Thursday, May 14, 2009
I briefly considered commenting upon Obama's refusal to release photographs of torture victims in the possession of the Defense Department, but passed, after all, what could I say that they haven't already said elsewhere? Turns out my inclination was correct.
Gaius over at Undemocracy in America exposes Obama's motivation with surgical precision:
Of course, we are experiencing a similar phenomenon in regard to economic policy. In this instance, Obama is playing to an old constituency, his supporters in the financial sector who contributed so generously to his presidential campaign and legitimized his economic credentials. Hence, trillions out the door to preserve the power of a social class that would otherwise fall from grace because of their catastrophic financial practices. Even worse, trillions out the door to exploit the crisis so that they can increase their power over us.He’s playing to his new constituency and his new pals, the insider bureaucracy – including the national security establishment – that are running what are increasingly his wars in the Middle East and his global war on terror.
Financial fraudsters in charge of our economy and militarists in charge of our foreign policy, while the President and his family bask in the glow of their glamourous allure. Why do I continue to have this disquieting feeling that a new war, even worse than the ones currently under way, looms just over the horizon?
Labels: "War on Terror", American Empire, Barack Obama, Neoliberalism
