 
## Obama: The Great Betrayer

Published by Bhaskar Sarkar, at Smashwords

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Copyright Author Bhaskar Sarkar 2016

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Dedication

This book is dedicated to the millions of ordinary Americans who gave money from their meager savings and their votes to make Obama the President of United States only to be forgotten and hundreds of thousands of civilians who have died and tens of millions who have lost their homes and livelihood in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Ukraine and Yemen due to foreign policy and military decisions taken by President Obama.

### Prologue

The US President Barack Obama will relinquish office in January 2017 after eight years in the White House. Obama was a surprise winner in the 2008 US presidential election as he was an African American, a first time senator and a man of limited financial means. He was also the surprise recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize only a few months into his first year in office.

Obama collected over $778million to fight the election in 2008, most of it from about 20 million small donors. He had an unprecedented level of support among young people and new voters in the 2008 election. He succeeded in mobilizing African-American voters to his cause to an unprecedented extent. He won 95 percent of the black vote. He said that he would create new jobs and build new schools. He said that it was time to put American people back to work; to open doors of opportunity for American kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace. He said it was time to reclaim the American dream. 95 percent African Americans voted for him but he did not speak out against killings of unarmed Blacks by white police officers. He has not kept most of his promises. Poverty, hunger inequalities students debt has all risen to unprecedented levels during his tenure as president.

Obama inherited two wars, War on Terror and Iraq War from his predecessor George Bush. He added three wars in Libya, Syria and Ukraine. In the process over 300,000 people have been killed; 13 to 15 million people have become refugees and hundreds of cities have been reduced to rubble. His strategy of using drones to kill suspected terrorists and their families with impunity has opened a diabolic method of killing for his successor and other regimes to follow. Are these actions of a man of peace? Should his Nobel Prize for Peace not be recalled?

Obama again conned his ordinary, poor and young American voters in 2012 into parting with their savings and voting for him on promises of improving the economy and the lot of the people. But he worked tirelessly for the prosperity of the rich, the multinationals and Wall Street by quantitative easing. Increasing National Debt, student's debt and defence spending have reached unprecedented levels. His policies on immigration and free trade which cause job losses to American workers and depress wages are sure to increase the miseries of 99 percent of the American people and the American youth.

Obama, the orator and sales person, has betrayed those who voted for him and those who gave him the Nobel Peace Prize. He is a great if not the greatest betrayer of all times.

Author

colbhaskarvsm@gmail,com

##  Contents

Chapter 1. Champion of the People

Chapter 2: Obama the Harbinger of Peace

Chapter 3: Obama the Protector of the Environment

Chapter 4: Obama the Crusader against Terror

Chapter 5: Obama the Master Economist

Epilogue

Bibliography

About the Author

##  Chapter 1. Champion of the People

### Election Promises 2007-08

Obama was a surprise winner in the 2008 US presidential election. He was an African American, a first time senator and a man of limited financial means. On the plus side he was well read, articulate and a great orator. His campaign projected themes of hope and change. His war cry was "Yes we can". He promised to rapidly end the Iraq War; to increase energy independence and to reform the healthcare system. He promised universal healthcare, full employment; a green America and an America respected instead of being feared by its enemies. He used social media and internet to establish bond with his supporters and to appeal to newer and younger voters. Obama had over 2 million American supporters on the Facebook and over 100,000 followers on Twitter. Obama created a broad popular movement and a new method of campaigning by courting and mobilizing activists, donations, and voters through the Internet. It was a campaign that mobilized grassroots workers in every state. The 2008 presidential election saw a large youth turn out, up to 51 percent. Obama generally avoided racial issues in his campaign. He would have white people behind him on a stage when speaking to a large black group in order to avoid racial imagery.

Obama collected over $778million to fight the election most of it from small donors in 2008. He had an unprecedented level of support among young people and new voters in the 2008 election. He succeeded in mobilizing African-American voters to his cause to an unprecedented extent. He won 95 percent of the black vote, compared to just 4 percent for Mr. McCain. More people trusted Obama to fix the economy after the financial crisis of 2007.

Obama promised in his victory speech that he would never forget that his victory truly belonged to the people. He said that he was never the likeliest candidate for the White House. He didn't start with much money or many endorsements. His victory was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to his cause. His victory was due to the young people, who rejected apathy; who left their homes and their families for campaign jobs that offered little pay and little sleep. His victory was due to the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on the doors of perfect strangers. His victory was due to the millions of Americans who volunteered, and organized his campaign. Obama said his victory was the victory of those volunteers. He said that there were mothers and fathers who lay awake after their children fall asleep and wondered how they'll make the mortgage payment or pay their doctor's bills, or save enough for their child's college education. He said that new jobs would be created; and new schools will be built. He said that it was time - to put our people back to work; to open doors of opportunity for American kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace. He said it was time to reclaim the American dream.

### Election Promises 2012

Presidential campaign debate in 2012 centered largely on economic recovery after the mortgage crisis of 2007 and job creation. Other issues included long-term balancing of the federal budget, the future of Obama Care, pulling out of the Iraq Insurgency, military spending and preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Obama raised $690 million through online channels, beating his record of $500 million in 2008. Candidates and voters in 2012 were again focused on national economic conditions and jobs, record federal deficits, national security and terrorism, education, and energy independence. Immigration reform was an important issue. Obama promised greater prosperity, investments in transportation infrastructure, education, and clean energy. Obama presented his record including the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and the assassination of Osama bin Laden. Obama faced an uphill battle for re-election because of the country's continuing economic problems, in particular high unemployment. Nevertheless, the Obama won.

### Poverty

Obama had promised to restore prosperity to the American people. Has he? Poverty has actually increased during the Obama presidency. As per the US Census Bureau reports titled "Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance in the US 2014" and "Income and Poverty in the US 2014", the 2014 poverty rate was 2.3 percentage points higher than in 2007, the year before the 2008 recession. 47 million people lived in poverty in the US in 2014. That meant that 15 percent of the US population lives in poverty. Things have not improved at all since Obama got elected.

No one cares about poverty in America. The super rich and the multinational corporations are too busy increasing their wealth, evading taxes and manipulating the politicians and the political system to gain more benefits to care. The President and politicians are too busy raising money for elections and re-elections to look after the poor who have little to contribute. The Obama is too busy in fighting the Congress, Russian President and with world affairs to care. He goes around signing free trade agreements which shift more jobs overseas. He gives $4 billion a year to Israel to build new illegal settlements and abuse human rights in the Occupied Territories. He gives $4 billion a year to the Egyptian Army that has overthrown a democratically elected government and has no respect for press freedom or human rights. He gives $3 billion a year to the Pakistan Army so that they can arm and train Afghan Taliban who have been killing American soldiers and fighting the Afghan Government, which is supposed to be an ally of America. He handed over $90 billion per month to recapitalize banks so that they can lend money to speculators and big business. He has no money to fund education so that more and better teachers can be hired. He has no money to improve public transport and infrastructure which will create more jobs. When the President does not care about poverty in the US, why should the administration care?

American media also does not care about poverty in the US. Perhaps they are ashamed to show it.. CNN, Fox News, Bloomberg and all the other channels carry programs about poverty in Asia and Africa. How many programs do they air which highlight the plight of the American poor, American single mothers, America's homeless children?

What is astonishing is that even the poor themselves do not seem to care. Instead of highlighting their plight and protesting against government apathy to their plight, austerity, layoffs for increasing profit and shipping jobs overseas, they seem to have given up and decided to suffer in silence. Many of them willingly voted for Hillary Clinton who would have followed the policies of Obama and done whatever she can for the rich and big business. Mercifully she has lost the election.

### Inequality

The US was ranked the 41st in 2006 among 141 countries on income equality measured by the Gini index. It had one of the highest levels of income inequality among similar developed or high income countries. The New York Times reported in 2014 that most Americans are not keeping pace in income with their counterparts around the world. Income of middle class Canadians was higher than in the US. The poor in much of Europe get more financial assistance than their US counterparts. In the same report, the New York Times identified three key reasons why other industrialized countries have improved real median income relative to the United States over the 2000-2010 periods.

The first reason is that over the last 30 years the American corporations have been laying-off well qualified American workers and employing cheaper non-American immigrant temporary workers in their place.

The second reason is that companies in the US distribute less of their income as wages to their workers than other industrialized countries. US top executives have relatively more income than other industrial nations. The US has lower minimum wage and weaker unions than other industrialized countries.

The third reason is that other industrialized countries have tax policies that more aggressively redistribute income from rich to poor.

Bloomberg reported in August 2014 that only the wealthy in the US saw pay increases since the 2008 recession, while average American workers saw no boost in their pay checks.

Wealth or net worth is defined to be what is owned minus what is owed. Net worth is affected by movements in the prices of assets, such as stocks, bonds, and real estate, which can fluctuate significantly over the short-term. Wealth inequality is also increasing. In 1978, the top 1 percent owned 23 percent of America's wealth. By 2012 they owned 40 percent. The lower 50 percent of households held 3 percent of the country's wealth in 1989. By 2013 it had fallen to 1 percent. The average net worth of the bottom 50 percent of households in 2013 was approximately $11,000. Since this figure includes the cost of their homes, it would be obvious that their financial wealth is negative and they are heavily in debt. As per the report of the Centre for American Progress published in September 2014, the net worth or wealth of the top 20 percent of families increased by 120 percent between 1983 and 2010. The middle 20 percent of families only saw their wealth increase by 13 percent during the same period. The bottom 20 percent of families, on average, saw debt exceed assets and reached negative net worth. Homeowners in the bottom 20 percent lost an astounding 94 percent of their wealth between 2007 and 2010. What will be the condition of the bottom 50 percent of the American population if this trend continues?

### Students Debt

Higher education has become more expensive in the US. College costs have risen much faster than income, resulting in an increase in student loan debt from $260 billion in 2004 to $1.1 trillion in 2014. From 1995 to 2013, outstanding education debt grew from 26 percent of average yearly income to 58 percent for the bottom 50 percent households in terms of net worth. College education is nearly free in many European countries and is often funded by higher taxes.

### Funding Education

Percentage of children attending pre-school education in the US is lower than in other developed countries where 70 percent of three year olds go to preschool. In the US the figure is only 38 percent. Per pupil spending in state funded educational programs in the US has declined by 12 percent since 2010. Better teachers tend to migrate to higher income school districts. Pupil teacher ratio has also declined. The quality of education has been suffering.

### Public Welfare and Infrastructure Spending

Currently, the U.S. has the weakest social safety net of all developed nations. The US corporations are worried that increased welfare spending may entice the poor away from being forced to work as economic slaves, raise wages and reduce profitability. They argue that increased welfare spending will make the poor more dependent on the government. The OECD asserts that public spending is essential in reducing the ever expanding income inequality.

### Employment Scene

Unemployment Scenario in the US

As per the information released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the US economy added 161,000 jobs in October 2016 and the unemployment rate had dropped to 4.9 percent. In trying to understand the figures put up by the BLS, it is important to understand who is considered unemployed. Any person who has not applied for a job for more than 12 months is not considered unemployed or a part of the work force. Thus mothers who cannot work because they have to look after small children are not considered unemployed for statistical purposes. Chronically ill or old persons are also not considered unemployed. A person is not considered unemployed if he has not searched for and applied for a job 4 weeks preceding the survey. It is also important to note that whereas the BLS talks about jobs created, it never talks about the number of jobs lost during the same period or the fall in the work force.

Total Unemployed

I am against use of percentages and averages as these figures tend to impersonalize the truth and will only use it occasionally. The unemployment rate fluctuated wildly, from a low of 4.7 percent in 2008 to a peak of 10.1 percent in 2009, after the US housing bubble burst and Wall Street collapsed. It fell to 4.9 percent in October 2016. The number of unemployed was 12.2 million in 2012. As per the BLS report for February 2016, the number of unemployed persons in the US was 7.8 million. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was 2.2 million. The number of persons forced to accept part time employment for economic survival (also referred to as involuntary part-time workers) was 6.0 million and has shown little movement since November 2014. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

1.8 million persons were "marginally" attached to the labour force. These individuals were not in the labour force, but wanted to work and were available for work. They had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 599,000 discouraged workers. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.2 million persons marginally attached to the labour force in February had not searched for work for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

Unemployment by Category

Unemployment rates predictably vary based on education levels, since individuals with greater education tend to be more qualified for a wider array of jobs. In December 2012, those without high school diplomas had the highest unemployment rate at 11.7 percent. High school graduates with no college were at 8.0 percent. Individuals with some college or an Associate's Degree had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent. And those with Bachelor's Degrees or higher were the most likely to find work, with an unemployment rate of just 3.9 percent. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men and adult women was 4.5 percent; for youth below 25 it was 15.6 percent; the ethnic distribution was Whites 4.3 percent, Blacks 8.8 percent, Asians 3.8 percent and Hispanics 5.4 percent.

Job Growth in the US

Total non farm payroll employment increased by 242,000 in February 2016. Job growth occurred in health care and social assistance, retail trade, food services and drinking places, and private educational services. Mining employment continued to decline. Health care and social assistance added 57,000 jobs. Health care employment increased by 38,000 over the month. Over the past 12 months, hospitals have added 181,000 jobs. Employment in social assistance rose by 19,000. Retail trade added 55,000 jobs. Employment grew in food and beverage stores by 15,000 and other general merchandise stores by 13,000. Retail trade has added 339,000 jobs over the past 12 months. Restaurants and bars have added 40,000 jobs. Over the year, employment in the food services industry has grown by 359,000. Employment in private educational services rose by 28,000 in February, after falling by 20,000 in January. Employment in construction industry grew by19000. Employment in construction industry was up by 253,000 over the past 12 months. Employment in mining continued to decline in February with 19,000 with job losses. Since a recent peak in September 2014, mining has shed 171,000 jobs, with more than three-fourths of the loss in support activities for mining. Employment in other major industries, including manufacturing, wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, financial activities, professional and business services, and government, showed little change over the month.

Conclusion

Statistics put forward by the US administration may paint a rosy picture about the state of unemployment in the US. The fact of the matter is that very few high paying jobs which will propel Americans into middle class is being created. The unemployment among youth below the age of 25 is almost 16 percent. That is why the young people support Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders and not the seasoned politicians.

Obama's Immigration Policy

Obama is soft on immigrants. He fully understands that immigration whether legal or illegal leads to Americans losing their jobs. But immigration benefits big business as immigrant labour is cheap and increases their profits. And Obama has forgotten his poor supporters and is working to increase corporate profits.

Effect of Immigration on Jobs and Earning

Competition with low-wage workers from less-developed countries has driven down wages for other workers in manufacturing and reduced the wages and bargaining power of similar workers throughout the private sector workforce. The annual income of a median wage earner in the US has been reduced by $1500 to $2000 due to illegal immigrants and foreign temporary workers being ready to work for less pay and perks than Americans. The corporations and their politician friends are laughing all the way to the bank. According to 2014 US Census Data, the highest poverty rate by race is found among Blacks (26 percent). Hispanics (of any race) have the second highest poverty rate (24 percent). Whites had a poverty rate of 10 percent, while Asians had a poverty rate at 12 percent. They are all affected by illegal immigrants who are working on jobs they could have done if illegal immigrants were not available. These communities will greatly benefit if Donald Trump is elected president and throws out illegal immigrants.

Effect on Americans without High School Diploma

American citizen without high school diplomas have the highest unemployment rate at 11.7 percent. They are the worst affected by illegal immigration and naturalized refugees entering the job market because these categories are often willing to work longer hours and below the minimum wages. This group will substantially benefit if Donald Trump has his way and deports illegal immigrants and reduces entry of foreign workers.

High School Graduates

American high school graduates with no college degree have the second highest rate of unemployment at 8.0 percent. They are also badly affected by illegal immigration and naturalized refugees entering the job market because these categories are often willing to work longer hours and below the minimum wages. This group will substantially benefit if Donald Trump has his way and deports illegal immigrants and reduces entry of foreign workers.

Some College or Associate Degree

Individuals with some college or an Associate's Degree had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent which is more than the current rate of unemployment. They are affected by legal immigrants who are working on various visas like L1, TN, OPT etc. and naturalized refugees entering the job market because these categories are often willing to work longer hours and below the minimum wages. This group will substantially benefit if Donald Trump has his way and reduces the number of foreigners working in the US and follows the employ Americans first policy.

Bachelors or Higher Degree

And those with Bachelor's Degrees or higher were the most likely to find work, with an unemployment rate of just 3.9 percent which is less than the national average. They are the worst affected by legal immigrants who are working on various visas like H1B, L1, TN etc. and naturalized refugees entering the job market through H-1B and various other temporary foreign worker programs like L-1, TN, O-1 and OPT.

An L-1 visa is a non-immigrant visa used to enter the US for the purpose of work. It is valid for three months to seven years. L-1 visas are available to employees of an international company with offices in both the United States and abroad. The visa allows such foreign workers to relocate to the corporation's US office after having worked abroad for the company for at least one continuous year. The US and non-US employers must be related in one of four ways: parent and subsidiary; branch and headquarters; sister companies owned by a mutual parent; or 'affiliates' owned by the same or people in approximately the same percentages. Spouses of L-1 visa holders are allowed to work without restriction in the US (using an L-2 visa). This increases unemployment of American citizens. L-1 visa may legally be used as a stepping stone to a Green Card and to naturalize as US citizen and perpetuate the loss of jobs to American citizen.

Free Trade Agreements like NAFTA also contributes to unemployment in the US. TN status or TN visa is a special non-immigrant status in the US only for citizens of Canada and Mexico. It allows US Canadian and Mexican citizens the opportunity to work in each other's countries in certain professional occupations. The Canadian or Mexican can work for up to three years at a time, but may be renewed indefinitely. The visa category is a part of the NAFTA. American corporations use this visa to bring in Mexicans who are ready to work for less pay. Unemployed Mexican professionals also take advantage of the law to find work in the US. The trade agreement increase unemployment of American citizen with high school or professional degrees Manufacturing jobs are the means to creating a strong middle class, especially among workers who lack college degrees. According to the Manufacturing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers, employers paid workers in manufacturing jobs an average of almost $34 an hour in wages and benefits at the end of 2013 which was $3 to 4 more than for other jobs. But, according to data from the Bureau of Labour Statistics, American manufacturing jobs have fallen 22 percent of non-farm payroll in 1977 to about 9 percent today. Many of the Chinese made products imported into the US are produced by US corporations who have shifted their production facilities from the US to China to take advantage of lower labour costs and to make greater profits. Not only did the American Presidents and politicians connive with the corporations in shifting manufacturing jobs to China and other developing countries, they also signed investment protection agreements which for all practical purposes placed them out of reach of local laws Since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, 2.4 million jobs have been lost or displaced in the US. The states suffering the worst job losses were concentrated in states heavily exposed to growing trade deficits with China in computer and electronic products and such other industries as furniture, textiles and apparel. The worst affected are California where a total of 370,000 jobs have been lost. The worst hit region was located in the Silicon Valley region of the Bay area. 95,100 jobs have been lost state wide in North Carolina. 193,700 have been lost state wide in Texas. 72,800 jobs have been lost in Massachusetts. Oregon, Georgia and Alabama, each have lost more than 8,600 jobs. Obama is not upset by the unemployment of Americans caused by NAFTA. He is ready to increase unemployment further by his pet project, the US – Asia Pacific Free Trade Agreement and increase the pain of blue collared American workers.

