Dear Mr. Barack Hussein Obama,

We, members of the “Afghanistan’s Students Movement” congratulate you for your success in the Presidential elections of the United States of America, which we consider a sign for a better future. Your presence in the political arena of the world will rearrange many political equations and will create a different system that we hope can bring about the opportunity for global peace. We are optimistic that you, not only as an aware political organizer, but also as a charismatic and wise leader, will be the initiator of another generation of powerful leaders committed to human values that the world has been waiting for.

Let us admit this honestly: We have all lost hope. The flame of hope that had been lightened in our hearts after year 2001 in Afghanistan has been transformed to a blind knot of doubt and darkness due to the misleading policies and political disability in Afghanistan. The hope and will to live has decreased in last six years while terrorism and drug production has increased. The highest rates of mother and infant mortality are in Afghanistan, (MMR 6500 in Badakhshan). For every four kids, one dies before reaching age five. (Afghanistan Human Development report 2007 p.27).

Poverty, social disorder, kidnapping, violence against women and children and many of other problems have struck the heart of society in Afghanistan. We think that your attention and focus in Afghanistan should shift from the Taliban’s terrorism to Afghanistan’s society. Our society is in such a painful and deteriorating situation that it has inevitably become a cradle for terrorism and fundamentalism. We should not forget that Afghanistan has been a victim of the West’s struggle against communism, a struggle that continued for two decades with the resistance of people of Afghanistan and saved the countries in region and world, a resistance that left nothing for Afghanistan’s people but a malfunctioning social system, more than two million dead, five million emigrants, three illiterate generations, fundamentalism and wide poppy fields.

We have no doubt that the neglect by the international community and USA after the departure of Soviet forces, and the fall of the Communist state led to civil war and then emergence of Taliban in Afghanistan. This neglect provided an opportunity for development of the most dangerous and darkest fundamentalist regime on the globe in Afghanistan in less then seven years.

The attention of the international community and especially the United States should shift to Afghanistan’s society. A society that is sick and on the brink of death can only be saved by a well thought out and efficient method and a collaborative international effort. Fundraising and providing loans alone can not prevent a crisis; there is a need for coordinating the country’s political direction. We believe that if the future leader of the USA continues the mistakes of George W. Bush, and fights the world with the ideological simplification of good and evil, we will soon witness the fall of Afghanistan’s government which is a symbol of global governance and influence, and the sad result will be that an unforgivable and irreversible catastrophe will shadow the region
and the world.

You must know that although branches of terrorism are in Afghanistan, its roots are in the depths of oil reserves in Saudi Arabia and the nuclear weapons in Pakistan. The free tribal regions in Pakistan can be a safe shelter for development of fundamentalist power equipped with nuclear armament in near future. The future US administration should also know that the Taliban had reasonable opportunities in the last seven years that, intentionally or not, were provided for them by the West and the Government of Afghanistan. The Taliban that the USA will be fighting in 2009 are not the Taliban of 2001. The empowered Taliban now have modern armaments, know the tactics of organized war, and have a budget, financial power, and more support in the region. The Taliban are now more organized and have attracted many local militia groups. Experience shows that negotiation and power-sharing with the Taliban will not change the situation, but will help the injured snake of Taliban fundamentalism become a seven headed dragon.

We believe that the contradiction between the structure and essence of government has led to political failure in Afghanistan. The structure of Afghanistan’s government contradicts its nature. The government has a modern and democratic structure, but a tribal and traditional essence. This hypocritical incompatibility has caused increasing political and economic corruption and has led to destruction of society. The tribal structure of government has led to rechanneling the American reconstruction aid to the Taliban’s terrorism. This structure has allowed for the presence of heads of political parties, members of Taliban, Hekmatyar’s Hizb-e-Islami (Islamic Party), and ex-communists in parliament, government and smaller branches of power. In fact, these people are the main decision makers in the political process of country.

