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Dear Obama, STFU And Mind Your Own Business!

June 23, 2023
Hydra

Barack Obama’s recent interview with Christine Amanpour has received a lot of flak from Indians across the world. In one part of the interview which was shared by the anchor on Twitter, we see Obama has some “advice” for his friend Prime Minister Narendra Modi about democracy and minorities. 

“The protection of Muslim minorities in a majority Hindu India … “Part of my argument would be that if you do not protect the rights of ethnic minorities in India, then there is a strong possibility India at some point starts pulling apart. And we’ve seen what happens when you start getting those kinds of large internal conflicts,” he said.

Well, Mr. Obama, thanks but no thanks. And his words hinting at the possibility of India breaking up if the country did not do more for its minorities – what right does a former President of a first-world country have to comment on a country much more populous than his, a country that is the largest democracy in the world, a country that has had 2 women Presidents and one woman PM.

In the interview, Obama keeps mentioning a “Hindu India” and a “Muslim India”. What does he mean by that? By mentioning pulling apart, does he mean that India will get balkanized like Yugoslavia? Is he even listening to himself? It sounds like Obama wants to pit the Muslim India against a Hindu India. And it is anybody’s guess which side Obama will take. Even after these many years, the white man’s divide and rule mindset has not gone. Maybe his lobbyist friends and colleagues have been feeding him misinformation all along, but no Sir, there is only one India. His words only seem like a grand attempt to manipulate and/or gaslight the already apologetic Hindus to have their country Islamized. 

Mr. Obama, India underwent a painful partition 75+ years ago and today, the citizens will not allow for something so traumatic, heinous, and murderous to happen ever again. 

Obama’s Claim To Fame?

Barack Obama’s claim to fame was just that he was Black, his ethnicity alone played a major role in getting him elected. Well, he was/is a great speaker, an orator. Talks smooth like a butter.

What else did he achieve, oh he apparently got Osama bin Laden killed. Awesome!

But readers, you do remember that America under his presidency meddled with the affairs of Libya, leading to the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and made a mess out of that country in the name of “saving democracy”.

Obama’s Presidential Years 

Obama became POTUS in 2008. Yes, he inherited the Iraq and Afghanistan situation from the previous Bush regime, no doubt about that. He proclaimed he wanted to make the situation peaceful. Well, very good to hear. But what exactly happened? In 2009, within a year of his Presidency, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples”. Amazing.

Did you know in 2016 alone, during his second term, the US dropped 79% of the total bombs dropped in attacks on Syria and Iraq, apart from raining down bullets on people in Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Pakistan? That’s seven majority-Muslim countries.

Obama speaks about minorities in India, especially Muslims, but he completely forgot this fact when he bombed all those Muslim countries. Slow claps.

All through the 8 years of his presidency, he kept saying that war must be ended but he never did. We wonder who gave the US the right to meddle in the affairs of any other country, however big or small they may be.

While Prime Minister Modi believes in the fact that this is not an era of war but one of dialogue and diplomacy, Obama justified that “there could be instances when war is “morally justified.” in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech.  

During his 2008 campaign, Obama presented himself as an anti-war candidate which won the hearts of the people, he was an excellent orator and that did the trick. Add to this the fact that he was running to be the first Black President in history. But as his presidency unfolded, many of his supporters were taken aback by the reality. It became evident that Obama, often described as a stubborn pragmatist, took a different approach to governance, particularly in areas like foreign policy. Contrary to expectations, Obama expanded the scope of the “war on terror” to such an extent, while making it sustainable in a way his predecessors never did. 

In his first year as president, Obama used armed drones on a greater scale than Bush had throughout his entire presidency. From the early stages, Obama’s policy stressed the use of targeted killings, employing not only drones but also Special Forces and long-range standoff missiles. Initially wrapped in secrecy, these were later normalized and made public.

This shift towards targeted killings had a profound impact on the trajectory of the “war on terror,” extending its reach across the globe. As a result, the use of drones and other methods gradually expanded, pushing the boundaries of military operations further and further, and fundamentally transforming the nature of the conflict.

Anwar Nasser Abdulla al-Awlaki, an American imam who met his demise in Yemen in 2011 due to a drone strike authorized by President Barack Obama. This incident was the first time ever that a US citizen was killed upon orders by the President.

During Obama’s tenure as president, the frequency of drone strikes increased significantly, reaching nearly ten times the number conducted under Bush. This heightened use of drones resulted in the deaths of several thousands of people. The Air Force also began prioritising the training of drone operators over traditional aircraft pilots. 

“Light-footprint” Special Forces operated in or moved in a whopping 138 nations – or 70% of all countries in the world – in Obama’s last year in office. Actual fighting took place in at least 13 countries and targeted killing in some of those.

During the Obama presidency, approximately 1.2 million people lost their lives and 38 million people were displaced from or within countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Philippines, Libya, and Syria.

With all this to his name, we Indians want to share our two cents with him, Mr. Obama, please do not resort to taking digs at India or advising us, you might want to focus on Michelle running for President and keep your nose out of India’s internal matters. 

So, Mr. Obama just STFU (sleep tight for US’s sake!)

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