Optional Practical Training (OPT) is a period during which under graduate and graduate students with F-1 visa status who have completed or have been pursuing their degrees for more than nine months are permitted to work for one year on a student visa towards getting practical training to complement their education. On April 2, 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced a 17-month extension to the OPT for students in qualifying STEM fields. To be eligible for the 12-month permit, any degree in any field of studies is valid. For the 17-month OPT extension, a student must have received a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics degree as listed on the USCIS.

H1B Visa was intended to serve US employers who could not find skilled workers they needed in the US. The employers are required to prove to the Department of labour that they tried to find American workers but failed. But misuse of the provisions of the law with official and political connivance by technology firms has made this visa a tool for US corporations to bring in cheaper foreign labour and increase corporate profits and suppress American wages. According to the editorial boards of the New York Times speaking in June 2015, loopholes and lax enforcement of the H-1B visa program has resulted in exploitation of both visa holders and American workers, especially American graduates and post graduates with a technical degree. High-tech companies often cite a tech-worker shortage when asking Congress to raise the annual cap on H-1B visas, and have succeeded in getting various exemptions passed.

Senators Dick Durbin and Charles Grassley of Iowa introduced "The H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud & Prevention Act" in 2007. Durbin said in 2009 that "The H-1B visa program should complement the US workforce, not replace it;" "The...program is plagued with fraud and abuse and is now a vehicle for outsourcing that deprives qualified American workers of their jobs." The proposed legislation has been opposed by "Compete America", a tech industry lobbying group. Outsourcing firms, many based in India, are major users of H-1B visas. The out-sourcing firm contracts with an employer, such as Disney, to perform technical services. Disney then closes down its in house department and lays off its employees. The outsourcing firm then performs the work. The H-1B program, in reality, acts as a subsidy for corporations. There has been no shortage of qualified American citizens to fill American computer-related jobs. The United States General Accounting Office found in a report in 2000 that controls on the H-1B program lacked effectiveness. H1B workers can also be sponsored for Green Card and thus perpetuate job losses for American citizen.

Studies have established that the US has been employing only 30 percent to 50 percent of its newly qualified, able and willing STEM workers to work in STEM fields. Only about half of those with under-graduate STEM degrees actually work in the STEM related fields after college, and after 10 years, only some 8 percent still do". Foreign workers, legal and illegal immigrants, willing to accept lesser pay and work longer hours push them into less paying no STEM fields.

Wage Depression

Wage depression is a chronic complaint critics have about the H-1B program. Some studies have found that H-1B workers are paid significantly less than US workers they replace. The National Bureau of Economic Research found that a 10 percent immigration induced increase in the supply of immigrant worker in any category lowers the wage of competing American workers by about 3 to 4 percent. "Hire Americans First" has posted several hundred first hand accounts of individuals negatively impacted by the program, many of whom are willing to speak with the media. The politicians faithful to their corporate mentors ignore these reports. President Obama and his administration do not care.

American Workers are Ordered to Train Their Foreign Replacements

There have been cases where employers like Disney World, and Southern California Edison have used the H1-B visa program to replace their American employees with H-1B employees, and in some of those cases, the American employees were even ordered to train their replacements.

**Lawful Permanent Residents (LPR)**

13.3 million Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs or Green Card Holders) resided in the United States as on January 1, 2012. Of them, about 8.8 million were eligible to naturalize. It takes an average of about 7 years for a green card holder to naturalize. The number of Green Card holders has been steadily increasing over the years. About 140,000 LPRs became citizens each year in the 1970s, about 200,000 per year in the 1980s, about 500,000 per year in the 1990s, and about 700,000 per year during the 2000s. It rose to over 1 million in 2008 but has tapered off since. About 6000 to 7000 foreign born military personnel are also naturalized each year. The figure reached about 30,000 per year between 2012 and 2014. About 50 percent of Green Card holders (LPRs) are status adjusters or persons who were already living in the United States before their green-card applications were approved. Most status adjusters were formerly refugees, asylum seekers, temporary workers, and foreign students, family members of U.S. citizens or Green Card holders, or unauthorized immigrants.

This method of converting immigrant into US citizens is very unfair to naturally born American citizen. These foreign born immigrants are usually better educated, willing to work for less pay and make it difficult for home grown citizen difficult to get well paid jobs.

**Non-immigrant Admissions into US**

Temporary visitors (tourists and business travelers) account for an overwhelming majority of all non-immigrant admissions. About 48 million tourists and 6.3 million business travellers entered the US in 2013. Three million of the arrivals were temporary workers and trainees, their spouses and children including H-1B "specialty occupation" workers, registered nurses, temporary agricultural workers, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) professional workers, treaty traders, and intra company transferees. 1.7 million students including their family members entered the US to study at academic or vocational institutes in 2013. Fifty-two percent of the three million temporary visa holders were from Asia. Another quarter came from Europe and North America. The top five countries of origin India, China, South Korea, Canada, and Mexico accounted for 54 percent of the 1.9 million residents on temporary visas.

**Immigrants Entering as Refugees**

Refugees are people who have fled their countries due to war, civil war or ethnic cleansing by the majority clan, ethnic or religious majority. Each year, the president and Congress set the annual refugee admissions ceiling and regional allocations. For fiscal year 2014 and 2015 the ceiling was set at 70,000. The number was 80,000 between 2008 and 2011. The Near East/South Asia regions received 47 percent (33,000) of the total regional allocations in response to refugee crises in Iraq and Burma. Most of the refugees coming after 2008 are from Iraq, Burma, Somalia, Cuba, Iran, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Eritrea, and Ethiopia. Syrians could be the next lot allowed in. Most of the refugees are Muslim.

Mr. Donald Trump is against letting Muslims into the US. The policy may not appeal to the righteous minded but makes sense. Why cannot the oil rich Gulf States who have low indigenous population and depend on immigrant workers from Asia and Africa accept Muslim refugees from neighboring countries? Why should the US, which has no consideration of its struggling, economically exploited indigenous work force and unemployed young people, take it upon itself to solve the refugee problems of the world? The first duty of any US president should be to ensure the wellbeing of US citizens first.

**Immigrants Entering as Asylum Seekers**

**An asylum seeker is a person who has fled his country to avoid prosecution because of his political or religious beliefs. About 25,000 people including the asylum seekers and their family** were granted asylum after seeking protection upon arriving or after arrival in the United States. An additional 13,000 individuals _outside_ of the United States were approved for asylum status. China was the top country of origin, with 8,600 Chinese receiving asylums in 2013. The next four largest origin groups were from Egypt, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Syria.

The Immigration Reform Debate

Comprehensive immigration reform has four aspects namely demand for high skilled and low skilled labour, grant of citizenship to most undocumented immigrants already in the country, toughen border and interior immigration checks and return or deportation of offenders and acceptance of political asylum seekers and refugees from war zones. The majority of Democratic lawmakers support comprehensive and liberal immigration reform. The Republican Party is deeply internally divided on liberal immigration policy. The establishment wing is in favour of reform and the populist wing led by Donald Trump opposes liberalizing immigration.

A number of laws related to immigration reforms are under consideration in the Congress. One proposal seeks to nearly double the number of visas for temporary high skilled workers, from 65,000 to 115,000 per year and do away with annual per country limits for employment-based green cards. Another seeks to create a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics) visa for US educated foreign workers with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, and eliminating per-country caps on employment-based immigration visas. A third proposal seeks to impose penalties against senior officers of the Department of Homeland Security for failure to check illegal immigration, allotting more funds for the purpose and use surveillance drone for detecting offenders.

President Obama has resorted to executive action on immigration reform. He has announced that the federal government would no longer deport undocumented immigrants who came to the US before the age of sixteen and were younger than thirty at the time of the announcement, had been in the country for five continuous years, and had no criminal history. This executive action benefited about 1.7 million people. A second executive action known as Deferred Action for Parents of Americans benefited almost five million people, including an estimated four million undocumented immigrants who are the parents of U.S. citizens, deferring deportation and allowing them to work legally for three years. A Federal judge in Texas has placed an injunction against this executive action. The Administration has appealed against the order.

Who Support Liberal Immigration Laws

Most corporations, particularly tech industry leaders are prominent supporters of liberal immigration reform which will permit increased entry of high skilled foreign workers. They argue that their companies rely on foreign talent, particularly in high demand STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields. They argue that if skilled workers, many of whom are educated in US universities, are not permitted to work in the US, some tech companies may be forced to move their operations offshore. However, the real motive is to suppress wages and reduce the bargaining power of indigenous equally qualified Americans. Political establishment in both parties support liberal immigration reforms. Obama won 71 percent of the Hispanic vote in the 2012 presidential elections. Hispanics make up about 10 percent of the electorate and support more liberal immigration laws and regularization of undocumented migrants. Political establishment of the parties are worried that the Hispanic vote will be lost if their candidate is against liberal immigration policy.

Who are against Liberal Immigration Laws

The American work force, the unions, the unemployed, the students, some left oriented think tanks and a few politicians like Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are against liberal immigration laws which increase American unemployment and depresses the wages and bargaining powers of the American workforce.

Conclusion

Obama's immigration policy is extremely damaging to the American labour force. It only helps big business. Thus Obama has betrayed the millions of poor Americans who were fooled by his rhetoric and promises and contributed to his campaign funds and voted for him.

### Conclusion

Obama has consistently betrayed the millions of ordinary American people who parted with their meager earning to fund Obama's election and re-election and voted for him. The plight of ordinary American, 99 percent of the Americans, mean nothing to Obama. He has consistently and unflinchingly worked to aid the corporate world to exploit the American people and increase their profits. He is undoubtedly the greatest betrayer of the American people.

Back to Contents

##  Chapter 2: Obama the Harbinger of Peace

### Nobel Peace Prize

The US President Barack Obama was awarded the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for his "extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". The Norwegian Nobel Awards Committee declared the award on October 9, 2009. It was for President Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation, creating a "new climate" in international relations and reaching out to the Muslim World. He was seen as the harbinger of peace in a world in turmoil over Islamic terror in the form of Al Qaeda and Taliban.

The Nobel Committee's decision drew mixed reactions. Nominations for the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize closed just 11 days after Obama took office. Obama was chosen unanimously on October 5. But the choice had been initially opposed by the Socialist Left, Conservative and Progress Party members of Norway. They were persuaded by the chairman, Mr. Jagland. Mr. Jagland said that the award to Obama was not for what he had done as president. He hoped that the award would assist Obama's foreign policy efforts. Mr. Jagland said the committee was influenced by a speech Obama gave about Islam in Cairo in June 2009. The committee appreciated Obama's support for using established international bodies such as the UN to pursue foreign policy goals; something that his predecessor President Bush refused to do. Obama's outstanding oratory skills had completely fooled the Committee who believed that Obama had brought a major change in the international political climate. Obama was the first U.S. president to receive the award during his first year in office.

Obama was himself surprised by the award. He said he would accept this award as a call for all nations to confront the common challenges of the 21st century. He said that those challenges included the goal of increasing tolerance among people of different faiths and races and religions, peace and security for Israelis and Palestinians, better social conditions for the world's poor. He claimed that the US was a country that's responsible for ending wars.

There were many around the world who were not happy with the Nobel Peace Prize being given to President Obama. A Gallup poll was conducted by USA Today from October 16 to 19, 2009. 61 percent of American adults said that they thought Obama did not deserve to win the prize. Peter Beinart of the Daily Beast called the decision a "farce". Thomas L. Friedman of The New York Times wrote that he was dismayed that the most important prize in the world has been devalued in this way. Fred Greenstein, presidential historian and author and professor of politics emeritus at Princeton University told Fox News that giving President Obama the Nobel Peace Prize was a "premature canonization" and an "embarrassment to the Nobel awards process. In Australia, former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said that the selection was "a political decision of gross stupidity". Several Nobel Laureates have commented unfavorably on the award. Mairead Corrigan, the co-winner in 1976, expressed her disappointment at the Award being given to the leader of the most warmongering country in the world; a country which has taken the human family against its will to war. Lech Walesa, the winner of the award in 1983 and former president of Poland said the award was premature as Obama had not made a real input in creating peace. Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said the decision was ridiculous, saying, "The Nobel prize for peace? Obama should have won the 'Nobel Prize for escalating violence and killing civilians." Zaibullah Mujahid has been proved dead right

### Withdrawal from Iraq

The Bush Legacy in Iraq

Obama inherited the Iraq War from his predecessor in the White House. The US and its allies under George Bush had invaded Iraq in March 2003 and had overthrown the Saddam Regime in little over a month. Saddam was hanged and the Iraqi Army dominated by Saddam loyalists and Sunnis was disbanded. Internal security was taken over by an occupation force of the Coalition forces including 142,000 US servicemen.

The US disbanded the Iraqi armed forces after overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and raised a new army. The new Army was originally intended to comprise of 27 battalions in three divisions numbering about 40,000 soldiers. The requirement kept on increasing with the increasing insurgency in Iraq and draw down of coalition forces. The focus of the Iraqi Army was providing security for the Iraqi people from the threat posed by the Iraqi insurgency. The first battalion of the new Iraqi Army graduated on October 4, 2003 in just six months. They were poorly trained and led. On April 5, 2004, several Iraqi battalions refused to fight the Iraqi insurgents in Anbar Province.

The US also raised a paramilitary force called the Iraqi National Guard (ING). Coalition commanders formed these para-military units separately in each province. There were several instances where they have refused to take military action against fellow Iraqis or allegedly aided the Iraqi resistance. The force was mostly drawn from the Shia majority in Southern Iraq or the Kurdish majority in northern Iraq. Very few were Sunnis. In September 2004, a general of the Iraqi National Guard (ING) was arrested on suspicion of having links with insurgent groups. On September 20, 2004 the provisional Fallujah Brigade (ING) consisting of mostly former Sunni insurgents deserted when sent to capture Fallujah. The Fallujah Brigade experiment of using former insurgents to secure a Sunni city was not repeated. The 40,000 strong ING was merged into the regular army January 6, 2005. After national elections in December 2005, the Iraqi insurgency shifted focus from a resistance against the occupation towards a sectarian conflict against Shia domination. The Iraqi Ground Forces Command (IGFC) was established in 2006. As time passed it became evident that the Iraqi Armed Forces were incapable of putting a lid on the sectarian violence and protecting the Iraqi people.

Unfortunately, Saddam's defeat did not end the war which now took the form of an armed insurgency aiming to drive the occupation force out of Iraq. The insurgents targeted Iraqi government institutions and soldiers who were a part of the US led multinational force with ambushes, hit and run raids and suicide bombings. They were of all hues. They included remnants of Saddam's Army, al-Qaeda network, and Sunni fundamentalist groups including the predecessors of Islamic State funded and aided by the Sunni Gulf Countries and Turkey and also Shia militias armed aided by Iran. Iraq was in deadly turmoil. Thousands including members of US led multinational force, Iraqi security forces, government officials, insurgents and civilians died every month. Thousands of suspected insurgents were rounded up and incarcerated in detention camps established by the occupying force. These detention camps brought together many insurgent leaders who plotted the downfall the US led coalition and directed the insurgency from the camps. One of the most distinguished detainees was Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Caliph of the Islamic State.

Multi party elections were held in Iraq for the first time in 2005. Sunnis boycotted the elections. Nouri al-Maliki, a Shia, became the prime minister in 2006 and remained so till 2014. He purged Sunni and Kurdish officers from the new Iraqi Army. The Maliki government enacted policies favouring Shias and alienated the country's Sunni minority. This led to worsening sectarian tensions.

In January 2006, an umbrella organization called the Muslim Mujahideen Shura Council was formed. The Council united with three smaller groups and six Sunni Islamic tribes to form the "Mutayibeen Coalition". It swore by Allah to rid Sunnis from the oppression of the Shias. It also promised to risk their lives to restore rights of Sunni Muslims. It vowed to make Allah's word supreme in the world and to restore the glory of Islam. A day later, Mutayibeen Coalition declared the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). ISI comprised Iraq's six mostly Sunni Arab provinces with Abu Omar al-Baghdadi as its Emir. A ten member cabinet was formed to conduct the war and other operations. Surprisingly, this landmark event that was to change the history of Middle East went unnoticed by the US intelligence agencies.

The US troop surge of 2007 provided the US military with additional manpower for operations against Iraqi insurgents. US operations in Anbar Province resulted in killing or capture of many senior ISI members. Between July and October 2007, al-Qaeda in Iraq lost its secure military bases in Anbar Province and Baghdad. During 2008, a series of US and Iraqi offensives managed to drive out ISI militant from their safe havens in the Diyalia and Anbar provinces. This led to a temporary decline of the group. This was when Obama walked into the White House.

Obama's Policy and Performance in Iraq

In a press conference in June 2010, commander of US forces in Iraq claimed that 80 per cent of the Islamic State of Iraq's top 42 leaders had been killed or captured. The claim could have led to complacency amongst US and Iraqi leaders. Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of Islamic State of Iraq was killed in 2010. Abu Bakar al-Bagdadi was chosen the new leader. Al-Baghdadi strengthened the group's leadership by appointing former Ba'athist military officers who had served during Saddam Hussein's rule as military commanders. Most of them had been imprisoned by the U.S. military. They played a major part in the growth of Islamic State.

Ending Iraq War and pulling US and coalition troops from Iraq was one of Obama's election commitments. He announced about a month after assuming office, that combat operations in Iraq would end by August 31, 2010. The 142,000 troops were to be withdrawn. A transitional force of about 50,000 in Iraq was to remain until the end of 2011. The role of the remaining troops was changed from combat operations to counter terrorism, training, equipping, and advising Iraqi security forces. On August 31, 2010, Obama announced that the US combat mission in Iraq was over. The US agreed to sell US equipment in Iraq to Iraqi Army for US$ 13 billion. The equipment included 149 M1 Abraham tanks. Most of this equipment fell into the hands of Islamic State when it captured Mosul and the Saladin Province in June 2014.

As of July 2009, the Iraqi Army had 14 divisions, containing 56 brigades and 185 combat battalions. By April 2010, the combat battalion total had risen to 197. It is a large force but its fighting ability is pathetic. In the summer 2014, divisions and brigades of the Iraqi army were repeatedly routed in the cities of northern Iraq like Mosul, Tikrit etc. by much smaller and less well equipped force from the Islamic State. Generals left their commands and fled. Troops abandoned their posts, arms and weapons in the face of Islamic State attacks and fled in terror. The Iraqi armed forces have been described as being "a vast system of patronage". It is reported to have 50,000 ghost soldiers (recruited on paper but not available for fighting). Corruption is endemic. Rations and equipment received or purchased from the US end up on the black market and in the hands of Islamic State fighters. Other problems included infiltration by sympathizers of Islamic State, poor leadership and insufficient US advisory effort and air support which resulted from Obama's policy of total withdrawal. The Iraqi Army was not battle worthy even in 2014 and President Obama had no inkling of it. But for the Shia militias in the south and Kurdish Peshmerga in the north, Islamic State would have taken over the whole of Iraq by the end of 2014.

Iraqi insurgency surged after the withdrawal of US combat forces and became a sectarian struggle between the Shia and Sunnis. In 2011, Obama became involved in Syria. The Arab Spring agitations in Syria provided the US with an opportunity to fulfil the Israeli desire of getting rid of the Assad regime and thus weakening Hezbollah. Britain France Turkey and the Gulf countries jumped at the idea. They were busy arming the Sunni rebels in their fight against Assad. Iraq disappeared from Obama's priorities. Islamic State grew from strength to strength and captured the entire Sunni dominated Anbar Province by 2013. Obama did not care.