Most of the members of the parliament do not have the least legal literacy and have come to power through a process that has a legitimate cover (elections), but is in nature undemocratic. Decision makers in provincial councils, parliament and cabinet are representatives of ethnic and linguistic divisions and interests of leaders of various factions. The procedure for election and functions of Senate (Upper House) are similar to that of an ethnic Jirga. The members of provincial councils, Parliament and cabinet have come to power depending on support of ethnic and linguistic fractions and are not committed to formation of a stable, sustainable and encompassing national value system.

The concept and position of political parties is ambiguous and vague in Afghanistan’s power structure, and the leaders of parties in the government use the opportunities and public resources for strengthening their parties. The leaders of parties like the Afghan Millat Party, the Republican Party, the Wahdat (Unity) Party, and a few other parties have seats in important government branches from the ministries to the presidential office and this has created a conflict of interests and inefficiency within the power structure. Decision making and effective action at a national level requires cooperation between different government organs, but with the current state of power imbalance, coordination and cooperation is almost impossible. Each party tries to please its own supporters and its loyal sub-groups and this has led to increasing corruption and has created obstacles for reconstruction. Without an efficient and implementable reconstruction program, poverty and the reach of fundamentalism will expand and increase.

In addition, the modern state with a free market economy, which was a direct suggestion of President George W. Bush for Afghanistan, has led to poverty and increasing class disparity. The current economic model in Afghanistan has created a breeding ground for economic mafia. All the governmental (public) sectors and national mines and resources of Afghanistan have been handed over to private companies that are managed by a network of corrupt politicians and politically influential business owners. We believe that the information that is given to you from the official sources of Afghanistan’s government and even their partners in power (The National United Front) is usually incorrect and misleading and is packaged to create a vague and unreal optimism. In fact, the international community has not been able to create the most primary form of stable and influential government in Afghanistan despite a huge expenditure of aid. Each election carries the risk of a coup.

Complicating matters, a misleading image of the situation in order to justify the Western “war against terrorism” and the expenditure of billions of dollars. The military budget of the USA in Afghanistan and Iraq, derived from the taxes of American citizens, and which was supposed to bring security, health and prosperity for Afghanistan’s women and children has instead provided the Taliban with modern armaments that kill dozens of innocent people everyday. We are certain that Afghanistan’s problems will not be solved only with militarism and sending more troops. With the current state of affairs, this plan is far more certain to worsen the situation.

Our suggestions:

1 - Change in political structure: Ratification of the presidential system in constitutional Loya Jirga in 2003 prevented formation of a strong central government with the natural participation of all ethnic groups. By suggesting another convention of Loya Jirga, you can create an atmosphere of trust and ensure the presence of all ethnic groups in the Afghan government and a shift from a presidential system to a parliamentarian system. That will allow all Afghanistan’s citizens to feel equal belonging and responsibility to the political system of the country for the first time. This will also create the opportunity for abolition of ethnic quota that only benefits the former Jihad leaders. It will allow people from all different ethnicities to participate freely and equally.

2 - The parliamentarian government and federal system has proved efficient in Iraq. Participation of all ethnic groups and parties in the federal system has ensured the rights of minority groups and their participation in formation of a stable system. You should also suggest the federal system for Afghanistan. Five zones of Afghanistan can be five independent states which will help formation of strong local economies, and the non-concentrated political system can be more coordinated and efficient. In Afghanistan, formation of a concentrated powerful government system is very difficult due to its geography and limited resource. The almost homogenous
ethnic, linguistic and religious population of each state (zone) can prevent conflicts.

3 - Strengthening civil society: We believe the situation could be improved dramatically by decreasing the military budget and investing more in the social sector. There is no doubt that this shift will have a more positive influence, be an easier strategy, and will result in quick and long lasting outcomes for ensuring peace and stable society in Afghanistan. Afghanistan needs social change and this is only possible by strengthening civil organizations, not by increasing the military force.

