the condition of the American government is out of control and in the remaining months, until the election, candidates will resort to whatever it takes to pave the way to Obama’s re-election.

This ‘poker game’ calls for a new card in the Republican’s pocket.

For a long time, Iran and its nuclear program was a controversial issue in the American government,

It seems, the republicans have decided to setup old methods again. One of these methods is bringing up the subject of war with Iran in a tested way against the democrats. The intention of bringing up this issue is to divert the public opinion from domestic problems.

But what the Republicans have forgotten is that this method is extremely shabby. Experience has shown that the war in the Middle East will never be easy and based on the present economic issues in United States, this strategy will create bigger problems in the US.

It is clear that Iran is going to be a power in the world and will use its nuclear bomb to maintain its power but the ‘solution’ of a military invasion to solve this issue would not be helpful for US or for the rest of the world.

The military invasion under George Bush was a mistake that made the American people and other countries pay dearly. Now, the world’s condition is such that another crisis will lead it to irreparable damage. Iran knows this and so it tries to force US to start a war.

Iran has no chance of surviving all the external pressures. War is only a chance for Iran to change the game, at least for some years, to its avail. If a war starts, Iran will try to involve too many countries, and maybe cause a third world war.

It seems that war is what Iran and the American republican politicians want but not the rest of the people.

The coming days will be fateful not only for America but also for the entire world. It does not matter who will win the next election, it is important who will come with fewer mistakes.