In early June, 2014, ISIL began advancing into central and northern parts of Iraq. The military chief of Islamic State was killed during the advance near Mosul. But the advance continued. The Islamic State force was of about 1,500 soldiers. Mosul was held by two Iraqi divisions. They militants were outnumbered by their Iraqi counterpart by 15 to 1. Yet they prevailed. There was some heavy fighting overnight. Iraqi Army soldiers then abandoned their positions and fled the city. By midday on 10 June much of Mosul was under Islamic State control. The militants seized numerous facilities, including the Mosul International Airport, which had served as a hub for the U.S. military in the region. Militants captured the helicopters present at the airport, and a military base in south Saladin Province. The city finally fell to the ISIL on 10 June 2014 after four days of battle. The Islamic State seized a huge quantity of US equipment when it captured Mosul and a military base in Saladin Provinces. These included SA-7 and Stinger surface to air missiles, M79 Osa, HJ-8 and AT-4 Spigot anti tank weapons, Type 59 field guns, M198 howitzers, over 2000 Humvee armoured vehicles, T54/55/72 and M1 Abraham main battle tanks, M1117 armoured cars, truck mounted DSHK guns, ZU-23-2 anti aircraft guns, BM 21 Grad multi-barrel rockets etc. They also got US$500 million from the Mosul bank.

President Obama announced the return of US Forces to Iraq after the fall of Mosul. It was to be only in the form of aerial support, in an effort to halt the advance of Islamic State forces, render humanitarian aid to stranded refugees and stabilize the political situation. It was too little too late to stop the Islamic State. Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki was forced to step down in August 2014 and was replaced by Haidar al-Abadi. Despite U.S. bombings and breakthroughs on the political front, Iraq remained in chaos with the Islamic State consolidating its gains. By September of 2015, Islamic State had complete control of most of Western and Northern Iraq and Northern and eastern parts of Syria.

It was only in March 2016 that the Iraq forces with Shia militias, Kurdish Peshmerga force and American support could organize themselves for an offensive. By August 2016, after months of bitter fighting Faluja, Ramadi and most of Anbar Province was recaptured. Operations are on for recapture of Mosul which is strongly defended by the Islamic State. Many villages around Mosul have been liberated. But the final push into Mosul is yet to start. Lack of agreement between the Kurds and Turkey on one side and Iraqi Army and Shia Militias on their roles and future of Mosul is making things difficult. It is unlikely that Islamic State will be eliminated by the time Obama leaves the White House.

Obama betrayed his promise to end the bloodshed in Iraq or to pull out all US forces from Iraq.

### Withdrawal from Afghanistan

    The Legacy  The second war which Obama inherited from George Bush was the War in Afghanistan. It is necessary to understand that the Islamic Terrorists in Afghanistan (Warlords, Taliban and Al Qaeda) on whom President Bush had declared war (Operation Enduring Freedom) and whom Obama fought but could not defeat were created and nurtured by US and the CIA with the help of Pakistan to drive the Soviets from Afghanistan.  A Communist Party called People's Democratic Party was established in Afghanistan in 1965. In 1973, Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan over threw the Afghan King and became President. In 1978, Sardar Muhammad Daud Khan was overthrown and a pro Soviet Communist Government was formed under Babrak Karmal. In 1979 another coup by Hafizullah Amin over threw the pro soviet Government. As a result Soviet Troops entered Afghanistan and restored Babrak Karmak to the Presidency. Under Soviet influence, Afghanistan evolved as a moderate Muslim country with western values. Women had equal rights. There was professional education and health care. Infrastructure was developing. The economy was growing. There were however tribal leaders who were against the Soviet backed regime and Western values. Most of them were Islamic fundamentalists and waged war on the regime from the bases and refugee camps in Pakistan.   In 1980, the US decided to provide financial and military aid to the militants. Hundreds of thousands of AK 47 rifles, Stinger anti aircraft missiles, mines, machine guns and all kinds of military hardware were supplied. The US and Saudi Arabia provided billions dollars to the militants. The CIA in association with the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan trained the militants in the use of these weapons and in guerrilla warfare in bases in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistani military officers were deputed as military advisers to the resistance. The turning point in the Afghan War between the Soviets and the Islamic Fighters came with the supply of the "Stinger" shoulder fired anti aircraft missiles. The Soviets lost air superiority. The Soviet troops were unable to use helicopter gun ships in support of their infantry and the tide of battle turned against them. In 1991, after 12 years of fighting and the loss of about 15000 dead and 37000 wounded, the last Soviet tanks withdrew over the Friendship Bridge over Amu Darya River. It is estimated that 1 million Afghans died in the War. Another 5 million took refuge in neighboring countries and in Europe. A great triumph for the US or was it?  With the Soviets and the Communist regime gone, Afghanistan fell first into the hands of the tribal chiefs fighting the Soviets led by Burhanuddin Rabbani, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, General Dostan and Ahmad Shah Masud. But power struggle between different tribes and regions continued. In 1996, the Taliban, a band of brutal, fundamentalist Islamic warriors trained, equipped and led by Pakistani military officers and ISI (Inter Services Intelligence, the Pakistani Military intelligence organization) ousted the tribal leaders from Kabul and most of Afghanistan. Over the next 5 years from 1996 to 2001, they ushered in a totally Islamic regime in Afghanistan, introduced Saria laws, confined women to the households and rolled back every visage of modern western society that had evolved under the Soviet influence. They also housed and supported Osama Bin Laden and his terrorist Organization, Al Qaeda which had declared "Jehad" or holy war on Western Interests and the Saudi Regime.  So by 2001, the US had successfully created a formidable world wide Islamic terrorist organization (Al Qaeda), armed with US weapons, funded with US and Saudi dollars and trained by the Pakistani Military and its intelligence agency, the ISI. And they struck the US on 9/11, 2001.

After 9/11, 2001, the US forces with George Bush as commander in chief invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 and launched a war on its earlier allies, the Islamic Terrorists (Operation Enduring Freedom). Kabul was recaptured with the help of the Northern Alliance and Taliban and Al Qaeda were driven out from most parts of the country. But the War continued. Bush deployed 20,000 US combat troops in Afghanistan. They have suffered large number of casualties. But the resistance did not decrease. US installed Hamid Karzai as president of Afghanistan. They had installed the President of South Vietnam but he did not survive after the Americans withdrew. Karzai was succeeded by Ashraf Ghani. Only time will tell if Ghani will survive an American withdrawal if it ever takes place. Soviets came to Afghanistan with a couple of divisions and hundreds of tanks and helicopters (Initially 30,000 troops which finally increased to 100,000). They failed to subjugate the Islamic terrorists. Americans ousted the Taliban and Al Qaeda with the help of Afghan troops of the Northern Alliance. After the defeat of the Taliban, US troops took on the responsibility to destroy the remaining elements. They have been fighting in Afghanistan for over fifteen years but without success. Taliban is still a fighting force which dominates much of Southern and Eastern Afghanistan which border Pakistan.

Afghan War under Obama

Obama increased U.S. troop strength in Afghanistan by 17000 at the beginning of his presidency to stem a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan. He replaced the military commander in Afghanistan, with a general with Special Forces experience. He reasoned that this would facilitate the use of counterinsurgency tactics in the war. Obama deployed an additional 30,000 military personnel to Afghanistan in December 2009 and proposed to begin troop withdrawals 18 months from that date. This withdrawal took place in July 2011. Mean while, in June 2010, Obama changed the military commander in Afghanistan, after the general's staff criticized White House personnel in a magazine article. In July 2010, the CIA suspected the al Qaeda Supremo Osama Bin Laden was staying in a large compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a suburban area 35 miles from Islamabad. The information was confirmed to President Obama in March 2011. Obama authorized a "surgical raid" to be conducted by US Navy SEALS. The operation took place on May 1, 2011, and resulted in the death of bin Laden. DNA testing confirmed the body to be of Bin Laden. There were great celebrations in the US when the President's announced the killing of Bin Laden. Many leaders including from former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush congratulated Obama. Unfortunately, Osama's killing had no effect on the Afghan War which was being waged by the Taliban which was receiving financial and military aid from Pakistan and operated from sanctuaries in that country. In February 2013, Obama declared that he would reduce the troop level in Afghanistan from 68,000 to 34,000 by February 2014. Obama as in Iraq withdrew most of the US combat troops in October 2014 and handed over operations to be Afghan Army. 7000 US troops remained to train advise and provide air support to the Afghan Army. This was to have been for one year. Unfortunately, the Afghan Army was not strong enough to defeat the Pakistan assisted Taliban. In October 2015, in light of the deteriorating security situation, the White House announced a plan to keep U.S. Forces in Afghanistan indefinitely.

Conclusion

Obama, the Nobel peace prize winner, failed to bring peace to Afghanistan in the eight years in office. Even a bird brained officer who has served in Afghanistan would know that the Afghan Army cannot defeat the Taliban as long as it receives military and financial aid from Pakistan and has sanctuaries in that country. The saddest thing is that the US gives billions of dollars in economic and military aid knowing fully well that most of this aid is passed on to the Taliban for fighting inside Afghanistan. Obama knows it. He also knows that the US and Pakistani military weapons are being used by the Taliban to kill US and Afghan soldiers. Does he care? All he cares for is that the US arms industry is making more money than ever before.

### Intervention in Libya

Background to the Intervention

The decision to intervene in Libya was Obama's first act of starting a war without end. Libya consists of three ancient kingdoms of Tripolitina, Fezzan and Cyrenica. It was an Italian colony from 1911 to 1951 and a monarchy after independence in 1951. Oil was discovered in Libya in 1959 and oil sales changed its status from one of world's poorest countries to one of the richest in Africa. Colonel Gaddafi overthrew the monarchy on 1 September 1969. After the coup, Gaddafi closed American and British bases in Libya and partly nationalized foreign oil and commercial interests in Libya. Gaddafi was known for backing a number of leaders viewed as anathema to the Western Powers. Gaddafi's relations with the West were strained by a series of terrorism related incidents for most of Gaddafi's rule. Gaddafi Government was placed under UN sanctions in the 1990s. However, by the late 2000s, the US and other Western powers had normalized relations with Libya. Gaddafi's decision to abandon the pursuit of nuclear weapons after the defeat of Saddam Hussein was hailed as a success for Western soft power.

Protests against Gaddafi rule had started in 2009. The New York Times reported in December 2011 that the Obama administration privately approved the transfer of weapons from Qatar to Libyan rebels in 2011. The Arab Spring uprisings in Benghazi, Libya on February 15, 2011 led to violent clashes between the protesters and security forces. The protesters established an interim governing body called the National Transitional Council (NTC). The NTC received military and political support from France, UK and the US. The protests escalated to a civil war between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to overthrow him.

The Intervention

The opportunity to get rid of Gaddafi and take control of Libyan oil was too good to be missed. The UN Security Council egged on by the US and its Western allies passed an initial resolution on February 26 freezing the assets of Gaddafi and his inner circle and restricting their travel, and referred the matter to the International Criminal Court for investigation. Six days later UN Security council was persuaded by the US, UK and France to order establishment of a no fly zone over Libya. Russia and China abstained but did not veto the resolution. A resolution calling for establishment of a no flying zone over Libya was passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate immediately thereafter. The next day, Obama ordered, the U.S. military to carry out air strikes to destroy the Libyan government's air defense capabilities and to protect civilians and enforce a no-fly-zone. Seventeen days later, a "coalition of the willing led by the US UK and France with Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Norway, Qatar and Spain" as the fillers, began a military intervention in Libya to implement the UN Security Council Resolution. The effort was initially largely led by the US under President Obama. NATO enforced an arms embargo on March 23. On March 25, by unanimous vote of all of its 28 members, NATO took over leadership of the effort to enforce the no fly zone. Some members of the US House of Representatives questioned whether Obama had the constitutional authority to order military action in addition to questioning its cost, structure and aftermath. Obama ignored the objections.

In early March, Gaddafi's forces pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities and reached Benghazi. The Western backers of the NTC rushed to the Security Council and got a fresh resolution which authorized member states to establish and enforce a no fly zone over Libya and to use "all necessary measures" to prevent attacks on civilians. The rebels rejected ceasefire offers by the Gaddafi Government and the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi. In June 2011, Muammar Gaddafi and his son announced that they were willing to hold elections and that Gaddafi would step aside if he lost. They said that the elections could be held within three months and transparency would be guaranteed through international observers. NATO and the rebels rejected the offer, and NATO soon resumed bombardment of Tripoli. The rebel forces launched and offensive in August 2011 and took back all the territory lost in the months before and ultimately captured Tripoli. The rebels were reported as estimating 400 people had been killed and a further 2,000 injured in the battle. Gaddafi evaded capture and loyalists engaged in a rearguard campaign. On September 16, 2011, the NTC was recognized by the UN as the legal government of Libya. The NTC captured the whole of Sirte on 20 October 2011. Colonel Gaddafi remained at large until 20 October 2011, when he was captured and killed while attempting to escape from Sirte. The NTC declared the liberation of Libya and the War officially ended October 23, 2011. Russia and China recognized the NTC Government. But this did not mollify NTC and their Western Allies.

The Aftermath

As in Iraq, the war did not end with the proclamation of victory by the puppets of unholy trinity of Western powers, the US, the UK and France. A low-level insurgency by former Gaddafi loyalists continued. There were disagreements and strife between local militia and tribes. The role of militias which fought in the civil war in the new Libya became a major issue. Some militias refused to disarm and cooperate with the NTC. These unresolved issues led to a second civil war in Libya which continues to this day. A spokesman of the NTC said that because of their long time support of Gaddafi, it will be very hard for a Chinese, Russian or Indian oil company to acquire new oil exploration contracts in Libya. Russia and China learnt their lessons and vetoed proposals for UN intervention in Syria.

The NTC functioned as an interim legislature after the demise of Gaddafi. In early May 2012, it granted immunity to former rebel fighters for acts committed during the civil war and ordered that all detainees accused of fighting for Gaddafi should be tried. It also passed a law prohibiting the publication of criticism of the revolution, questioning the authority of NTC, or praising Muammar Gaddafi, his family, or his government. However NTC failed to bring order to the country. Libyans held their first parliamentary elections since the fall of Gaddafi on July 7, 2012. The NTC officially handed power over to the wholly elected General National Congress (GNC), which was then tasked with the formation of an interim government and the drafting of a new Libyan Constitution on August 8. The new constitution was to be approved in a general referendum.

Sectarian fighting started on August 25, 2012, when unnamed organized assailants bulldozed a Sufi mosque with graves, in the center of the Libyan capital Tirpoli. It was the second such razing of a Sufi site in two days. The Islamist radicals destroyed and desecrated the World War II British grave sites near Benghazi. Many other heritage sites were destroyed, robbed, or looted. Islamist militants mounted a surprise attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, killing the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three others on September 11. The incident generated outrage in the US but it was powerless to do anything.

Libya's newly elected Prime Minister was ousted on October 7, 2012 after failing a second time to win parliamentary approval for a new cabinet. His successor lasted till March 11, 2014.Elections were held in June 2014 to elect the Council of deputies who were to replace the GNC. The elections were marred by violence and low turnout, with voting stations closed in some areas. Secularists and liberals did well in the elections, to the consternation of Islamist lawmakers in the GNC, who reconvened and declared a continuing mandate for GNC. They refused to recognize the new Council of Deputies. Armed supporters of the GNC occupied Tripoli, forcing the newly elected parliament to flee to Tobruk.

In 2013, a militia called the Cyrenaica Political Bureau began a blockade of Libya's major oil ports and demanded expanded autonomy for Cyrenaica region and a greater share in oil revenues. The government did little to end the blockade, despite the loss of oil revenue. In March 2014, the group loaded an oil tanker with crude oil valued at about $30 million to sell on the black market. Prime Minister was unable to stop the tanker from leaving port. U.S. Navy SEALS raided the ship a few days later and captured three Libyans identified by crew members to be hijackers. The raid was a major setback to the militia.

By September 2013, Libya had plunged into its worst political and economic crisis since the defeat of Gaddafi. The production of oil had almost completely stopped and the government had lost control of large areas of the country to the militias. Violence increased throughout the country. By May 2014, Libya had descended into a second civil war. Native Libyans as well as foreign nationals including Egyptians, Tunisians and Turks started fleeing the violence in the country. Some headed to Tunisia and others for Italy. By March 3, an estimated 200,000 refugees had fled Libya to either Tunisia or Egypt. That flow of refugees has not stopped to date.

In May 2014, former general Khalifa Heftar organized a group of anti-Islamist nationalists, calling it the Libyan National Army, and led a campaign against the coalition of Islamic militias, Libya Dawn The second civil was thus broke out. Fighting continued for several weeks, and Heftar gained the support of the country's military. Heftar had served under Gaddafi but split from him in the 1980s. He also accused the Prime Minister of being under the influence of the Islamic militias.

Parliamentary elections were held in late June 2014, and because the populace had largely lost confidence in government and as militias continued to yield tremendous power, turnout and interest in the elections were low. In light of the violence between rival militias in Tripoli, the new Parliament convened in the eastern city of Tobruk, which is controlled by general Heftar. However, many of the Islamist MPs refused to attend. Members of the former Parliament, who are supported by the Islamists, reconvened in Tripoli and on Aug. 25 appointed their own prime minister. Heftar's government is recognized by the majority of the international community. Violence between Libya Dawn and Heftar's fighters intensified in Tripoli during the summer of 2014. In July, they battled for control of the city's international airport, and the barrage of shelling threatened the U.S. embassy, forcing the U.S. to evacuate embassy staff. Most other nations also withdrew their embassy personnel. After a month of fighting, Libya Dawn won control of the airport, and Heftar's troops withdrew to Tobruk. Egypt and the UAE launched several air strikes on the Islamic militias in Tripoli in August. In early September, the government acknowledged that Libya Dawn controlled the government in Tripoli. By October, some 100,000 people fled the Tripoli area. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made a surprise visit to Libya in October to try to broker peace between the groups. His efforts failed. The fighting escalated at end of 2014, with the government launching air strikes on Misrata, which was under the control of Libya Dawn.

Libya has been devastated by conflict between the rival parliaments since mid-2014. Tribal militias and Islamic State took advantage of the power vacuum. Islamic State fighters seized Derna in 2014 and Sirte in 2015. In early 2015, Egypt launched air strikes against Islamic State in support of the Tobruk Government.

In January 2015, meetings were held with the aim to find a peaceful agreement between the rival parties. The so-called Geneva talks to bring the GNC and the Tobruk Government together failed. The GNC actually never participated. Terrorism within Libya has steadily increased and affected Tunisia. The UN stepped in during 2015. Negotiations were conducted by the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG). Talks, negotiations and dialogue continued during 2015 at various international locations, and culminated in Morocco in early September.

The rival militias agreed to an UN-brokered cease-fire in January 2015. The vaguely worded truce left ample room for interpretation and doubts that it would hold. In December 2015, the two factions agreed in principle to unite as the Government of National Accord in December 2015. However, its authority is still unclear as specific details are yet to be agreed upon. The Tobruk Government is strong in eastern Libya. It has the loyalty of the Libyan National Army under the command of General Khalifa Haftar and has been supported by air strikes by Egypt and UAE. The Islamist government of the GNC is strong in western Libya. It is led by the Muslim Brotherhood and supported by an Islamist coalition known as Libya Dawn. It is aided by Qatar, Sudan and Turkey. The Islamic State is still entrenched in the Sirte area. Tuareg militias control the desert areas in the southwest; and local forces are in control of Misrata District and the towns of Bani Walid and Twaregha. Libya continues to be in turmoil.