4 - Stabilizing the issues related to political geography of Afghanistan. The 2700 Kilometer southern border of Afghanistan with the free tribal regions of Pakistan has helped terrorism to have a continuous movement in the region.

5 - Be firm with the Taliban. The US and international community’s soft policies against Taliban has led to strengthening fundamentalism in the region, and especially in Pakistan, and will continue to do so. The possibility of terrorists’ access to nuclear armament does not seem far away anymore.

6 - The bureaucratic system in the country is still run in the communist style and is inflated. It needs to be reduced, and there needs to be a move towards more regulation and transparency.

7 - The economic system should shift from the uncontrolled free market economy. Formation of monitoring governmental bodies can prevent waste of national resources. A mixed economy system is the best option and economic model for a country that does not have anything. In the current situation, the government and ministries have given over their responsibility to private sector that has weakened public services’ ability to serve the poor.

8 - Any big aid package to Afghanistan’s government should be conditioned on lack of corruption. Corruption is one of the biggest reasons for discontent among Afghanistan’s population. Request transparency and just and equal distribution of aid. The unjust distribution of international aid has led to estrangement of different groups of Afghanistan’s population from government and the international community. This critical issue, if not remedied, could, in the long term, further encourage people of these regions to support armed opposition of government.

Mr. President, we have hope that you will not let humanity be disregarded in Afghanistan.

In Solidarity and Cooperation,
Afghanistan’s Students’ Movement - The overseas office

13.02.2009
Shaharzad Akbar
BA student (senior year)
Anthropology and Development
Smith College in Northampton, Massachusett
Email: shaharzadakbar[at]yahoo.com

Sayed Asef Hossaini
MA Student
Erfurt School of Public Policy
Germany
Email: s_asefhosaini[at]yahoo.com

He didn't specify what type of change though; would be funny if he comes out after winning the race and just starts handing out pennies to people..

Anyway, if he does win, i've got a gut feeling there's going to be some sort of assassination attempt in there somewhere; hey, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against the guy, but all it takes is one person who doesn't want a Black president for things to escalate.

Anyway…

This race has dragged on far too long, and it's turned more into a TV drama soap/sitcom than anything else.

Whatever.

Obama/McCain. It's 2:00am over here in Bahrain, and i'm heading to bed. Let's see what the polls say when I wake up tomorrow. What a different world it could be.

Overall, it is my personal opinion that John McCain has led a disrespectful, dirty, desperate campaign and while Barack Obama is far from perfect, he has become an inspiration even for those following the events from abroad. His take on war being a last resort as opposed to a “mission” is one of the main things that make him the more favorable candidate.

I will also say that Obama’s team of professionals and volunteers have by far led one of the best campaigns I have ever seen, you only need to visit the official website to see what I mean. It changes on a daily basis to incorporate relevant features, all of which are increasingly impressive, and it has a section that was developed as a reaction to McCain’s disturbing and hateful smear campaign. Differences in traffic are also quite major. Obama’s team definitely have my vote for “excellence on the internet.”

A win for Obama is a win for the Middle East. It’s about time that we are respected by the U.S government and are not treated like ants in a battlefield with no rights or humanity, the way we have been treated for the past 8 years and God forbid, the next 4!

This article at Afghan Press may be of interest to readers as well:

The latest Doha Debate voters at the Doha Debates overwhelmingly concluded that Senator John McCain is not the best candidate for protecting Middle Eastern interests by 87% to 13%.

A lively audience at Qatar Foundation’s Doha Debates yesterday conclusively warned America that a victory by John McCain in the US Presidential election would damage relations with the Middle East.

Praying for Obama.

We were extremely excited to be doing this again. I love it that today we live in a world where with just a few clicks you can connect yourself with people and hear their views or express your own without having to worry about the geographical limitations.

For the third teleconference (we did this previously here and here), we spoke with students from York Central High, Pennsylvania. They were studying about the Middle East in their Global Studies course and wanted to know from us as people (rather than simply relying on the media) what we think/feel about certain issues.

This time we had the following people present:

Amira from Bahrain, Eva from Israel, Sameh from Gaza, Palestine, Mohammad from Jordan, and myself. Together we did our best to answer the questions by high school students from York Central High, covering all of these topics:

Amongst a few other things!

We hope that you will enjoy this podcast. I apologize for the quality, but we had little control over that.

Listen to the podcast here.

This is a great educational experience, and we’re glad to be doing it again. It will take place this Thursday 8:00am EST, and we invite you to join us via Skype!

Sorry for the short notice, but we would really love to have at least 2-3 of you join us for this to be a success.

How it works:
Using a group conference call on Skype, we communicate with a high school class in the USA (Pennsylvania to be exact) who ask us questions about the Middle East. The entire class gets to listen to the interchange and students keep chipping in with their questions and comments. I later edit this into a podcast and provide it on MEYcast, our podcasting site.

What you need:
If you have a Skype account, you’re all set. All you need to do is contact us or leave a comment and we’ll get back to you with an invite! If you don’t know what Skype is, it’s a widely used service that allows you to communicate via audio with the people of your choice.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you’re interested in joining the session. It usually goes on for about 25-30 minutes. Remember, we desperately need at least 2-3 people from the Middle East! Find out if you’re free (or make yourself free!) on Thursday at 8:00am EST.

Gregory Wimmer, their teacher, will be moderating the discussions.

AmiraalHussaini, from Bahrain, balked at Sarah Palin's use of the familiar:

She then questioned how Palin managed to bone up on her public speaking skills so quickly:

She also wondered about Palin's promises regarding Wall Street:

Much of the Twitter commentary was in reference to Palin's gaffes and mispronunciations. Israeli gilgul remarked upon her pronunciation of “nuclear”:

He also remarked upon Palin's “O'Biden” gaffe:

lrakoto, from Madagascar, enjoyed Palin's “O'Biden” remark:

He also eschewed Palin's use of “doggone”:

AmiraalHussaini chose to comment on Palin's repeated mispronunciation of Iraq and Iran:

Many viewers were also appalled at Palin's response to the question on oil and energy. Danish-Puerto Rican Solanasaurus didn't quite agree with Palin:

By the end of the debate, it was clear that this segment of the Twittersphere favored Biden. lrakoto made his preference clear:

On the humorous side of things, eunice007 (Philippines) remarks upon the bipartisan US:

Australian rachelhills is a bit torn on the winner of the debate:

AmiraAlHussaini, from Bahrain, is clearly an Obama supporter:

Twitterers had strong feelings about Iraq. AmiraAlHussaini said:

Fehlauer, from Brazil, also commented on McCain's strategy of “winning” in Iraq:

Much of the debate was centered on Iran, and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. AmiraAlHussaini is amazed that John McCain cannot pronounce Ahmadinejad:

Brazilian Fehlauer thinks that McCain has it all wrong when it comes to Iran:

lrakoto, from Madagascar, is with Obama in that Ahmadinejad is perhaps not top dog in Iran:

Reacting to John McCain's comments about former Russian President Vladimir Putin, Danish-Puerto Rican Solanasaurus joked:

Just like their television counterparts, this group of Twitter pundits couldn't immediately determine the “winner” of the debates. AmiraalHussaini concluded the tweet session by saying:

While only Americans have the right to vote in the upcoming US presidential elections, the rest of the world is closely watching who will become the next leader of the world.

What is your message to American voters?

Should America withdraw from Iraq?

Should the US have a role in the Middle-East peace process?

Do you want your point of view heard?

Tell us what you think!

Dear American Voter, a project of Link TV, invites you to be a part of a global dialogue featuring responses from around the world to the question, “What should Americans think about as they cast their ballot?”

Watch global citizens in over 90 videos from over 22 countries talking about how American policies affect their lives.

What does change look like promo:

Send us your videos, photos, check out our blog, or just jump in on the conversation.