Conclusion

Obama initiated the war in Libya. He and his Western Allies overthrew Colonel Gaddafi to change a regime they disliked and in the hope of gaining control of Libyan oil. But they miserably failed to bring peace to the region and withdrew leaving the Libyans to their fate. The civil war continues. Anarchy prevails. Islamic State continues to maintain its toe hold in Sirte and the adjoining region. Over a million refugees have fled Libya to land in Europe and thousands try to cross the Mediterranean Sea every day. The refugee crisis in Europe is perhaps a just reward for EU's meddlesome regime change policies. Will Obama accept the responsibility of laying waste a beautiful, peaceful and prosperous country and the refugee crisis in Europe?

### Involvement in Syria

Background to the Involvement

Syria became an independent republic in 1946. The Ba'ath Party usurped power in 1963. In 1971, General Hafez al-Assad, then defence minister seized power in a coup. He declared himself president and remained president till his death in 2000. He reigned over a secular single party government in Iraq. After him his son Bashar al-Assad became president. The government's hold on the population was almost total. The first call for democratic reforms was in the form of a civil disobedience campaign was quickly and brutally put down. The Assad family is from the Alawite sect which is an offshoot of Shia Islam. Alawites are about 12 per cent of the population. It has maintained tight control on Syria's security forces. Sunni Muslims make up about 75 percent of the population. They are poor and marginalized and naturally resent the domination by the Alawites. Syrian Khurds are mainly concentrated in northern Syria along the Turkish border. They also complain over ethnic discrimination and denial of their cultural and language rights. There is a fairly large Christian population in Syria. They form about 10 percent of the population and are reasonably prosperous. Socio-economic inequality in Syria is large and the Sunnis were the worst sufferers.

The country was under emergency rule from 1963 until 2011. Public gatherings were banned. Security forces had sweeping powers of arrest and detention. However, in spite of gross discrimination of Sunnis and other minorities, unlike Iraq, there were no major revolts in Syria. Syria remained peaceful, prosperous and secular. Inter marriage between sects was common. The Arab Spring which blew away the authoritarian Presidents of Tunisia, Libya and Egypt changed it all. Syrians, particularly the Sunnis, now wanted real democracy. Small protests started in January 2011. Mass protests erupted in March in Damascus and Aleppo and spread in the following days to more cities. Protests kept growing in size. On 18 March, the protests turned bloody. The agitators, as in Libya, were encouraged to revolt by the unholy trinity of the US, UK and France. President Assad claimed that conspirators and foreign powers sought to topple his government. The Syrian Army launched a series of large scale military attacks on rebellious towns, using tanks, armoured personnel carriers and artillery, leading to hundreds of civilian deaths. Thousands including students, political and human rights activists were detained. Some Sunni soldiers refused to fire on unarmed protestors and were executed. Many soldiers defected to protect protesters. By the end of July 2011, around 1,600 civilians and 500 security forces were reported to have been killed and 13,000 arrested.

Syria was not a threat to the US or its allies. However, it is not a pro West regime. It had close ties with Iran, the sworn enemy of Israel. It was also the chief patron of the Lebanese Shia militia, Hezbollah. Hezbollah had fought Israel armed forces to a standstill and there is no love lost between them. The US and its allies had just toppled Gaddafi in Libya. The opportunity to get rid of the troublesome Assad Regime and securing the northern border of Israel seemed too good to pass. However, things did not go as per plan. Russia and China vetoed attempts at the UN Security Council to authorize action against Assad or to establish a no fly zone. Obama was undeterred. He led the unholy trinity of the US, UK and France to assembled the coalition and declared military and financial assistance to the rebels.

Involvement of the US, Western Powers, Turkey and Gulf Countries

On 29 July 2011, defecting Syrian officers formed the Free Syrian Army (FSA). This force is composed of Sunni defectors from the Syrian Armed Forces. It aims to bring down the Assad Government and replace it with one with proportionate Sunni representation. In August 2011 a coalition of anti government groups called the Syrian National Council was formed. The group, based in Turkey, attempted to organize the opposition to the Assad Government. During the early stages of the Syrian Civil War, Obama said that for the sake of the Syrian people Assad had to go. To achieve that, Obama authorized an effort to train Syrian rebels. In 2013, a desperate Assad Regime used chemical weapons on the rebels. Obama insisted that Assad must give up his chemical weapons. This led to an agreement which resulted in Assad Regime giving up these weapons and they were destroyed abroad an US naval vessel.

However, the opposition, including the FSA, and Islamist rebels remained a fractious collection of about a hundred self seeking political groups and armed militants, divided along geographical, ideological, ethnic or sectarian lines. Turkey allowed FSA to establish its headquarters in its Hatay Province close to Syria's borders. The FSA slowly gained control over many Syrian towns close to the Turkish border. By July, 2012 Iraqi officials reported that the FSA had gained control of all four border checkpoints between Syria and Iraq. Military aid poured in through Turkey.

Syrian rebels receive anti tank and other weapons from Israel through Golan Heights. Weapon transfers to FSA also take place through Turkey and Lebanon. FSA soldiers also received medical treatment inside Israel. Turkey turns a blind eye to movement of foreign fighters, financial and military aid that flows to FSA and other militant groups of Islamic Front and till September 2015 to Islamic State as well through its territory. The emergence of the better armed, ruthless Islamic State on the battlefield in Syria in 2013 marked the beginning of the end for the opposition groups the US called the "moderate rebels." The moderate movement in Syria could be considered officially dead as of March 2015, when the last U.S. backed rebel faction, Harakat Hazzm, disbanded. Its members joined extremist groups such as the Nusra Front, the al Qaeda offshoot in the Syria. The Nusra Front, or Jabhat al-Nusra, has picked up thousands of men who once fought under the umbrella of the FSA from 2011 to 2014. It offers its soldiers hundreds of dollars a month in salary and food stuff. The soldiers in the FSA did not receive any monthly salary. When extremist groups such as the Nusra Front gained ground in Syria and received millions of dollars in cash and weapons from the Gulf Countries like Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the moderate rebels had no option but to join either Al-Nusra or the Islamic State. Both Al-Nusra and Islamic State want an Islamic state in Syria where Sharia laws will prevail. Both are against the US and its Western allies which want Assad Regime gone and a secular government in Iraq run by moderate Sunni Muslims in its place.

Christians in Syria are largely in favour of the Syrian government because they believe their survival is linked to Assad's largely secular government. Christian militias are fighting on the Syrian government's side. Thousands of Christians have joined the Syrian Army as well as militias which support the government such as National Defense Forces (NDF) and the Popular Committees. NDF is reported to have helped organize Christian units to protect their communities, particularly in north eastern Syria. A major militia called the Christian Resistance is said to be operating in the Homs province. However, they do not get any aid from any Christian country or organization.

Shia Hezbollah fighters from Lebanon help the Syrian government in fighting rebels of all hues. Hezbollah's power in Lebanon comes from the military and economic aid it gets from Iran and the Assad regime. Hence survival of the Assad regime is vital for their very existence. Iran has expressed its support for the Syrian government since the start of the civil war and has provided it with financial, technical, and military support, including training and by some accounts some combat troops. Iran denies having sent combat troops but a larg force of its Revolutionary Guard is fighting alongside Assad's forces. They have suffered over a thousand casualties. The Syrian government has also received arms from Russia and intelligence support directly from Russian Military Intelligence (GRU). Russia and China provide Syrian government political support at the UN. Russians intervened in Syria with air strikes and heavy weapons on the side of the Assad Government in October 2015. This has breathed new life into the exhausted Assad forces and stemmed the tide against them.

Islamic Front which is one of the groups fighting the Assad Government in Syria is a merger of seven Islamic rebel groups. They want a Sharia ruled state in Syria. However, they are not as ruthless or barbaric as the Islamic State forces. This group is widely believed to be backed by the Gulf Countries. The FSA receives political, logistic and military support from the US, Turkey, Britain and France. Some Syrian rebels get training from the CIA at bases in Qatar, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. These bases have now closed down after US terminated its arming and training program for moderate Syrian rebels in September 2015. Turkey has been involved in some border incidents with Syria. It has also launched an offensive against the Islamic State in Northern Syria along with FSA and captured some towns including Dabich and is engaged in the fight for Al Bab. It has also shot down some Syrian air craft and helicopters which they say intruded into Turkish air space. Qatar is reported to have funded the Syrian rebels by as much as $3 billion.

Syrian Kurds are mostly Sunni Muslims but moderate in ideology. They along with a small minority of Yezdis make up about 10 percent of the population of Syria. They suffered from decades of discrimination and neglect. When protests started against the Assad Government in 1991, Assad granted statehood to about 200,000 Kurds in an effort to win them over. Violence and state repression was thus less in Kurdish areas. Since the onset of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the Kurds were divided on their support for the Assad Government. The Syrian Kurdish YPG first entered the Syrian Civil War in July 2012, by capturing the border town of Kobane from the Syrian government. The conflict between the Kurdish YPG and Islamic groups such as al-Nusra Front have escalated since a group of Kurds expelled Islamic Militants from the border town of Ras al-Ain. The major Syrian Kurdish opposition group, the YPG, is getting military, logistic and training support from US, NATO countries and Iraqi Kurdistan. They also get air support from the Americans and its allies in their fight against Islamic State. Even Syrian Government Forces support the Kurds when they are battling the Islamic State. Kurdish YPG has been able to recapture a lot of territory in Iraq Kurdistan from the IS including Kobane and Hasakah.

Islamic State made rapid military gains in Northern Syria starting in April 2013. It has imposed strict Sharia law over land that it controls. The group has an estimated 7,000 to 30,000 fighters in Syria, including many non-Syrians. It has been praised as less corrupt than other militia groups and criticized for abusing human rights and for not tolerating non-Islamic militia groups, foreign journalists or aid workers. IS has expelled, imprisoned or executed these people.

Situation in Syria in December 2016

Syrian Government forces and Hezbollah have been fighting the FSA, Islamic Front and IS for over four years on many fronts. They were exhausted and hard pressed to hold on to territories they once controlled and were on the brink of defeat. Russian intervention in October 2015 and additional support from Iran and foreign Shia fighters from Afghanistan have turned the tide. Russians and Syrians control the air. Air support, barrel bombs and helicopter gun-ships give them an edge over their enemies during battles. It has enabled them to launch an offensive on the FSA and the Islamic Front. Regime troops have recaptured territory in most areas and have completely isolated Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria. Assad's forces have captured one third of rebel held Eastern Aleppo and are expected to capture the whole of it. The unholy trinity of the US, UK, France and their allies are desperate to stop the fighting and to prevent Aleppo from falling into Regime hands. They have been demanding that fighting stops and aid is provided to the 270,000 civilians. Russia says the Islamists and FSA must separate and the fighters must leave Aleppo. Safe passage will be provided to them. The US and its allies say that Assad must go. Russia says that Assad will head the interim government when formed in Syria.

Obama reaffirmed that Assad must go in November, 2015. But by then the Russians had intervened in strength to save Assad Regime and there was nothing he could do about it. His efforts to arm and train moderate secular Syrian rebels were a complete failure and the Obama Administration abandoned it in 2015. Hard line Islamist rebels were the only effective opposition to Assad. FSA is almost defunct and on life support from the US, Britain and France. These nations hope that FSA will prevail and establish a secular, pro West government in Syria. The Syrian National Council is a conglomerate of self seeking politicians who are enjoying five star luxuries while the people they represent are living and dying in miserable conditions. FSA is incapable of fighting and winning against Assad's forces. Their US and European supporters are well aware of that. They have made some gains in Northern Syria against Islamic State with armor and artillery support from Turkey. But attacking Assad's forces could draw Russia into the war with unknown consequences. Syrian opposition is the creation of Western Powers who do not know what to do with them without losing face.

Conclusion

Syria is the second war Obama started. If he and the unholy trinity of the US, UK and France had not got involved, the Syrians would have sorted their political problems out by themselves as Egypt did. But can the unholy trinity ever resist the opportunity of affecting a change of an unfriendly regime? The deed is done. Over 300,000 Syrians have died. Over 13 million Syrians have been displaced. Over 8 million Syrian refugees have fled to outside countries including over one million to Europe. A prosperous secular country has been devastated with not a single building undamaged in many towns. The country has been at war for over five years and there is no end in sight. There are only two possible scenarios with the Russians entrenched in Syria and firmly in support of the Assad Regime. The unholy trinity can swallow their pride and allow Assad Regime to win. Or they can attack the Syrian Regime and Russia and start World War III. Obama, the Nobel Peace prize winner has an excellent opportunity to start World War III. Will he? He has about 50 days to decide before he steps down.

### The Killer Drones

Obama inherited the strategy of using killer drones to kill terrorist from President Bush. The American legislature and the Bush Administration had passed the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) Act against the sponsors of the September 11, 2001, terrorist assault upon the US. President Bush had declared his war on terror and called it "Operation Enduring Freedom". This legislation is cited by the Obama Administration as covering sanction for the continuing drone attacks against Al Qaeda and Taliban in Northwest Pakistan and Yemen but also to carry out drone attacks on the Al Shabab in Somalia and Islamic State in Libya.

Use of Killer Drones by the Bush Administration

The US Government has been using unmanned aerial vehicle or drones to attack targets Al Qaeda and Taliban since 2004. The operation of these drones and the selection of targets are controlled by the US Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) Special Activities Division. Most of these attacks are on targets in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in North West Pakistan along the Afghan border and Balochistan. A total of 51 strikes were carried out during the Bush Administration.

Drone Warfare under Obama Administration

Drone strikes which began during the Bush Administration have increased substantially under his successor Barack Obama. Some have referred to these attacks as a "drone war". The Bush Administration officially denied the extent of its "drone war" policy. The Obama Administration acknowledged for the first time that four US citizen had been killed in the strikes in May 2013. Surveys have shown that the strikes are deeply unpopular in Pakistan. The US administration and Pakistani authorities have publicly claimed that civilian deaths from the attacks are minimal. Leaked military documents reveal that the vast majority of people killed have not been the intended targets, with approximately 13 percent of deaths being the intended targets, 80 percent being other militants, and 6 percent being civilians. The identities of collateral victims are usually not investigated by CIA, who systematically counts each male military-age corpse as an enemy killed in action. Estimates for civilian deaths range from 158 to 965 depending on the source Under Obama Administration the US drone strikes against so called militants have taken place in a growing number of countries outside the established war zones of Afghanistan and Iraq/Syria. Attacks on Somali training camps in 2016 were among the largest in a number of attacks that CIA have claimed killed some of the Al Shabab's top leaders. The US claimed to have killed dozens of Al Qaeda militants and leaders in drone strikes in Yemen. Drone strikes are also being carried out on an Islamic State camp in eastern Libya. An estimated 98 US drone attacks were conducted in Yemen from 2002 to 2015: 41 in 2012, 26 in 2013 and 14 in 2014. Drone attacks started in Somalia in June 2011 and are still continuing.

Drones with lethal missiles could hover for hours over potential targets, waiting for the moment to strike. They could kill suspected terrorists with relative precision, but not without any civilian casualties. Best of all, drones didn't endanger American lives. In an almost-invisible campaign that started modestly under Bush and expanded dramatically under Obama, the U.S. has launched more than 1,600 drone strikes in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia, Libya and even, in one case, in the Philippines. As per the estimates of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism the US military have carried 423 drone strikes between June 2004 and February 2016 in Afghanistan. Of these 51 were during the Bush Administration and 372 during Obama Administration. The strikes have killed between 2500 to 4000including 400 to 1000 civilians. About 200 children have also been killed. About a 1000 to 2000 have been injured in the attacks. Only 84 of the 2,379 dead have been identified as members of Al Qaeda.

Criticism of Drone Warfare

Very few in the US Congress seem to care enough to publicly object or raise questions about the indiscriminate use of drones. They seem reconciled to them if not entirely comfortable with the clandestine war fought by the US in quite a few countries across the globe from Pakistan to Afghanistan Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Syria and perhaps even to Cameroon. Some US politicians and academics have condemned the drone strikes. US Congressman Dennis Kucinich has asserted that the US was violating international law by carrying out strikes against a country that never attacked the US. In the global war on terrorism, the checks and balances on power of the US president written into the Constitution have long since given way to an administration under which several hundred civilian and military bureaucrats at the National Security Council, and in the C.I.A., Defense, State and Justice departments can decide on the use of military force by the US,

The Amnesty International found that a number of victims of drone strikes were unarmed and that some strikes could amount to war crimes. But US Administrations have never been deterred by such pronouncements. Obama was arrogant enough to admit at a news conference that there had been "legitimate criticism" of the legal framework for the drone strikes, generally, and there was _no doubt that civilians were killed and that shouldn't have happened_ _._ _But he justified it as being necessary to save American_ lives.

Reactions in Pakistan

Pakistan's Prime Minister has repeatedly demanded an end to the strikes, stating that the use of drones is not only a continual violation of Pakistan's sovereignty and territorial integrity. He also said that the strikes aroused public anger and hatred at the US and was also detrimental to efforts at eliminating terrorism from Pakistan. The Peshawar High Court has ruled that the attacks are illegal, inhumane, violate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and constitute a war crime. The Obama Administration disagrees and contends that the attacks do not violate international law and that the strikes are an essential part of its war on terror.

Conclusion

Drone strikes may be an efficient way to kill terrorists, but they are not making the population of the country where they are employed friendly towards the US. Just because drone wars have succeeded in killing terrorists doesn't mean they are winning the "War on Terror" for the US. The Obama administration's heavy reliance on targeted killings as a pillar of U.S. counter-terrorism strategy rests on questionable assumptions. After more than a decade of drone strikes the US faces more Islamic extremists, not fewer. The widespread use of drones has created a backlash around the world, and not only in remote villages in Pakistan or Yemen. Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the former US commander in Afghanistan, has warned that drone warfare creates much greater resentment than the average American realizes.

The ease of using drones makes them tempting to deploy. The increasing use of lethal drones may lead to continual or wider wars. US policy of using drones to kill could backfire once the U.S. loses its current near-monopoly in drone technology. Russia China and Iran have already developed military drones. They may not be as accurate as US drones but they can kill and can be used against US military assets. China is reported to be exporting drones. But that does not mean that the Obama Administration plans to abandon drone warfare. It has already said it may soon use drones on a new battlefield against the Islamic State. Islamic State has already started using drones to bomb Iraqi forces trying to capture Mosul.

### Fighting Islamic State

In the summer of 2014, the Islamic State launched a military offensive in Northern Iraq, captured Mosul and areas to the west of it up to the Syrian border and declared a worldwide Islamic Caliphate. Obama and his administration were at a loss to find an appropriate response. All he could do was to send 275 troops to provide support and security for US personnel and the US Embassy in Baghdad. Obama refused to give any immediate substantive military assistance to Iraq. He insisted on change of the Iraqi PM and got his wish after a few months of intense pressure. Islamic State continued to gain ground and committed widespread massacres and ethnic cleansing. In August 2014, during the massacre of the Yezdis at Sinjar, Obama ordered a campaign of US air strikes against Islamic State to facilitate Kurdish Forces to rescue the Yezdis.