He is charged with tossing a hand grenade that killed a U.S. soldier during a 2002 firefight at an al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan. [Source]

Apparently there’s no documented evidence on that. In fact, Michael Melia, an Associated Press reporter, notes that claims against Khadr were intentionally altered by a U.S military commander:

The military commander’s official report the day after the raid originally said the assailant who threw the grenade was killed, which would rule out Khadr as the suspect.

The report was revised months later, under the same date, to say a U.S. fighter had only “engaged” the assailant, according to Kuebler, who said the later version was presented to him by prosecutors as an “updated” document.

Kuebler told reporters after the hearing that it appears “the government manufactured evidence to make it look like Omar was guilty.”

Why should we expect evidence? We never got evident reports on Aafia Siddiqui’s case either, who has apparently been tortured enough to have lost her sanity, and her lawyer claims that she can’t even sit properly on a wheelchair. Until today Siddiqui’s family also have no idea what happened to her children, one of whom was only a few months old at the time of her arrest.

For those of you who often (very often) confuse demands for justice with supporting terrorism, here’s a message that might help develop your logic:

He [his lawyer] said Khadr is not asking for forgiveness or even freedom.

“Just give him a court room. He’s asking for a fair process,” he said.

Everyone deserves a fair trial. No exceptions. We already have enough propaganda that can justify anything in existence, what is needed here is evidence, which has yet to be provided, instead of a banquet of baseless claims being force-fed to the public under the false banner of “national security,” a term that has been abused and over-used to justify several vile crimes.

Unfortunately, Siddiqui has yet to receive a fair trial as well. Hundreds of other “suspects” remain forgotten and abused in the hands of the U.S government. They tell us demanding information is in line with supporting and justifying terrorism, this is an increasingly popular strategy that our own governments also use when we demand justice for minorities or free-thinking civilians who are regarded as “threats” to our national security despite a clear lack of any evidence that remotely suggest that. This is an ongoing process that reeks of corruption.

Families of both so-called “suspects” want their loved ones home. I’m sure hundreds of other undocumented cases exist and devastated families of such individuals continue to ask simple questions which have consistently been ignored by the U.S government.

We want answers.

If you truly want to understand what this person has to offer in terms of awareness, strategic thinking and intelligence watch this disturbing video of a recent interview with her:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z75QSExE0jU

Give this lady a choice and she’ll take out an entire country without consulting a real brain, or anyone with values and standards.

It’s funny that Palin and her supporters place a huge emphasis on the word “extremists” without realizing the fact that they fall exactly under that category. Anyone who feels that they have the right to attack any country despite an apparent lack of a real threat are self-serving nuts, these are people’s lives you’re dealing with, and they’re not worth less than your own. Using 9/11 as a strategy is getting quite tedious - the U.S already attacked Afghanistan, Iraq, and arrested/tortured thousands of people or “suspects”, many of whom are innocent, as a reaction to 9/11 - we had enough. Now we have to swift through an endless stream of threats from someone who wants to be Vice President of a country whose military far exceeds anyone else’s in the world.

Palin makes me want to throttle myself… but if she becomes America’s next VP, she will be doing a lot of the throttling herself. She will destroy us at each and every opportunity. I’m sure that makes all the overly paranoid xenophobic racists out there ecstatic.

Seriously, go Obama.

This battle for U.S presidency is a matter of life and death for many of us in the Arab and Muslim world.

Bahraini Al Rayyash [Ar] believes that Obama will never make it to the White House. He explains:

دار جدل طويل بيني وبين صديق حول إمكانية وصول المرشح باراك أوباما وفوزه في الانتخابات الامريكية لمنصب الرئيس، وبررت عدم فوزه لحقائق بدأت أفهما عن طبيعة الشعب الامريكي واللوبي السياسي الذي يتحكم في مفاصل السياسة الامريكية!! فبعد بحث وتنقيب وجدت أن الادارة الامريكية لا تختلف عن أديولوجية بن لان في تعصبه الى الدين !! فنظرة سريعة على خطابات الرئيس الامريكي الحالي نجدها جميعها إن لم يخني التقدير ترتكز في طرحها على النظرة الدينية المتعصبة والمتنقلة بين التورات والانجيل !! والحقيقة الثانية أن اللوبي الامريكي والذي يتحكم اليهود في إتجاهاته لا يقبل بأن تحكمة إمرأه أو رجل ملون!! هذه حقيقة سوف يكتشفها الناخب الامريكي الذي سوف يتحكم في قراره الاعلام المريكي المدفوع سلفاً من قبل اللوبي اليهودي!! وعلى رغم حبي لبساطة الشعب الامريكي وأريحيته التي عشتها أثاء وجودي في سان فرانسيسكو إلا أني أشفق عليه من سلطة الاعلام التي يقودها ويتحكم فيها أشخاص لايحكمون أمريكا من البيت الابيض!!

A long discussion took place with a friend on the possibility of nominee Barack Obama winning the US elections and becoming president. I explained why he would not win based on realities I started to understand about the nature of American people and the political lobby which controls all aspects of American politics. After research I discovered that the ideology of the American administration does not differ from Bin Laden's ideology when it comes to religious extremism. A quick review of the current US president's speeches will reveal, if I am not mistaken, an extreme religious perspective and references to the Old Testament and the Bible!! The second reality is that the American lobby, which is controlled by the Jews in its direction, will never accept being ruled by a woman or a coloured man!! This is the reality which the American voters who is controlled by the American media, which is paid for by the Jewish lobby, will discover!! Despite my love for the simplicity of the Americans during my stay in San Francisco, I feel sorry for them because of the way they are controlled by the media, which is led by people who don't rule America from the White House!!

Egyptian Tahyyes was not impressed with Obama's address at the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado. She writes:

لم أسمع خطاب أوباما وعليه فإنني لا يمكن أن أحكم على الخطاب دون سماعه كاملا، إلا أن ذكرياتنا مع أوباما منذ أن تم ترشيحه وحتى الآن ليست بالذكريات السعيدة. مجمل القول أن أوباما..فلتعذرني الترجمة الإلكترونية..ح يموت يبقى رئيس، سوف يقتل نفسه ليصبح أول رئيس أسود يدخل البيت الأبيض، ومستعد لارتداء عقل أبيض والتضحية بالعقل والقلب الأسود في سبيل نصرة الجلد، الحقيقة أن ما أورده موقع الجزيرة من مقتطفات لخطاب أوباما لم تكن مشجعة على الأطلاق، بل تنضح بالتهديد والوعيد من جانب، وبالغطرسة والتكبر من جانب آخر

I did not listen to Obama's speech and therefore I cannot judge it without listening to it completely. However, our memories with Obama, since he was nominated until today, have not been happy. In short, Obama will die to become president. He will kill himself to become the first black man to enter the White House. He is ready to wear a white mentality and sacrifice his black mind and heart in order to achieve what he want. The truth is that the excerpts I have read on Al Jazeera from Obama's speech were not encouraging at all. They were full of threats on the one hand, and arrogance on the other.

She also wonders what Obama's American dream is:

أي حلم؟ أنا أريد أن يشرح لي عاقل تفاصيل هذا الحلم,..خير اللهم اجعله
خير؟
بالنسبة لمصرية عربية مسلمة الحلم الأمريكي هو عبارة عن أطعمة سريعة
تصيب المرء بالإمساك، وليل مضاء على شاشات التلفزيون يصور بغداد
وأفغانستان وهما مشتعلتان، ومساكين عزل مقيدة أيديهم وأقدامهم

What dream? I want someone sane to explain to me the details of this dream. I hope it is something good. As for me, an Egyptian Arab Muslim, the American dream is fast food which causes constipation, and bright nights on television screens which show Baghdad and Afghanistan on fire as well as poor people's whose wrists and feet are tied up.

Writing on a Saudi online forum, Sport King says that Arab media already portrays Obama as the presumptive president of the US. He says:

يبدو واضحا مما تعكسه مقالات وأعمدة الرأي في الصحف العربية، أن النفس العربي يميل نحو المرشح الديمقراطي باراك اوباما في سباقه نحو الرئاسة الامريكية ضد الجمهوري جون ماكين، لكن ذلك الدعم الحذر ما يزال يشوبه الشك في نوع التغيير الذي ينادي به أوباما ضمن حملته الانتخابية.

It is obvious, in the way reflected by opinion columns in Arab newspapers, that Arabs are supportive of Democratic nominee Barack Obama in his race to the US presidency against the Republican John McCain. However, that cautious support, is still not convinced of the type of change that Obama has been calling for throughout his campaign.

And Egypt's New Al Wasat Party's website echoes a similar sentiment in an editorial which says:

لو كان للعالم أن يصوّت في الانتخابات الرئاسية الأميركية التي ستجري في شهر تشرين الثاني (نوفمبر) المقبل، لربح باراك أوباما من دون شك، فثمة رغبة سائدة في أنحاء المعمورة، وعلى وجه الخصوص في أوروبا والعالم العربي، بأن تستعيد الولايات المتحدة عافيتها وسلطتها وسمعتها. إلا أن العالم لن يصوّت.

If the world were to vote in the upcoming US elections, which will be held in November, Barack Obama will win without any doubt. There is a strong desire for this from all over the world, especially Europe and the Arab world, for the US to regain its strength, authority and reputation. However, the world will not vote.

As the speech begins, African Twitter users are having fun translating Obama's trademark phrase, “Yes We Can” into different African languages. From Kenya, afromusing starts the trend with Swahili:

dnashong, originally from Ghana, shares more ways to say we can:

kaysha remarks upon Africa's need for a figure like Obama:

dnashong responds:

He then corrects himself to say “you know I should've said Africa's new leaders. I mean US!”

Malagasy lrakoto admits his excitement for Obama's reactions:

Although it goes without saying that non-U.S. citizens have a number of reasons for their interest in the U.S. elections, Trinidadian nplaughlin puts it best when he says:

Bahraini amiraalhussaini quips:

Finally, Nigerian kuikihoro seems disappointed that Obama's speech ended so quickly:

Since 9/11 her life and the lives of many innocent Arabs, Muslims, Afghans and Pakistanis within the USA changed for the worse, when the USA began shamelessly discriminating, arresting, and even torturing innocent civilians under the false premise of “national security.” Innocent people were undergoing severe torture simply for being “suspects” of terrorism.

According to a BBC article from earlier this month:

Research at the time refused to turn up anything on the status of Aafia Siddiqui - she was not listed as wanted by any federal or Pakistani agency.

At that point, it seemed she had vanished off the face of the earth.

Siddiqui comes from a very well established and educated family, and from what I have been reading, she is seemingly open minded. She even wanted her children to be raised and educated in the USA, which led to disputes with her husband, also a Pakistani who was arrested and questioned by the FBI for buying goggles and some military manuals. Here is her familial background:

Her brother is an architect based in Houston, while Fauzia [her sister] is a neurologist who used to work at Mount Sinai hospital in New York.

Aafia Siddiqui went to school in Karachi and graduated with a biology degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

Keep in mind that the claims below are nothing but that; baseless claims, and has yet to be evidenced by something other than FBI gossip. Comments within brackets are my own:

In 2004 then-FBI director Robert Mueller announced at a press conference that Aafia Siddiqui was wanted for questioning.

She was later named as part of an alleged al-Qaeda diamond smuggling operation in Liberia. [Because an established neurologist with an MIT degree and three children has enough free time on her hands to organize terrorist movements in Liberia.] Publications such as Newsweek quoted the FBI as saying this was to finance al-Qaeda’s biological and chemical weapons programme.

After that, her name remained on the list of disappeared - until she surfaced last month in Afghanistan in US military custody.