US Assembles a Coalition

Starting in August 2014, the US assembled a global coalition of 60 countries to fight the Islamic State. Prominent countries which are not a part of the coalition are Russia, China, Iran, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Britain, France, Netherlands, Canada, Australia, Jordan and the GCC are the most active members of the Coalition. Some countries like UK, France, Australia, Jordan and the GCC have contributed aircraft for air strikes and/or provided military aid, military advisers and trainers to Syrian rebels, Iraqi and Kurdish forces. Other countries like Japan offered humanitarian effort to assist ethnic minorities in northern Iraq who had fled in the face of attacks by Islamic State forces into Iraqi Kurdistan and other areas. None in the coalition were ready to put troops on the ground.

Islamic State Expands While Obama Searches for Solution

From August 2014 to the end of 2014, the Islamic State went on an offensive and captured the whole of Western and Northern Iraq. Its forces in Iraq linked up with its forces in Syria. The Islamic State Caliphate consolidated its hold on its Caliphate till end of 2015 while Obama struggled to find boots on ground to take on the foe. By the end of 2014, 3,100 American ground troops were committed to the conflict. In the spring of 2015, with the addition of the "Panther Brigade" of the 82nd Airborne Division, the number of U.S. ground troops in Iraq surged to 4,400. By July 2015 American-led coalition air forces had mounted 44,000 sorties over the battlefield.

Iraq Begins Counter Offensive

Iraqi Forces after about a year of intense training and rearming launched an offensive in Anbar Province in Western Iraq with US air support and assistance from advisors and Special Forces in March 2016. They recaptured all the important towns and country side after months of bitter fighting and succeeded in driving Islamic State out of Anbar Province. The battle has now shifted to Mosul which has been besieged by Iraqi Army Kurdish Peshmerga and Shia militias. The battle for Mosul, a city of almost two million promises to be long and bloody. Turkey wants to be a part of the force trying to capture Mosul. It is not clear whether the desire is to help Iraq or to provide Islamic State forces an escape route. Iraq has opposed the move and said that a war with Turkey will become inevitable if Turkish Forces enter Iraq.

Counter Offensive in Syria

The Russians entered the Syrian civil war in September 2015 on the side of the Assad Regime. It used its air power to enable Syrian Army to recapture Palmyra from the Islamic State. With this Russia has eliminated the danger of Islamic State threatening the Syrian Regime from the east.

A combined force of Kurdish YPG and Arabs armed by Western powers and assisted by US Special Forces and air support have taken charge of the Turkey Syria border from the Euphrates to the Tigris by driving Islamic State from the area. This force had even crossed the Euphrates and captured Manbij. But Turkey does not want its border with Syria to be under Kurdish control. So it has assembled a force of Free Syrian army and strengthened its tanks and artillery and pushed Islamic State out of Jarabalus and Ayin Isa. It has thus ensured for the time being that it controls a part of its border and can help Islamic State if required. The combined force of Kurdish YPG and Arabs is moving towards Raqqa, the capital of the Islamic State from the north.

Conclusion

Obama's biggest folly was premature withdrawal of US forces from Iraq. His biggest failure in Iraq was his inability to stop the fall of a very large assembly of US arms including over 150 tanks, artillery guns, 2000 Humvees and various missiles and ammunition to the Islamic State. What is even more puzzling is that the US air force made no effort to destroy the arsenal and prevent them from being used by the Islamic State. It appeared that Obama had gifted the arsenal to the Islamic State at the behest of Saudi Arabia. This haul of equipment and the 500 million dollars they got in Mosul enabled the Islamic State to over run northern and western Iraq while the US and its allies watched. His failure to stop the Islamic State in July 2014 has resulted in hundreds of thousand casualties and millions being displaced.

Wiki Leaks publication of Mrs. Hillary Clinton's emails has exposed the fact that Saudi Arabia and Qatar have funded the Islamic State from its inception. The US was also aware from the beginning of the conflict that Turkey has allowed Islamic State to use its territory to induct foreign fighters and military hardware; that Turkish companies have bought oil produced by Islamic State and sold arms, ammunition and spares to Islamic State and that Turkish hospitals have treated wounded Islamic State fighters. US inability to get Turkey and Saudi Arabia to act against Islamic State till the beginning of 2016 can be called a failure of Obama's leadership and his duplicity. Turkey's late entry into the battle against Islamic State is to ensure that Kurds do not take control of its border with Syria rather than to defeat the Islamic State.

Obama has failed to manage the conflicting interests of the Gulf Countries led by Saudi Arabia and Turkey who want Sunni rule in Iraq and Syria even under Islamic State and the Governments of these countries. Obama leaves office with Islamic State on the back foot but still with a lot of fighting still to be done.

### Unrest in Ukraine

Ukraine is an ancient country. But it became a part of the Russian empire in the 18th Century. It had two brief periods of independence during the 20th century, once near the end of World War I and another during World War II. On both occasions it was forced to be a part of the Soviet Union. It became independent in 1991 when the Soviet Union disintegrated. The long period under Russian Empire and Soviet Union resulted in over 17 percent of its population being of Russian origin and Russian being one of the official languages. Its economy was also closely integrated to the Soviet Union.

Ukraine declared itself a neutral state after independence. Nonetheless it continued to have limited military partnership with the Russian Federation and other ex-Soviet Union countries. However the US and the EU were not content with the dismantling of the Soviet Union. It wanted to bring Ukraine and Georgia into Western influence and NATO and thereby pose a military threat to Russia. In January 1992, Ukraine joined the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (now the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and on 10 March 1992, it became a member of the North Atlantic Cooperation Council. Ukraine entered into the EU's Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA). The Agreement went into force on 1 March 1998. The US and EU encouraged Ukraine to implement the PCA fully before the EU Summit at Helsinki in December 1999. Cooperation with NATO was formalized by the NATO-Ukraine Action Plan signed in 2002. It was agreed that the question of joining NATO should be answered by a national referendum at some point in the future. Russia and former President Victor Yanukovych were against Ukraine joining NATO.

The US Meddles in Ukraine

In 2004, Victor Yanukovych, then Prime Minister, was declared the winner of the presidential election much against the wishes of the US, EU and NATO. They engineered a public outcry in support of the opposition candidate, Victor Yushenko, who challenged the outcome. This resulted in the "Orange Revolution" and brought Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko to power. Pro-Russian Viktor Yanukovych was consigned to the opposition. Activists of the Orange Revolution were funded and trained in tactics of political organization and non violent resistance by Western intelligence and professional consultants who were funded by Western government and non-government agencies. According to the UK paper the Guardian, the foreign donors included the US State Department, USAID, some NGOs and George Soros's Open Society Institute.

Yanukovych returned to power in 2006 as Prime Minister. However, a snap election in 2007 resulted in Yulia Tymoshenko becoming Prime Minister again. During the Bucharest Summit in 2008, NATO declared that Ukraine would eventually become a member of NATO when it meets the criteria for the accession. Russia was against NATO extending itself to its borders and threatened dire consequences if it happened. There was a financial crisis in Ukraine in 2008-2009. Disputes with Russia resulted in stoppage of gas supplies to Ukraine in 2006 and again in 2009. Victor Yanukovych was re-elected President in 2010.

Removal of President Yankovych

Ukraine became gripped by unrest when President Victor Yanukovych refused to sign an association agreement with EU on 21 November 2013. A political movement known as Euro-Maidan organized by Ukrainians backed by the Western and European powers demanded closer ties with the EU, and the ousting of Yanukovych. This movement was ultimately successful, culminating in February 2014 with removal of Yanukovych and his government. The new government signed the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union in 2014. However, some people in eastern and southern Ukraine the traditional bases of support for Yanukovych and his party, did not approve of the revolution, and began to protest in favor of closer ties with Russia. Various demonstrations were held in Crimea in favor of leaving Ukraine and accession to the Russian Federation.

Violence between pro-Maidan and anti Maidan groups began to escalate in Eastern Ukraine in March 2014. Putin denied claims by the Ukrainian government, the EU and the US that Russian Special Forces were fomenting unrest in eastern Ukraine.

Annexation of Crimea

Beginning February 26, 2014, pro-Russian forces began to gradually take control of the Crimean Peninsula. A referendum was held on the question of joining the Russian Federation and resulted in a 96 percent voting in favor of accession. The referendum was condemned by the EU, the US and Ukraine. On 17 March, the Crimean Parliament declared independence from Ukraine and asked to join the Russian Federation. On 18 March, Russia and Crimea signed a treaty of accession which was ratified by the Russian Parliament. The UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution that declared that the referendum was invalid and the incorporation of Crimea into Russia as illegal.

Civil War in Eastern Ukraine

Pro-Russian protesters occupied many government buildings in eastern Ukraine in March 2014. They demanded a Crimea-style referendum on independence from Ukraine. On 6 April, the leaders of the separatist group called Donetsk Republic announced that a referendum, on whether Donetsk region should join the Russian Federation would take place in May 2014. They also appealed to Russian President to send Russian peacekeeping forces to the region. In response to the actions, acting Ukrainian President Oleksander Turchynov launched a major counter-terrorism operation against the separatist movements in the country's eastern regions. Turchynov offered amnesty to the separatists if they laid down their arms and surrendered. He also offered concessions that include potential devolution of power to regions, and the protection of the Russian language in law. The offer was rejected and separatists seized police stations and government buildings in the cities of Donetsk, Kramatorsk, Horlivka, Maruipol etc. Ukrainian transitional president launched a full-scale anti-terror military operation to reclaim the region. The disputed referendum on the status of Donetsk Region was held on May 11, 2014 According to representatives of the Donetsk People's Republic, 89 percent voted in favor of self-rule.

Fighting started in April 2014 and raged for months until Ukraine and the separatists came to a deal on 5 September to halt the violence and free prisoners. But the ceasefire never held entirely. Both sides used the relative lull to build up their forces and for months the rebels tried to seize Donetsk airport, a strategic and symbolic asset, from government forces. Another Agreement was struck on 12 February 2015 in Minsk by the leaders of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia. It was similar to the old one, but tries to tackle some of its shortcomings. For the rebels, the new ceasefire line was the same as the old one, so they lost some of the territory they have gained. But government forces were required pull back from the current front-line, and territory they had lost since January was confirmed as lost. But a key omission from the deal was the town of Debaltseve because the sides could not agree about who would end up controlling it. The bloodshed has largely stoped and the guns have fallen silent but the future status of the rebel-held areas of Donetsk and Luhansk remains unclear. Ukraine is adamant there is no new deal on autonomy for the rebel areas, only decentralization. That could anger the rebels. And it is difficult imagining the rebels agreeing to hold elections under Ukrainian law in their areas or seeing Ukraine getting back control of its eastern border. Both conditions are part of the 13-point plan agreed in Minsk. The agreement provided for immediate ceasefire from 0000 on February 12, 2015; creation of a buffer zone separating heavy weapons of both sides; big guns had to pull back by 15km; effective verification by international security group OSCE; amnesty and release of all hostages and illegally detained people by fifth day of pull-out; restoration of government pensions and other welfare payments for civilians in the east and full Ukrainian control over eastern border, after local elections under Ukrainian law and a constitutional deal on future of Donetsk and Luhansk by end of 2015. The September ceasefire agreement immediately broke down. Each side accused the other of tearing up the deal. The separatists were angered by the government decision to scrap the special status of their two regions, Donetsk and Luhansk. Some prisoners were exchanged but guns were never fully pulled back. Ukraine made no move to grant wider self-rule to Donetsk and Luhansk. Both sides used the ceasefire to rearm, but the rebels now appear to have better quality tanks and weapons than the government. The rebels certainly have made big gains, with the capture of Donetsk airport and the capture of Debaltseve. The airport gave them a strategic asset a few miles from the centre of Donetsk city, their biggest stronghold. Even before the airport had been captured, Ukraine accused separatist forces of seizing more than 500 sq km mainly around Debaltseve and Mariupol. Casualties on both sides have been heavy.

Obama's Contribution to the Conflict

Obama did not encourage Ukraine to implement the Minks Agreement and make peace with Russia. He stepped up non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine in March 2015 with a $75m package that includes armored Humvees and surveillance drones. The US also announced new economic sanctions to be targeted at officials in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in Ukraine as well as the Russian National Commercial Bank and a nationalist Russian group. A US$5 billion credit from the International Monetary Fund was also arranged for Ukraine by the US. The hawkish members of the US Congress wanted Obama to provide lethal aide to Kiev. But Obama resisted pressure from Congress and several senior officials in his administration, including his defence secretary, Ashton Carter, and secretary of state, John Kerry, to provide lethal support to Ukraine's embattled armed forces. Britain was to increase its own assistance to Ukraine including £850,000 worth of non-lethal military aid to Ukraine, including 2,000 helmets, 220 laptops and 1,000 first aid kits. About 75 British troops also began training Ukrainian forces in first aid techniques and basic military tactics. Ukraine's inability to carryout economic reforms and reign in corruption led the IMF to threaten cancellation of the credit line. But it caved in to US pressure. Obama also met with Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk in an attempt to show united Western support. US's NATO allies also sent over $100 million worth of non-lethal aid to Ukraine.

In Nov 2015 Congress passed a defense bill that authorized up to $50 million in lethal military aid for Ukraine. The U.S. provided a shipment of Bradley Fighting Vehicles, howitzer artillery and tanks to aid Ukraine in its ongoing fight against Russian backed rebels under this authorization. However, a commander of Ukrainian Special Forces complained that the equipment provided was second hand. Some of the Humvees given to Ukraine were over 30 years old. Poland has also said it is sending military advisors to Ukraine.

The Human Cost

5665 people have been killed and 13,961 wounded in the fighting in eastern Ukraine. An estimated 5.2 million people live in conflict areas Over 978,482 people are internally displaced within Ukraine. The figure includes 119,832 children Over 600,000 fled to neighboring countries, of whom more than 400,000 have gone to Russia.

Conclusion

The Ukraine conflict remains frozen. The Kiev Government does not have the military or economic power to retake the Russian speaking eastern region.

President Bush encouraged Georgia to turn to the West with the "Pink Revolution". He even encouraged the West oriented president of Georgia to launch a military offensive against the Russian speaking autonomous enclaves of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. When the Russian Army moved into Georgia and defeated the Georgian Army, the US did not fire a single shot to protect Georgia. Obama's actions in Ukraine are similar. He, like previous US Administrations, engineered the fall of the pro-Russian regime in Ukraine. But when the Russian speaking regions rebelled and Russia annexed Crimea, all he could do was to talk, give some economic and military aid which is enough to keep a low key conflict going but not enough to recapture the rebel held regions. Ukraine is headed to being a failed state. President Bush betrayed the people of Georgia. President Obama betrayed the people of Ukraine.

Obama also betrayed those who have him the Nobel Peace Prize by vigorously pursuing the Cold War with Russia and starting the War in Ukraine and at what horrible human cost. The only chance for peace in Ukraine lies in full implementation of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, which largely appears to be holding. But for permanent peace the _authorities in Kiev have to carry out constitutional reform and grant meaningful autonomy to the Russian dominated regions._ But peace is not what Obama wants.

### Pushing NATO Borders

North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO was formed in 1949 with twelve founding members; the US and Canada in North America and UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Ireland in Europe. It is a military alliance formed with the aim of defending member countries against aggression by Soviet Union or any other threat. It added Greece and Turkey in 1952, West Germany in 1955 and Spain in 1982. The Soviet Union broke up in 1990. Germany was reunited and the Cold War officially ended. Russia claims that the US had promised during the 1990 negotiations between the West and the Soviet Union over German unification that NATO would not expand into Eastern Europe. The West has vigorously claimed that no such deal was ever struck. However, hundreds of memos, meeting minutes and transcripts from US archives indicate otherwise. President Bush Senior's Administration decided in 1990 that NATO should include the East European member of the dismantled Soviet Union. The Russian Federation under President Boris Yelstin was in a political and economic mess and in no position to resist. Even President Putin did not object to the NATO expansion during his first term. Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary joined NATO in 1999. Another expansion took place when Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia joined NATO in 2002. President Clinton broke up Yugoslavia. Albania and Croatia joined NATO in 2009. In 2011, NATO added Bosnia. Macedonia has been prevented from joining the alliance by Greece. Montenegro's membership is in the process of being ratified by current members. Governments of Sweden, Finland and Serbia are debating whether they should join the Alliance. Ukraine and Georgia want to join but Russia is vehemently against any such move. Their membership is under consideration. The incorporation of countries formerly in the Soviet Union has been a cause of increased tension between NATO countries and Russia. Russia was incensed when Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, the Baltic States and others were ushered into NATO membership starting in the 1990s. Boris Yeltsin, Dmitry Medvedev and Gorbachev himself protested through both public and private channels that the US leaders had violated the non-expansion arrangement. Russian protests turned to outright aggression as NATO began looking even further eastward, to Ukraine and Georgia.

Obama's Role in NATO's Expansion

Obama did not start NATO's eastward push. The largest expansion was during the Clinton Administration. George Bush added Bosnia. He also organized the Pink Revolution in Georgia and Orange Revolution in Ukraine and managed to install pro EU regimes in both the countries. But the results were not what he wanted. Georgia's pro-West President Mikhail Saakashvili triggered a short war with Russia in August 2008. Moscow welcomed the opportunity to punish Saakashvili for his misadventure by invading Georgia and smashing the Georgian army. Bush did nothing but protest the Russian action. He had no intention of starting a war with Russia over tiny weak and economically irrelevant Georgia.

Obama pursued Bush's policies regarding encircling Russia with gusto. He deployed a missile defence system targeting Russia in Poland. His administration organized the pro West Anti Russian Maidan Movement and ousted the Pro-Russia President Yanukovych. He encouraged Ukraine to cancel the lease of the Russian naval base in Crimea. Russia pre-empted the move by annexing Crimea and starting a civil war in Ukraine. Obama imposed sanctions on Russia and encouraged the EU to do the same. But the sanctions have caused more hardships to European farmers and exporters than Russia. It has encouraged Russia to embark on a program to achieve food self sufficiency by 2018. That is going to cause permanent damage to EU.

Obama is planning to quadruple US military spending in Europe to $3.4 billion in 2017 as NATO increases troops on rotation and training, stockpiles military hardware and arms, and forms a rapid reaction force. Russia has called NATO's moves a threat to stability in Europe. The military alliance says the new plans are aimed at reassuring eastern European allies who are concerned about Russian aggression.

Conclusion

Obama is on the way out. It is not clear if his successor Donald Trump is going to follow his policies of needling the Russian Bear. If Trumps campaign is to be believed, he aims to improve relations with Russia and end the Cold War in letter and spirit. Obama has spent billions of dollars to try to support Ukraine and weaken Russia. He persuaded NATO defense ministers to agree on an enhanced forward presence in the eastern part of the NATO alliance but to what purpose. Georgia and Ukraine have been both promised eventual membership in April 2008.His attempts at isolating Russia have been an utter failure. It is Russia that has gained ground. Obama has betrayed the pro West regime in Ukraine by not going all out and taking on Russia. He has betrayed NATO by encouraging it to take an anti Russian stand which they are incapable of sustaining without US economic and military support. Whether this support will come from the Trump Administration remains to be seen?