[…]

“It is always believed one is innocent until proven guilty, not the other way round,” her sister, Fauzia, told reporters in Karachi on Tuesday.

She added that every time she had met US officials, they had said they had never formally accused Aafia Siddiqui of being a terrorist [but arrested and tortured her anyways!]

The article concludes with what is pretty much her only crime:

The answer may lie in her relationship with the family of alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Aafia Siddiqui is said to have married Ali Abd’al Aziz Ali, one of his nephews following her divorce. Although her family denies this, the BBC has been able to confirm it from security sources and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s family.

It is an open secret in Karachi, that any member of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed’s family deemed to be “a 1% threat to US security” is in American custody.

That may be the only “crime” that Aafia Siddiqui has committed.

No evidence of anything else but a romantic link. No record of terrorism or abuse. No proof of her “terrorist activities” whatsoever. She is from an educated family, she has never harmed the USA, she has never committed a crime, and her only supposed link to “terrorism” is her marriage to a “nephew” of whom the USA considers to be a terrorist.

Shame on the U.S government, and to all U.S officials who knew about the injustice of this but remained silent.

This is one of MANY hypocracies when it comes to the USA preaching “democracy and human rights” to countries like Pakistan and the greater Muslim world, especially under this disgusting administration which has ruined and ended the lives of millions of innocent people.

Free Aafia Siddiqui right now, and all your other innocent “suspects.”

For some reason I cannot believe that we are still condemning this and demanding that Gitmo gets shut down. The U.S government doesn’t respect this international outcry and its own laws. And because of that, here we go again:

Omar Khadr is a 21 year old Canadian citizen who was only 15 years old when he was arrested by the U.S military in eastern Afghanistan for supposedly killing a U.S medic. What child would do that? A troubled child who should not be left to rot in a torturous illegal prison. Normally, he should have been regarded as a child combatant, recognized as a victim. This is a young boy who grew up in an extremist family and was caught in urban warfare, which should lead us into thinking that he is in need of serious psychological help due to the trauma that he must have suffered throughout his childhood. Is that the concern of the U.S military? No. Why? He’s not American. The American government should not be left to do what it wishes to citizens of other countries. He should be sent to his native Canada to face Canadian justice. Frankly he is the responsibility of the Canadian government and should be dealt with there and not in the hands of the U.S military.

A video of Khadr’s interrogation has recently been released by his lawyers after a lengthy legal struggle. He was 16 at the time the video was shot.

If any other organization was doing what the U.S government is doing today, people would have declared it a terrorist organization working in what is beyond illegal by international law. But again, there is no equal treament today of such things. If America commits the crimes, they get away with it. Anyone else is a terrorist.

There are many innocent prisoners suffering without them having any form of outside interaction or legal rights, thus the horror stories we hear today of the grave crimes committed by the hypocritical U.S government are just a few of thousands. Remember Sami, Al Jazeera’s Sudanese cameraman, who was abused and imprisoned for 5 years at Guantanamo? I did not hear a public apology, or any activism in America on his behalf, especially considering the fact that he was never charged with anything but being a mere “suspect.” The guy was just doing his job when he was brutally arrested and left to suffer in a disgusting prison cell. For years no one cared. Had this kidnapping and abusive imprisonment been committed by a terrorist organization like Al Qaeda, we would be reminded of it every split second. But it was America who committed this crime, and it was an Arab Muslim who was being abused, so no one cared.

Dear U.S government, do not preach human rights to us, until you take care of your own human rights abuses. Release Omar Khadr from your illegal terrorist operation and allow him to face Canadian law and be allowed a fair trial and sufficient access to him by his lawyers. Otherwise, to us, you will forever be the terrorists that you love to complain about and you will forever inspire extremism against you.

Here at MEY we consistently condemn human rights abuses by our governments or any extremist elements within our society. The U.S government is no exception. A crime is a crime, regardless of your rank or worldwide reputation.

Fix this despicable crime.