Tensions between Russia and NATO are not expected to ease until there is substantial progress on implementing Ukraine's peace deal, the Minsk Agreement. The sooner the Ukrainian crisis is settled, the better. Is the Obama administration prepared to take the nation into war against nuclear-armed Russia over three countries which are irrelevant to U.S. security? Since America's safety should be the most important objective policy of any alliance, NATO expansion has turned out to be a really stupid policy. The alliance was created by the US to augment American security and not risk US lives and resources for no good reason.

### Conclusion

The critics of the Nobel Peace Prize being given to Obama were right. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and Libya continue to bleed. Over 6000 have died and millions are on the verge of starvation in Yemen due to Saudi air strikes and naval blockade. Obama is happy that the US and UK arms industries are flourishing. Over 300,000 have died in Syria during his tenure as President of the US. Over 100,000 have died in Iraq during the same period. Over 10 million have become refugees in the war torn countries. Only twice in history of the world have more people been killed and displaced than under the Obama Presidency. The highest number killed and displaced was during the World War II for which Hitler was responsible. The second highest was during the Vietnam War for which US Presidents from Kennedy to Nixon were responsible. Obama inherited two wars from the Bush Presidency in Iraq and Afghanistan. He added three in Libya, Syria and Ukraine. He also started the undeclared war on Al Qaeda, Afghan Taliban and Al Shabab with drone strikes in Pakistan Yemen and Somalia killing a few leaders and hundreds of civilians including women and children President.

If there is one thing that matches US corporate greed, it is its desire to dominate the world with its military power. With its unwillingness to put boots on ground, it can only rain death and devastation from the air. Obama continued to work for US military domination of the world but without success. Russia, China and the Islamic State continue to defy it. Obama is the prime butcher of the 21st Century. I only hope we do not see another like him.

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##  Chapter 3: Obama the Protector of the Environment

Environmental degradation caused by corporate greed and the resulting climate change in the US and the world is real. Over the past 60 years, climate change has caused the Alaskan Arctic to warm twice as rapidly as the rest of the US. This trend will continue to transform the Arctic. Global warming has resulted in widespread glacier retreat, coastal erosion, acidic oceans, earlier spring melting, insect outbreaks and wildfires. Dealing with climate change was one of Obama's election promises. Did he do enough?

### Obama and Climate Change

Obama has talked a lot about climate change. He also made a formal written submission to the UN ahead of efforts to forge a global climate change accord in Paris in December 2015. The US and China are the world's two largest greenhouse gas polluters. Obama said the US would cut its emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025, while Mr. Xi Jingping said that China's emissions would drop only after 2030. The President of China was honest enough to say that nothing would be done about climate change while he would be in office.

Obama was even successful in persuading the nations of the world to agree to a historic global agreement in Paris in December 2015 to cut carbon emissions. The agreement is legally binding with penalty clauses and has been ratified by 66 out of about 200 countries of the world. But is he in a position to commit the US to the provisions of the Paris Agreement. He knows that he cannot. With both houses of the US Congress having Republican majority, there is no way he can get them to ratify the treaty.

His duplicity does not end there. He had used his executive powers to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to issue rules to cut pollution. The rules were the first ever for cutting pollution from power plants which are the single largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the US. They called for reducing carbon emissions from power plants by about one-third by 2030. However, the rules to reduce emissions has been blocked by the US Supreme Court which has put a temporary freeze on Environmental Protection Agency rules for cutting carbon emissions from power plants until the Washington DC circuit court of appeals hears challenges from 29, mainly Republican-led states, and dozens of corporations and industry groups. White House officials said the plan had catered to allow for such legal delays. States do not have to submit their final plans until 2018, and the rules do not come into force until 2022. So Obama was aware that he would never have to fulfill America's obligation to the treaty.

### Conclusion

Obama's blueprint for reducing emissions in the US brought together several initiatives that were already ongoing. These included freezing construction of new coal-fired power plants, increasing the fuel economy of vehicles and plugging methane leaks from oil and gas production. It is meant to fool the world on how the US will lead by example and meet its pledge for cutting emissions. But the plan relied on executive authority. Obama was fully aware that any proposal to pass climate change legislation would be blocked by the Republican controlled Congress. His oratory once again fooled the world.

The major man made disasters in the US and in many parts of the world are due to leakage of toxic industrial waste stored from old mines, power plants like the Tennessee Coal Ash Spill of 2008, Exon Valdez Oil Spill in Alaska, Gold King Mine waste water spill of 2015, colonial pipe line leak of 2016 and so on. Controlling industrial pollution is very important for preserving the environment. Obama has done nothing to identify the dangers and take measures to prevent disasters from happening.

Climate change cannot be prevented by measures like making more fuel efficient cars or phasing out coal based power plants alone. Protection of environments like rain forests of Brazil, Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries is as important. But can the multinational corporations which are cutting the forests to grow Soya bean or palm oil or simply for timber be stopped. Can catastrophic oil spills from tankers pipelines and wells have laid waste vast lands and rare eco systems. Pollution from pesticide and animal waste which flows down the Mississippi Missouri rivers have killed all marine life in the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi delta to Texas. Obama has done nothing against US corporations damaging the environment in the US and around the world. He has not even uttered a word in condemnation.

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##  Chapter 4: Obama the Crusader against Terror

Obama inherited the "War on Terror" from President George Bush. He tried his best to de-link Islam and Islamic terrorism but failed. Most of the world now agrees that Islamic terrorism is perhaps the greatest threat to world peace in the 21st Century. Before President Bush launched his "War on Terror" or "Operation Enduring Freedom", the terror hotspots had been Israel, North Caucasus region of Russia, India and Pakistan. The US has condemned terrorism in Israel, enjoyed and perhaps even aided terrorism in Russia and been indifferent to terrorism in India and Pakistan. Terrorism spread all round the world after launch of the US War on Terror. It has spread the most after 2009 or after Obama took over as the US president.

### Islamic Terrorism in Africa

Sahara/Sub-Sahara

The US is fighting a number of battles against Islamic terrorism in Africa. "Operation Enduring Freedom - Trans Sahara" is the name given to the military operation conducted by the US and partner nations in the Sahara/Sub Sahara region of Africa. The conflict in northern Mali began in January 2012 with radical Islamists affiliated to al-Qaeda advancing into northern Mali. The Malian government had a hard time maintaining full control over their country. The fledgling government requested support from the international community on combating the Islamic militants. In January 2013, France intervened on behalf of the Malian government at its request and deployed troops into the region with the hopes of dislodging the al-Qaeda affiliated groups from northern Mali. UN peacekeepers are also deployed. The battle continues and there is no evidence that the Government and its allies are winning.

Horn of Africa

"Operation Enduring Freedom" was extended to the Horn of Africa. It focuses its efforts to detect and disrupt terrorist activities in the region and to work with willing governments to prevent the re-emergence of terrorist cells and activities in the region. A task force of approximately 2,000 personnel including US military and Special Operations Forces and coalition force members was established in Djibouti in 2002.The Task Force consists of ships from a group of nations, including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Pakistan, New Zealand, the US and the UK and US drones. The primary goal of the coalition forces is to monitor, inspect, board and stop suspected shipments of arms from entering the Horn of Africa region and affecting the US and allied operation in Iraq, Somalia and Yemen. It conducts training of selected armed forces units of the countries of Djibouti, Kenya and Ethiopia in counter-terrorism and counter insurgency tactics.

Somalia

The US operates drones in Somalia where an Al Qaeda affiliate Al Shabab is trying to establish an Islamic State. The US intervened in Somalia in 1992. UN peacekeepers led by the US stepped in to gain control of the country so that American oil companies, who had been granted concessions for oil explorations, were able to operate. Between June and October 1993, several gun battles took place in Mogadishu between local gunmen and peacekeepers. These clashes resulted in the death of 24 Pakistani and 31 US soldiers, most of who were killed in the Battle of Mogadishu. Around 1000 Somali militia men were killed in that battle. The UN peace keepers including US military withdrew on March 3, 1995. Somalia descended into a civil war between an alliance of mostly secular Mogadishu based warlords armed and funded by the CIA and the Sharia law oriented Islamic Courts Union (ICU). By June 2006, the ICU had succeeded in capturing the capital, Mogadishu. The US persuaded Ethiopia to intervene in support of the secular forces of Somalia. The ICU were defeated in all major battles and forced to withdraw from Mogadishu in December 2006. Their troops dispersed to begin guerrilla warfare against Ethiopian and Somali government forces. That war still continues. Ethiopian forces have withdrawn but a peace keeping force of the African Union and Kenyans have taken their place. Secularist forces hold on to Mogadishu while the Islamists control the countryside. After 24 years of interventions, providing military assistance and fighting, Somalia remains a war torn failed state even today.

Libya

Islamic State took advantage of the power vacuum in Libya caused by overthrow of the Gaddafi Regime by rebel groups supported by an US coalition and established its presence in the country in 2014. In October 2014, the Shura Council of Islamic Youth and other Sunni militant groups in Libya joined Islamic State and took over operations in the Cyrenaica Province. The Libyan branch of Islamic State has been the most active and successful out of all the Islamic State branches outside of Iraq and Syria. They appear to be active mainly in the eastern urban centres of Derna and Sirte. Derna became the first city outside Syria and Iraq to be a part of the "Islamic State Caliphate". In January 2015, Islamic State militants in Libya seized control of an area encompassing the cities of Sirte, Nofolia, and their military bases. In February 2015, Islamic State militants beheaded of 21 Egyptian Christians. This led to retaliatory air strikes by Egypt. However by early March 2015, Islamic State had captured additional Libyan territory, including a city to the west of Derna, additional areas near Sirte, a stretch of land in southern Libya, some areas around Benghazi, and an area to the east of Tripoli. Libya does not have an effective government ever since NATO air campaign and military aid to rebels overthrew the government of Colonel Gaddafi. They have two governments one based at Benghazi and the other at Tripoli. The two were at war with each other. Better sense has prevailed. A cease fire is in place and a power sharing agreement is being worked out. Government forces have launched an offensive against Islamic State. Efforts are on to capture Sirte.

Sudan and Nigeria

The US "War on Terror" does not include Sudan, where over 400,000 have died in an ongoing civil war. It also does not include Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria. Boko Haram was founded in 2002. It became active after a mass prison break in September 2010 which freed some of its leaders. It began to attack soft targets with raids and suicide attacks. The Nigerian government declared a state of emergency at the beginning of 2012 and extended it in the following year to cover the entire northeast of the country. This resulted in an increase in both security force abuses and militant attacks. Boko Haram killed more than 13000 civilians between 2009 and 2015, including around 10,000 in 2014. Since mid 2014, Boko Haram has been in control of about 50,000 sq km of territory in and around their home state of Borno. Only its capital Maiduguri remains in Nigerian hands. In July 2014, Boko Haram recognized the Caliphate established by the Islamic State and declared the territories held by it as a part of the Caliphate. A coalition force to fight Boko Haram was created in November 2014. The force was to include 3,500 soldiers from Benin, Chad, Cameroon, Niger and Nigeria. France and the UK, in coordination with the US, have sent trainers and material assistance to Nigeria to assist in the fight against Boko Haram. Joint military operations by Nigerian, Chadian and Cameroonian armed forces achieved some success. Boko Haram lost its capital Gwoza and some of its occupied territories. It is still in control of southern parts of Borno State and is carrying out suicide attacks at Abuja and other parts of Nigeria at will. They new Nigerian president sacked Nigerian Army and Air Force Chiefs for the poor performance of the Nigerian Armed Forces in July 2015. But the new dispensation has made little difference. As of date the terror attacks are continuing.

Sinai, Egypt

Islamic State affiliate, Ansar Bait al-Maqdis has been active in Sinai region of Egypt. It has claimed downing a military helicopter with a surface-to-air missile in North Sinai, near the border with Gaza. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi declared a state of emergency in the region. In May 2015, three Egyptian judges and their driver were killed when gunmen opened fire on their vehicle in North Sinai. In 16 July 2015, Islamic State affiliated militants attacked an Egyptian navy patrol ship near the border with Israel and the Gaza Strip with a guided missile. The attack is considered the first maritime attack by the Islamic State and its allied militant groups. In October 2015, Islamic State claimed to have shot down a Russian airliner over Sinai which crashed killing 225 passengers. Sinai is not a part of the US "War on Terror." Ansar Bait al-Maqdis has also carried out a number of attacks in mainland Egypt. On 11 July 2015, a car bomb exploded near the Italian consulate in Cairo, killing one person and injuring nine others. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack. The Egyptian pipeline carrying natural gas to Jordan has been attacked at least 15 times since the start of the uprising in early 2011. The el-Sisi Government of Egypt is indulging in ruthless repression of Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Thus Muslim Brotherhood hardliners are likely to seek support from the Islamic State to save them and help achieve their common goal of an Islamic Caliphate.

### Islamic Terrorism in Asia

Afghanistan

The Taliban with help from Pakistan Army seized power in Afghanistan in 1996 and established a fundamentalist Islamic regime. Al Qaeda under Osama Bin Laden established a large operational base in Afghanistan with Taliban's patronage. In February 1998, Osama bin Laden signed a "fatwa" (directive), as head of al-Qaeda, and declared war on the West and Israel, On 7 August 1998, al-Qaeda bombed the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania killing 224 people, including 12 Americans. In retaliation, President Clinton launched a bombing campaign against Al Qaeda targets in Sudan and Afghanistan. On 12 October 2000, terrorists attacked the US warship USS Cole then at anchor near the port of Yemen. 17 US Navy sailors were killed. On September 9, 2001, Al Qaeda terrorists attacked targets in the US and President Bush decided to intervene militarily in Afghanistan and launch US "War on Terror". With boots on ground from the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and its air power, the US forces drove Taliban out of Afghanistan and established a West leaning regime in Kabul. Following the 9/11 2001 attacks, former President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf agreed to give the US the use of three airbases for Operation Enduring Freedom. But Pakistan continues to support Taliban in Afghanistan and used the financial and military aid given by the US to finance and assist Taliban in Afghanistan and Lashkar-e Taiba and other terrorists fighting in Indian Kashmir. The Taliban regrouped in western Pakistan and Balochistan with military aid and training from Pakistani intelligence agency, the ISI, and began to unleash an insurgent-style offensive against Coalition forces in late 2002. Fighting broke out between the surging Taliban and Coalition forces throughout southern and eastern Afghanistan. Fighting continued. Casualties mounted. But the US coalition was not winning. The battle for control of Afghanistan continues and an US force remains in Afghanistan to support the Afghan Government.

In January 2015, Afghan officials confirmed that Islamic State had a military presence in Afghanistan and had recruited many militants and suicide bombers. However, some of these militants were either captured or killed by the Taliban. Islamic State aim in Afghanistan seems to be to widen sectarian divisions by targeting Shias, destabilizing the present government and replacing it with a fundamentalist Islamic one. They would also like to take possession of large stockpiles of weapons and ammunitions which the Americans have left behind for use by the Afghan Army and the lucrative opium trade. A power struggle between the Taliban and IS appears inevitable.

Iraqi Insurgency

Iraq under Saddam Hussein in 2003 was a peaceful, modern, secular and prosperous country. But President George Bush wanted to replace the regime because it was assisting the Palestinians' in their struggle against Israel. He also had an eye on Iraq's oil. So, on March 20, 2003, the US and its allies started the military invasion of Iraq to rid the country of the tyrant, Saddam Hussein and bring democracy to Iraq. Baghdad fell on April 9, ending President Hussein's 24 year rule. Much of Bagdad and other major cities and Iraqi infrastructure were destroyed in air attacks and artillery fire during the war. On April 15, 2003, the coalition claimed total victory. Saddam Hussein was located, captured, tried and hanged. His army was disbanded and a new Iraqi Army was raised. However, peace did not return to Iraq. The insurgency aimed at forcing US and allied forces out of Iraq and sectarian conflict for political power between Kurds, Shiias and Sunnis continued. Over 5000 American soldiers have been killed and over 50,000 have been wounded. The civilian casualties are estimated to be between 100,000 to 200,000 and rising. Most of Iraqi industries and infrastructure has been decimated. Unemployment and poverty abounds. Sectarian violence and suicide bombings are routine occurrence.

Islamic Terrorism in China

China also has been engaged in its own War on Terror in Xinjiang Province where Uighur separatist movements turned violent in 2010. Uighurs are Muslims of Turkish origin and are up in arms against China's policy of changing the demographics of a region by inducting Han Chinese from mainland China and settling them in remote regions where ethnic minorities are in majority like Tibet and Xinjiang. Uighurs do not have much external military support or links with Islamic State, Taliban or Al Qaeda But with common borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan, links could develop at a later date. They do enjoy support in international media and human rights groups due to the perception that Uighurs are unfairly targeted.

Islamic Terrorism in India

India has both Pakistan sponsored and home grown Islamic Terrorists. The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) is the largest home grown Islamic Terrorist movement. It is banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It is an Islamist fundamentalist organization, which advocates the "liberation of India" by converting it to an Islamic land. SIMI reportedly receives generous financial assistance from the World Assembly of Muslim Youth (WAMY), Riyadh, and also maintains close links with the International Islamic Federation of Students' Organizations (IIFSO) in Kuwait. It also receives generous funds from contacts in Pakistan. The SIMI has links with the Jamaat-e-Islam units in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. It also has a close working relationship with the Islami Chhatra Shibir, the students' wing of the Jamat-e-Islam in Bangladesh. The SIMI is also alleged to have close links with the Hizbul Mujahideen and the ISI of Pakistan. Beginning the autumn of 2000, SIMI cadres were known to have undergone training with the Hizbul Mujahideen cadres in Jammu and Kashmir. Certain SIMI leaders are reported to have close links with Pakistan-based terrorist groups such as the Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. SIMI activists, over the years, have also become a vital part of the Lashkar-e-Taiba's grand plans for destabilization in India. SIMI also maintains ties with the Harkat-ul-Jehad-al Islami Bangladesh.

Pakistan sponsored Islamic Terrorist groups like Lashkar-e Taiba and Jaish-e Mohammed operate mostly in Jammu and Kashmir. They are funded, trained and controlled by Pakistan's ISI. They have been active in India since 1991 when Pakistan's President adopted the policy of making "India bleed from a thousand cuts". Withdrawal of Soviet Union from Afghanistan freed up a lot of military hardware and fighters who were redeployed against India. Pakistan based Islamic Militants have been responsible for some major terrorist strikes in India like the one on Indian Parliament, and a number of major strikes in Mumbai and recently on army bases in Kashmir. Obama sheds crocodile tears and condemns these attacks but has done nothing tangible to discourage Pakistan from sponsoring terror.

Islamic State has been able to establish some cells in India for fund raising and recruitment. About a dozen Indian Muslims have gone to Syria and Iraq to fight for Islamic State.

Islamic Terrorism in Pakistan

Pakistan is both a victim and sponsor of Islamic terrorism. A total of over 35,000 Pakistanis have been killed between September 2001 and May 2011 in terrorist attacks. Pakistan was deeply involved in the Soviet Afghan War which led to Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan. This led to a large influx of radical ideologically driven Muslim Mujahideens into the tribal areas in northwest Pakistan and increased availability of all kinds of weapons. The Pakistani Government and its Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), in alliance with the CIA, armed, trained and motivated the Mujahideen to fight a proxy war against Soviet forces present in Afghanistan. Most of the mujahideen were never disarmed after the war ended. Many Mujahideen of Afghan origin became the Afghan Taliban and were sent by ISI to take over Afghanistan. Those of Pakistani origin formed the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistani and have been fighting the Pakistani Army and Government to create an Islamic state in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Another group called the Lashkar-e-Jhanvi is engaged in suicide attacks and bombing attacks on Shia mosques and shrines in Pakistan. This organization has recently been banned.

Pakistan is the fountain head of terrorism around the world. Osama bin Laden, the Al Qaeda chief was assassinate by US Special Forces in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province. Taliban has large bases in Balochistan and Frontier Tribal Agency (FTA) provinces in Pakistan where they are trained and equipped by Pakistan's ISI. Mullah Omar, the Taliban chief died in Pakistan of illness. His successors are being sheltered from US drone attacks in safe houses in Pakistan.

Pakistan's tribal region along the border of Afghanistan has been considered a haven for terrorists by western media and the US Defense Secretary. As per an analysis published by the Brookings Institution in 2008, Pakistan was perhaps the world's most active sponsor of terrorist groups. Its ISI aids groups like the Haqqani Network and Al Qaeda that pose a direct threat to the US. Former Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff of US, Mike Mullen has described the Haqqani Network as the arm of Pakistan's ISI. Mullen said Pakistan's ISI was supporting Haqqani network, who are blamed for an assault on the US embassy in Kabul in September 2011 and also the September 2011 NATO truck bombing which injured 77 coalition soldier. Obama does not care. In September 2016, the Chairman of the US House Subcommittee on Terrorism, Congressman Ted Poe from Texas, along with Dana Rohrabacher from California, introduced a bill calling for a declaration of Pakistan as a "state sponsor of terrorism' Obama Administration is not interested in doing so.

Some other terrorist groups like the East Turkestan Islamic Movement which supports Uighurs in China and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan which hopes to Islamize Uzbekistan are also active in the tribal areas of North West Pakistan.

The ISI is also engaged in exporting Islamic terrorism to India. The terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is widely blamed for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks. The US has put a $10m bounty for its founder Hafiz Saeed. Saeed now heads the Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) group, widely seen as a front for LeT. He openly moves about in Pakistan and is often seen with Pakistani political leaders. LeT was responsible for the attack on the Indian Parliament in 2002. JuD is currently banned by the US, the EU, India and Russia as a terrorist organization. Pakistan and Obama could not careless. JuD regularly conducts mass rallies and congregation advocating jihad in Kashmir. A security of 4000 policemen was provided Hafiz Saeed during rallies. JuD also asks donations for its anti-India and pro-jihad campaigns

Terrorism in Yemen

Al-Qaeda has a strong presence in Yemen. It declared an Emirate in Yemen after it captured most of Abyan Governorate. The US has conducted a number of drone strikes on Al Qaeda militants in Yemen. The US, in an effort to support Yemeni counter-terrorism efforts, has increased their military aid package to Yemen from less than $11 million in 2006 to more than $70 million in 2009. But the civil war in Yemen between the Saudi and US supported Government and the Houthis makes any meaningful anti terror operation impossible.

Islamic Terrorism in Philippines

There has been an Islamist movement in Mindanao Islands of the Philippines. US Special Forces were deployed to the Philippines to assist its Armed Forces in combating Filipino Islamist groups Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah from the island of Basilan in January 2002.

Islamic Terrorism in Thailand

Islamic militants are active in Thailand's border districts with Malaysia. This appears to be a separatist movement without major links to Islamic State or Al Qaeda.

Islamic Terrorism in Bangladesh

Bangladesh also has some home grown Islamic Terrorist organizations. The main ones are the Harkat-ul-Jehad-al Islami and Jamat-e Islam. Bangladesh Islami Chhatra Shibir, the students' wing of the Jamat-e-Islam in Bangladesh is also active. Till recently they were targeting religious minorities and secular bloggers. Recently they have been attacking foreign nationals, particularly Europeans. Bangladesh Government has launched a crackdown on them. But militants and terrorists, Islamic or otherwise are difficult to eradicate unless foreign funding and training can be eliminated.

### Islamic Terrorism in Europe

Islamic State considers most European nations as enemies for their participation in war against it in Iraq and Syria. Many European countries have significantly large Muslim population. Many of the young Muslims, both men and women, are disaffected with their economic situation and status in society. Many of these radicalized men and women have received military training and been radicalized during visits to Pakistan. Many have joined the Islamic State as fighters. Many women have gone to Iraq and Syria to be Jihadi brides. Publication of cartoons on Prophet Mohammad and the support of European Governments for the action have angered Muslims all over the world. Islamic State is no exception. Britain and France are taking part in the air campaign against Islamic State and have sent contingents of their armed forces to train Iraqi government forces and militias. In late January 2015, it was revealed that Islamic State members have infiltrated into the EU and disguised themselves as civilian refugees who were emigrating from the war zones of Libya, Sudan, Iraq and the Syria. An Islamic State representative boasted that Islamic State had successfully smuggled 4,000 fighters into Europe and that the smuggled fighters were planning attacks in Europe in retaliation for the air strikes carried out against IS targets in Iraq and Syria. However, experts believe that the claim of 4,000 was exaggerated to boost their stature and spread fear. But they acknowledged that some Western countries were aware of the infiltration. The attacks in Paris in November 2015 and attacks in France, Belgium, UK and Germany in 2016 prove that Islamic State has a presence in Europe. The presence may be small but large enough for France to be under emergency for a year and some of the other countries to be on high alert.

### Islamic Terrorism in the US

Islamic terrorists have not been able to organize themselves in the US. But there have been lone wolf attacks like the Boston Marathon bombings, failed bombing in Times Square in New York and a few shooting attacks on people at public places. The treat has been dismissed as minor by the Obama Administration but is taken more seriously by President Elect Donald Trump. He has promised tough background checks for Muslim immigrants and surveillance of Muslims and their mosques in the US.

### War on Terror under Obama

Afghanistan

Obama took over US presidency in 2009. In 2010 Obama increased in the number of troops in Afghanistan and launched military offensives in southern and eastern Afghanistan in the hope that they would destroy the Taliban insurgency once and for all. But the Taliban had sanctuaries in Pakistan where they retreated when pressed and returned when US troops pulled back to their bases. The US military therefore failed to defeat the Taliban. Obama now changed his strategy. He has withdrawn most of the combat troops from Afghanistan. Training and arming of the Afghan Army was taken up in real earnest. He encouraged peace talks between the Afghan Government and the Taliban but these have not produced any result. In 2013, President Obama announced that the US had stopped pursuing the War on Terror. He said that the military focus should be on specific networks of violent extremists that threaten America. In September 2014, Afghanistan and the US signed a security agreement, which permitted the US to retain a small force for training, advising and providing air support to the Afghan Army until at least 2024. Taliban is claiming it has defeated the US. The battle for Afghanistan continues between the secular forces of the US and its allies and the Afghan government on one side and the Muslim fundamentalist forces of Al Qaeda and Taliban supported by Pakistan on the other. The people of Afghanistan continue to suffer. Cold War compulsion of driving Soviets out of Afghanistan and the War on Terror has reduced Afghanistan, a peaceful progressive prosperous nation in 1982, to a war ravaged, regressive and poverty stricken country in 2016.

Iraq

Obama inherited the insurgency in Iraq. He ordered the US troop withdrawals soon after assuming office and pulled out all combat troops by the end of December 2011. A small US force was left behind to train and advice the Iraqi Government. But his withdrawal of American and allied troops was premature. The fledgling Iraqi Government and Iraqi Army did not have the experience or training to effectively fight the insurgents led by Saddam Hussein's disbanded army financially supported by Sunni Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait and arms logistic supplies through Turkey. The Islamic State was formed by a number of Sunni insurgent groups. They foraged into Syria and with Turkish and Sunni Arab help quickly grew from strength to strength. They established their capital at Raqqa and started operations in Anbar Province of Iraq. Sunnis in the Iraqi Army deserted and joined the Islamic State forces. Ramadi, Faluja and a number of Iraqi cities in Anbar Province fell to Islamic State by December 2013. Obama ignored the rise of Islamic State in Iraq, its proclamations and its expansion into Syria. He was busy with plotting overthrow of Col Gaddafi in Libya and the Assad Regime in Syria and failed to see the threat from Islamic State in Syria. Islamic State continued its advance from Anbar Province to other provinces in Iraq. In July 2014, they captured Mosul and the largest stockpile of US weapons and ammunition outside the US and declared the formation of the Caliphate. Obama only took cognizance of Islamic State only after it had captured Mosul and the largest stockpile of American weapons and ammunition outside the US. Iraq ranks the highest among Obama's failure as the Commander in Chief of the US. He started an air campaign to try to stop the Islamic State without putting American boots on ground. Iraqi Army could be readied to retake Anbar province only in January 2016. Battle for Mosul is in progress. Failure to stop the rise of the Islamic State must rank as the greatest failure in his war on Islamic Terror if he intended to fight one.

Libya

Obama participated in the overthrow the regime of Colonel Gaddafi in Libya and created a power vacuum which was exploited by the Islamic State to establish itself. In the process he removed a bulwark against terrorism without any alternative in place. Europe, particularly Italy, is facing the music as millions of Africans flee the war zones and economic chaos of north and central Africa.

Syria

Obama never seemed to have any clear strategy for Syria. He went along with his European, Israeli and Saudi allies to egg on the anti Assad forces in their bid to overthrow the regime. But he never committed enough resources in supporting the anti Assad forces to enable them to defeat Assad. Every time the Assad Regime was in dire straits, it was revived by the support of first the Hezbollah, then Iran and finally Russia. Russia has firmly entrenched its forces in Syria. As long as Russia supports the Assad Regime, it cannot fall. There is nothing that Obama can do to get Russia out of Syria without starting World War III. All he can do is to impose meaningless sanctions and ask his Secretary of State, John Kerry to persuade the Russians to stop their support for Assad. Five years of civil war has completely destroyed Syria with around 600,000 dead and 8 million refugees. Syrians suffer while the US and its allies keep the fight going. Obama just does not care.

### Cost of the War on Terror

Total People killed in the USA and Europe by terrorism from 2000 to 2016 is estimated to be around 4000. Of these about 2700 were on 9/11 attack on the US. The rest have been individual knife attacks, bombings, suicide bombings and shooting attacks on innocent people at public places in the US and Europe. Russia has had its share of attacks in Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus and Moscow and must have suffered over a thousand deaths. India excluding Jammu and Kashmir has been attacked in Delhi, Mumbai and many of the major cities and suffered about 2000 killed. Pakistan which has sectarian attacks on Shias and Pakistani Taliban attacks on security forces and civilians in northwest Pakistan and Karachi could possibly have over 35,000 dead. Over seven thousand American and British soldiers have died in the wars and more will die. The cost of the "War on Terror" had crossed 1.3 trillion dollars by 2011. Who knows how long the war will last and how much it will cost the United States by the time Obama leaves office?

### Beneficiaries from Terrorism

Nobody has benefited more from terrorism than the US and its allies. The US uses terrorism as an excuse to change domestic laws, give more power to police and intelligence authorities and withdraw freedoms from their own people. It gives them the excuse to snoop on their own people and the world. They use terrorism as an excuse to attack and conquer foreign lands or change regimes. The US and EU exploit the fear of their people to win support for Draconian laws, to justify torture, custody without trials and other violations of the Geneva Convention. Nobody sells more weapons to terrorists than the US and the UK. Can you see the reality? Pakistan is a great beneficiary from terrorism. It gets billions of dollars from the US for logistic support to US troops in Afghanistan. It also gets billions of dollars in civil and military aid to fight the Taliban.

So called good terrorist or terrorists who fight the enemies of the US and its allies like the Gulf countries like the anti Assad Regime fighters in Syria, Taliban in Afghanistan and anti India terrorists in Pakistan are great beneficiaries of terrorism. Nobody provides or has provided more money to terrorist groups and rogue states around the world than the US, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

### Conclusion

The US does not respect sovereignty of nations. It reserves for itself the right to intervene militarily in any country which it considers has violated human rights and loves bombing small countries like Vietnam, Somalia, Serbia, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya into submission. Unfortunately, sometimes countries do not submit and the conflict as in Somalia and Afghanistan continues for decades. Destruction of civilian property and death of civilians due to their aerial or artillery bombardments, even if in thousands, is dismissed as collateral damaged. Protests against such killings by President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan are dismissed with disdain. The US can also hijack board, and search any ship in international waters. But these policies have not made the US strong. It has fought many wars since the World War II. It has fought in Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia, Somalia, Afghanistan Iraq and Syria. Almost a 100,000 US servicemen have died in these conflicts. Three to four times that number has been wounded or suffered from psychological trauma. Millions of others have died. But the US has not won any of these wars.

Terrorists, whatever be their hue or wherever they may operate, need four things. They need arms tanks, armored vehicles, guns, mortars, vehicles, communication equipment and ammunition and they do not manufacture any of them. Some countries and their non state actors must be supplying them. They need money to pay their cadres and to buy equipment and food they need. Some of it may come from extortion but foreign exchange is necessary to buy arms ammunition equipment and spares. Some countries are providing the money. They need sanctuaries to which they can flee when hard pressed by security forces. They need competent leaders to plan their strategies. The US could not win in Korea because China intervened and Soviet Union provided the necessary financial, military and logistic support. The US did not win in Vietnam because China and the Soviet Union provided the Vietnamese with necessary military and logistic support. The US did not win in Afghanistan because Pakistan provided the Taliban with sanctuaries, military hardware and logistics and military leadership. The US did not win in Iraq because Sunni Arabs, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey provided the Islamic State with funds, military hardware and logistics. It did not win in Syria because it was not prepared to deploy the resources required.

The Islamic charities in Arab Emirates of the Gulf including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and UAE have been funding Islamic fundamentalism and terrorism all around the world for decades. Pakistan has been the fountain head for export of Islamic terrorism. They have trained radicalized and motivated Islamic terrorists from every part of this globe. Arms and equipment manufacturers and dealers of the world are supplying military hardware, spares and ammunition to terrorists around the world and making hefty profits. Turkey is also deeply involved in providing military hardware, spares and logistics to Sunni terrorists including the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. Obama and his administrations are fully aware of this and do not know what to do about it.

Obama is the darling of arms manufacturers and dealers around the world. Obama has betrayed the US military in Afghanistan and Iraq by failing to stop Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar Kuwait and Turkey from providing support to Islamic terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, Obama has betrayed the people of Libya, Iraq and Syria by intervening in their countries without any plan for winning the battles and establishing peace. Obama has accepted defeat in the "War on Terror". He has consistently refused to act against Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Turkey for their role in aiding Islamist terrorism. Obama is the greatest betrayer of the 21st Century.

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##  Chapter 5: Obama the Master Economist

Obama got elected as president twice by promising to improve the economic conditions of the ordinary Americans. But his economic policies proved to be greatly beneficial for big business and the rich. Profits were up again for most corporations. Big banks had returned to solid footing, and the stock market had bounced back from the dark days of the Great Recession of December 2007 to June 2009 to new all time peaks. But the ordinary Americans were forgotten. Wages remained largely stagnant. Foreclosures were still commonplace as the housing market continued its struggle to regain its balance. Unemployment apparently decreased to around 5 percent but it was mostly statistical manipulation by continually reducing the strength of the labor force. The jobs created were mostly low paid jobs in the service sector. Many of the jobs available went to immigrants who were ready to work for less remuneration. The economic plight of the main street is the primary reason for Donald Trumps victory in the US presidential election. The real performance of Obama in the economic field can be judged by the developments in the under mentioned fields

### National Debt

When Obama took over presidency in January 2009, the US national debt was about 10.0 trillion. By 2015 the US national debt had risen to about 18.1 trillion. By November 7, 2016, the US national debt had risen to 19.8 trillion dollars. Thus Obama happily added more than one trillion dollar to the US national debt per his year in office. The National Debt almost doubled during his eight years in office. What is most alarming is that about 45 per cent of this debt is held by foreign investors. The largest foreign holders of the US national debt are China at about 1.25 trillion and Japan at 1.15 trillion. The debt or its foreign component does not seem to bother Obama. He has made no effort at all to balance his budget or to reduce the debt. He kept pushing for free trade agreements which further reduce government revenues.

### Reform of Wall Street

Deregulation of banks and financial institutions was stated under the Carter Administration in 1980. The deregulation was further increased in July 1982 when the Republican dominated Congress and the Regan Administration further deregulated banks and "Savings and Loans Institutions" The results of the deregulation were disastrous.49 banks failed in 1983. The FDIC listed another 540 banks as "problem banks" on the verge of failure. The Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company, the nation's seventh-largest bank with $45 billion in assets, failed in 1984. In May 1984, federal banking regulators were forced to offer a $4.5 billion rescue package to Continental Illinois. Continental Illinois may not have been "too big to fail," but its collapse could have caused the failure of some of the biggest banks in the United States. Had other banks been forced to write off loans to Continental Illinois, institutions such as Bank of America and perhaps Citicorp would have also failed.

Walls Street and banks were again in trouble in 2007 during the Bush Presidency. This collapse was again due to reckless lending by banks and financial institutions. Modern day bankers are always looking for clients who would borrow. They removed all stops to cash in on the real estate boom. To increase volumes and profits, banks and mortgage providers threw caution to the wind and started lending to people with poor credit ratings or repaying capabilities at higher interest rates. They were secure in the belief that real estate prices could not fall and that there was no risk in lending to people with poor credit ratings. To raise more money for lending, the mortgages were securitized and sold to banks and investors all around the world. When housing prices fell and investments became illiquid, the credit crisis broke out and stock prices collapsed.

Obama came to power in 2009. He did not punish Wall Street or the greedy bankers responsible for the collapse. He bailed them out by ordering Fed to buy the stressed securities of the banks. Low interest rates and unlimited liquidity has pushed the stock prices to all time highs. Banks and investors are raking in profits. Another bubble is in the making. Obama does not care. He has made no attempts to regulate the banks or Wall Street.

Conclusion

The Mortgage Crisis of 2007 has one lesson for financial policy makers and administrations around the world. Walls Street and Main Street are different. Speculative growth cannot replace real growth, growth in jobs and incomes. Corporate profits cannot substitute household incomes. The economic policies must address the basic problems of the people and not the problems of the corporations and financial institutions that are behind most financial meltdowns. Sustainable economic growth is more important than spectacular growth. But Obama thinks differently.

### Tax Evasion and Tax Havens

Tax Evasion

Tax evasion by the super rich and the multinational corporations is a major problem in most countries in the world. Individual income tax and taxes on companies are the main sources of revenue for governments. Governments cannot fulfill their obligation to their people like maintain law and order, create and maintain essential infrastructure, subsidize school education and public health services etc unless there is enough revenue. When this revenue is inadequate, the governments are forced to borrow money. Austerity measures are imposed on the people as the government's debt increases. The poor and the middle class suffer.

The situation is no different in the US. The multinational corporations and the wealthy use a battery of lawyers to find loop holes in laws to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Corporations and investors try to locate their offices in a tax haven and there by avoid paying taxes. Wealthy individuals move their money to tax havens and hide their wealth. Inability to collect adequate taxes and uncontrolled expenditure on wars has pushed the US public debt to over $19 trillion. The same is growing every minute. Most of the debt is held by China, Japan and Saudi Arabia. Trillions of dollars of taxes collected is paid to these countries as interest. If adequate taxes were collected and the budget balanced, trillions of dollars being paid to foreign countries could be used to subsidize education, improve infrastructure and create jobs.

Tax Havens

A tax haven is a country where certain taxes are levied at a very low rate or not at all. These countries also have a system of financial secrecy which makes it difficult if not impossible for governments to access financial information about their citizen suspected of money laundering or tax evasion. Financial secrecy can be used by individuals to circumvent certain taxes such as inheritance tax or wealth tax. Earnings from income generated abroad from renting houses earnings from investments can also be eliminated this way.

Individuals or corporate entities seeking to avoid tax establish shell companies or subsidiaries or relocate themselves to countries or places called "tax havens" with reduced or zero tax regimes. The Tax Justice Network in its 2012 report estimated that $21 to $32 trillion lies untaxed in tax havens worldwide. If taxed, this hidden wealth could generate $200 to $300 billion. As per the Tax Justice Network, the avoidance system is designed and operated by a group of highly paid specialists from the world's largest private banks led by UBS, Credit Suisse, HSBC and Goldman Sachs and accounting firms. The tax avoidance is tolerated by international organizations such as Bank for International Settlements, IMF, World Bank, the OECD and the G 20. After all, all these organizations have been created by the super rich for the super rich. The amount of money hidden away has significantly increased since 2005 making the super rich richer and more powerful.

The main tax havens of the world are Switzerland, Luxembourg, Ireland, Netherlands; Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man in UK, British overseas territories like Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands; US territories like Delaware and Puerto Rico; Hong Kong, Singapore, Macau etc.Did you know that since the days of Clinton Administration, US IRS do not charge non residents various taxes including income tax on interest on US bank deposits. A study of 60 large US companies found that they deposited $166 billion in offshore accounts during 2012 and avoided US taxes on 40 percent of their profits.

Exposures of Tax Avoidance

In February 2008, a former data archivist of a Liechtenstein bank, a well known tax haven, released a list of 1,250 customers of the bank and their accounts' details. Investigations and arrests by German and US tax authorities followed. The Liechtenstein authorities subsequently accused the German authorities of espionage. Such exposures have led to a call for crackdowns on tax havens. Recent "Panama Papers" leaked 11.5 million hidden accounts belonging to presidents, politicians, bankers, investors across the world. Whether the calls for such a crackdown on tax havens will take place are yet to be seen.

Action to Check Tax Avoidance

Governments around the world have been reluctant to deal with the problem. After all many politicians and their financers around the world are getting rich by avoiding tax. NGOs are on the front line of fight against tax cheats. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was passed by the US Congress to stop the outflow of money from the country into tax haven bank accounts in 2010. FATCA requires foreign financial institutions like banks, stock brokers, hedge funds, pension funds, insurance companies, trusts etc. to report directly to the IRS all clients who are US citizens. Starting January 2014, FATCA requires these institutions to provide annual reports to the IRS on the name and address of each US client, as well as the largest account balance in the year and total debits and credits of any account owned by a US person. There are penalties for failing to do so. It is a small step in the right direction. One wonders why the mighty US which can impose sanctions on large countries like Russia or Iran, does not impose sanctions on these small countries which act as tax havens and ban financial institutions which facilitate tax evasion. Obama has been completely silent on the issue of tax havens and tax avoidance.

Conclusion

Amending tax laws will require the cooperation of Congressmen and senators to amend laws and plug tax loopholes. Given the close nexus between the super rich, corporations and the politicians, this may prove to be almost impossible. The ordinary Americans are paying more taxes in percentage terms than the super rich and corporations. Obama simply does not care that the US National Debt is rapidly increasing and one of the major reason is tax avoidance and flourishing tax havens.

### Globalization and Free Trade Agreements

Globalization

The tyranny of the moneyed corporations of the US is nothing new. US President Thomas Jefferson wrote in a letter to George Logan on November 12, 1816. "I hope we shall... crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations, which dare already to challenge our government to a trial of strength and to bid defiance to the laws of their country."

Economic globalization has been at the top of the agenda of developed nations led by the US, and the G7. Globalization of business is centered on the reduction of individual country's authority and ability to restrict foreign investment and imports of goods and services, raise tariffs, taxes, and other impediments that reduce free trade. Modern day globalization started when President Ronald Regan encouraged US multinational corporations to invest in China and other Asian countries in the 1980s by giving them various incentives including investment protection. Economic globalization was given a big boost by replacing the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT) by the World Trade Organization (WTO), NAFTA, and other trade treaties in the 1990s under the Clinton Administration. The latest is the US-Asia Pacific Free Trade Treaty negotiated by the Obama Administration.

Beneficiaries of Globalization

The primary beneficiaries of Globalization are multinational corporations. The multinational corporations of the US and Europe shifted manufacturing from the high cost developed world to low cost developing world. They provided capital and technology to their subsidiaries and associate companies in selected developing countries to produce products bearing their brand names and sold them in the US and Europe and to the rich all around the world. In the process they made enormous profits.

The governments of the developed countries benefited for some time as increased corporate profits meant increased tax revenues. But this joy was short lived. The multinational corporations shifted their corporate offices to low tax, offshore tax havens and avoided paying taxes they would have otherwise paid.

The wealthy were the next group to benefit. Liberal capital transfer regimes enabled them to take out their money to tax havens around the world by opening investment or holding companies in these countries where taxes were low and banking secrecy laws enabled them to hide their wealth and incomes from taxation and revenue authorities the world over. The recent disclosures of 11.5 million offshore accounts of kings and presidents, politicians and investors totaling over $9 trillion known as the Panama Papers has woken up the world to secret world of super rich tax cheats and corrupt politicians.

Some developing countries where the multi nationals have invested and shifted manufacturing have gained from globalization. China has gained the most. It has risen from a poor developing country in the 1980s to the second largest economy in the world by 2010. Other countries which have benefited are South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Bangladesh. India and Philippines have benefited from out sourcing of manufacturing, information technology and other services.

Politicians around the globe have benefited from globalization. They have received generous contributions for campaign funds and charities they run and fees for lobbying from the multinational corporations they have helped. They have also been able to stash the bribes received abroad and out of reach of the revenue and tax authorities of their countries.

Losers from Globalization

Middle class, blue collared workers and youth of the developed world, particularly of the US, are the biggest losers. At least 5 million highly paid manufacturing jobs have moved from the developed world to the developing world. Immigrant workers from developing countries who are ready to work for less salaries and perks are taking away their jobs within their own countries, depressing wages and reducing bargaining power of unions. Almost one million foreign workers holding "Green Cards" are granted US citizenship every year making it almost impossible for home grown US citizens from getting high paying jobs. Out sourcing of information technology and other services are also causing huge job losses in the US and EU. Poverty and unemployment stalk most young men in the developed world.

The American people are the worst victims of economic globalization. From the twenties to the eighties, the American middle class was the largest and most prosperous in the world. But globalization and shifting of highly paid manufacturing jobs to the developing countries has completely impoverished the American middle class and increased economic inequality hundred folds. The American dream of becoming prosperous has vanished for home grown Americans and become a reality for legal immigrants who are being granted citizenship.

### Free Trade Agreements

Free Trade Agreements have been promoted and continue to be promoted by US presidents under influence of the multinational corporations. The justification given for these agreements is increasing American exports. But the real reason is to increase corporate profits by exporting components to the partner country, assemble the product there using cheaper labour and then import back the product in the US market and make greater profits. For example, many US exports are simply being shipped to Mexican factories where they are assembled, and then shipped back to the US as finished products. These are not products destined for consumption by Mexicans. Only domestically produced exports are the ones that support American labour. The increases in imports ultimately displaced the production of goods that would have been made domestically by workers within the US.

Free Trade Agreements give American firms the option to close down existing operations without adequate compensation to the labor force and to move the operation to another country. This has undermined the bargaining power of US workers. In addition to enjoying lower tariffs for shipping goods from Mexico to the US, multinational corporations also benefited from NAFTA's unprecedented section giving multinational corporations the right to sue governments for infringement of "investment rights". According to the Economic Policy Institute, these investor protections facilitated the movement of manufacturing plants to Mexico. Fifteen percent of employers in manufacturing, communication, and wholesale or distribution business shut down or relocated plants due to labour unions organizing drives since NAFTA's implementation. Ultimately, workers are faced with the dilemma of settling for fewer workers' rights because the firm will always have the ability to relocate to another country, notably Mexico, where they can employ cheaper labour and will face less resistance from workers to unfair exploitation, unsafe work practices and other forms of exploitation. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a non- profit think tank in Washington D.C. rise in the trade deficit with Mexico alone since NAFTA was enacted (1993) led to the net displacement of over hundreds of thousands of American jobs. Direct job losses are due to closing of American manufacturing facilities and shifting of these facilities to Mexico. Indirect job losses are job losses to vendors and service providers to the manufacturing units. These services include maintenance of facilities, accounting, legal and other services. About 415,000 of the jobs were relatively high paying manufacturing jobs. Certain states with heavy emphasis on manufacturing industries like Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and California were significantly affected by these job losses. For example, in Ohio, Trade Adjustment Assistance identified 14,653 jobs directly lost due to NAFTA related reasons like relocation of US firms to Mexico. Although many of these workers laid off due to NAFTA were reallocated to other sectors, the majority of workers were relocated to the service industry, where average wages are less than that of the manufacturing sector. Rapidly growing imports of computers and electronic parts accounted for more than 40 percent of the $186 billion increase in the trade deficit with China between 2001 and 2008. The $73 billion deficit in advanced technology products with China contributed to the elimination of the 628,000 jobs in computer and electronic products in this period.

Free trade also reduces the revenue of governments which could have been earned for custom duties on imports.

Conclusion

American politicians and presidents including Obama failed to full fill the hopes of the farsighted President, Thomas Jefferson, who foresaw the tyranny and power of the multinational corporations over two hundred years ago. President Obama is happily allowing them to take control of the US governments and American lives. In an address in Germany during his farewell visit in November 2016 he unashamedly claimed that he was a great believer globalization and free trade. Even in his last two months in office, he is pushing the US - Asia Pacific Free Trade Agreement knowing fully well that the President elect Donald Trump is going to tear it up. What makes him so desperate to get the free trade agreement? Is he to receive some bonus from the corporate world for pushing the deal? Or is Obama a Neo-Liberal in Socialist Cloak?

### Conclusion

Obama made headway on the Affordable Care Act. But he and his administration appeared unable to change the Washington culture that favored the rich and big business. In fact, the Washington culture changed him. He let big banks off the hook for their reckless activity. He worked tirelessly for big business pushing free trade agreements which killed American jobs, diluted labor laws and reduced bargaining power of the labor unions. His liberal immigration policy benefited the big corporations buy forcing American workers out and replacing them with cheaper immigrant workers.

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##  Epilogue

Obama has betrayed those who voted for him by doing nothing to alleviate the sufferings of the ordinary American men and women whom he had conned with his rhetoric into giving him their money and their votes. His attempts at establishing new free trade treaties would have further impoverished the ordinary Americans. Fortunately, he has run out of time and may not be able to finalize the treaties.

The critics of the Nobel Peace Prize being given to Obama were right. Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Ukraine and Libya continue to bleed. Over 6000 have died and millions are on the verge of starvation in Yemen due to Saudi air strikes and naval blockade. Obama is happy that the US and UK arms industries are flourishing. Over 300,000 have died in Syria during his tenure as President of the US. Over 100,000 have died in Iraq during the same period. Over 10 million have become refugees in the war torn countries. Only twice in history of the world have more people been killed and displaced than under the Obama Presidency. The highest number killed and displaced was during the World War II for which Hitler was responsible. The second highest was during the Vietnam War for which US Presidents from Kennedy to Nixon were responsible. Obama inherited two wars from the Bush Presidency in Iraq and Afghanistan. He added three in Libya, Syria and Ukraine. He also started the undeclared war on Al Qaeda, Afghan Taliban and Al Shabab with drone strikes in Pakistan Yemen and Somalia killing a few leaders and hundreds of civilians including women and children President. If there is one thing that matches US corporate greed, it is its desire to dominate the world with its military power. With its unwillingness to put boots on ground, it can only rain death and devastation from the air. Obama continued to work for US military domination of the world but without success. Russia, China and the Islamic State continue to defy it. Obama is the prime butcher of the 21st Century. I only hope we do not see another like him.

Obama has betrayed American servicemen who fought and continue to fight in Afghanistan by doing nothing to eliminate Pakistan's support for Taliban. It is shame that US economic and military aid is being used to kill US and Afghan soldiers and Obama does nothing to stop it. Obama is the greatest butcher of the 21st Century. He has spread death and destruction all around the world

Obama has unabashedly institutionalized double standards on human rights for friends and foes and in fighting terror. When US air strike and drones kill civilians, it is unfortunate collateral damage; when Russian or Syrian air strikes kill civilians, it is a war crime. When Israel isolates Gaza, it is its right of self defence; when Syrian forces isolate Aleppo or any other town it is a war crime. When US police kill unarmed African Americans of Israeli security forces kill unarmed stone throwing Palestinians including kids it is exercise of the right of self defense; when police in Philippines kill armed drug smugglers it is gross violation of human rights.

Obama is leaving the US economy in a worse state than when he took over. The National Debt almost doubled during his tenure. Students debt and defence spending has reached new heights. Obama wanted to hand over powers to govern from governments to multinationals and legalize economic slavery through his free trade agreements. Fortunately, time has run out on him. But Europe may take his lead and do what he failed to fully accomplish, legalize economic slavery to that reminiscent of the Industrial Revolution.

Obama has held lots of conferences on climate change and the environment but has done precious little to curb environmental degradation. His plan to reduce carbon emissions in the US were never meant to be carried out but done only to fool the other countries of the world to sign up to the Paris Climate Change Treaty of December 2015.

Obama is a great betrayer. He has betrayed the people who voted for and funded him. He betrayed the US servicemen in Afghanistan. He has betrayed the people of Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and turned these once peaceful and prosperous countries into living hell. More people have died in conflicts and been rendered homeless around the world during his Presidency except during the World War II and the Vietnam War. He conned the countries of the world into signing the Climate Change Treaty. He has betrayed the world.

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##  Bibliography

In addition to the references given below, the uses information gained from various programs on the news channels like CNN, BBC and Al Zajeira

Chapter 1. Champion of the People

<https://en.wikipedia/wiki/list_of_nobel_laurates>

Wikipedia.org/wiki/list_of_nobel_peace_prize_laurates

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American People Need Donald Trump: Here is Why: <https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/633412>

Chapter 2: Obama the Harbinger of Peace

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Wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_ Enduring _Freedom_Horn of Africa

Unaccountable Power: Drone Warfare under Obama Administration by William E Jackson JR on Huffington Post on 04 April 2016

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Be A Rational Pessimist: http://smashwords.com/b/177158

Islamic State: Can it be Defeated: <http://smashwords.com/books/view/593742> .

Chapter 3: Obama the Protector of the Environment

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The guardian.com/environment/2016/feb/9/climate _change_supreme_courts

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Chapter 4: Obama the Crusader against Terror

Wikipedia.org/wiki/War_On_Terror

Islamic State: Can it be Defeated: <http://smashwords.com/books/view/593742> .

Wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_ Enduring _Freedom_Horn of Africa

American People Need Donald Trump: Here is Why: <https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/633412>

Chapter 5: Obama the Master Economist

Wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Public_Debt

American People Need Donald Trump: Here is Why: <https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/633412>

Growth and Decline of Economies of Europe and US: http://smashwords.com/b/231033

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##  About the Author

Bhaskar Sarkar was born at Calcutta, India in 1940. He graduated in civil engineering from Kolkata University in 1963 and did post graduation in Defence Studies at Defence Services Staff College, Wellington in 1974 and in Management at College of Defence Management in Secundrabad in 1983. He joined the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army in 1963 and hung his boots after 28 years of distinguished service in the rank of Colonel. During this period he held many distinguished command and staff appointments like brigade major, commanding officer, and chief engineer of a Border Roads project. He has been an instructor at College of Military Engineering, Pune for a total of 7 years. He has served in almost all parts of India from insurgency infested Nagaland in the East to the deserts of Rajasthan in the West and from mountains of Sikkim in the north to Wellington in the Nilgiris in the South. He has also served in Bhutan and visited Sri Lanka when IPKF was fighting the Tamil Tigers. He has been awarded the Vishist Seva Medal and the Chief of Army Staff's Commendation Card for distinguished service.

After retirement Col Sarkar joined the construction industry as a civil engineering and management consultant and served on many interesting projects like rehabilitation of earthquake affected people of Latur District of Maharashtra, highway and construction projects in Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. His foreign exposure is restricted to Jakarta and Singapore. He was keen sportsman and his hobbies include wild life, gardening, travelling and charity work.

### Other Books by Bhaskar Sarkar

A keen student of military history, economics and international affairs, he has eleven published books and nine "e" books. Books by the Author are listed below:

Pakistan Seeks Revenge and God Saves. India ISBN 81-85462-11-9. Fiction. Batra Book Service, New Delhi

Tackling Insurgency and Terrorism. ISBN 81-7094-291-8. Non fiction. Vision Books Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi

Kargil War, Past Present and Future. ISBN, 1-897829-61-2. Non Fiction. Lancer Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi

Outstanding Victories of the Indian Army. ISBN 1-897829-73-6. Non Fiction. Lancer Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi

Thirty Nine Steps to Happiness. Non Fiction. 81-248-0142-8. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi

Practical Approach to Vaastu Shastra. (A Peacock Book). Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi

Earthquakes, All we need to know about them. ISBN 978-81-248-0188-8. Non Fiction. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi

Nationalism: Economic Strategy for Survival of Developing Countries. ISBN 978-81-269-1093-9. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.

An Introduction to Religions of the World. ISBN 978-81-269-1339-8. Non Fiction. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.

Who is Afraid of the Chinese Dragon? I am. Non Fiction. (A Peacock Book). Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.

Tackling the Maoist Menace. ISBN 978-81-269-1636-8. Non Fiction. Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, New Delhi.

Bhaskar Sarkar's "e" books are published a www.shashwords.com. Author Profile on Smashwords is: <http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Bhaskarsarkar1940> . He has nine published e books. This is his tenth. Reference for sampling and purchasing are as under:

Fight Class War Now: http://smashwords.com/b/206829 .This book asks the American people to vote for President Obama and the Democrats.

Be A Rational Pessimist: http://smashwords.com/b/177158 . A Rational Pessimist hopes for the best but prepares for the worst.

Occupiers of Wall Street: Losers or Game Changers: <http://smashwords.com/b/175532> . The book is an analysis of the movement "Occupiers of Wall Street".

Homeopathy for Prevention of Diseases and Self Medication: http://smashwords.com/b/229505 . This book encourages the readers to try self medication with Homeopathy.

Growth and Decline of Economies of Europe and US: http://smashwords.com/b/231033 . This book analyses the economy of Europe and the US.

The President Takes Over: http://smashwords.com/b/238615 . The author fantasizes an Indian President declaring emergency and cleansing the corrupt Indian political system

Islamic State: Can it be Defeated: <http://smashwords.com/books/view/593742> . This book analyses the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria and examines the reason why it continues to defy all attempts by world powers to defeat it.

Learn to be Happy: <https://smashwords.com/books/view/596249> . This is a self help book for young people who have started the journey called life.

American People Need Donald Trump: Here is Why: <https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/633412>

### Connect Bhaskar Sarkar

I really appreciate your reading my book. My social contacts are: E Mail colbhaskarvsm@gmail.com . Follow me on Twitter @twitter.com/COLSARKAR My favourite Smashword Author Page is www.smashwords/profile/view/Bhaskarsarkar1940 Visit my website at www.bhaskarsarkar.com

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