Submitted by ali riaz, Aug 8, 2007 00:26

The problem with Obama's and Clinton's statements is essentially the same: political statements in the interest of personal positioning. I wish there was a candidate that knew how to play above the politics and talk straight with people. These candidates are trying but professional politicians in the US are a lost cause, in my opinion. Their goal is political win, instead of a grand vision for the USA and the its role in the world at large. It pains me when my European and Asian friends tell me their dislike of the USA policies and It pains me when Americans view the world as 'our way or the high-way'. Years of intellectual developments seems to still weigh less than primal needs.

Pakistan is definitely an issue. The moment USA attacks Pakistani territorry, the fundamentalists will have a greater argument against Western values. However, hands-off approach will not help as Pakistani government face the difficult task of beating terrorism. Build schools and hospitals, and any local population will love you. Tell countries 'do or die' statements and shit hits the fan.

The answer is knowledge. Unfortunately, the knowledge approach requires lots of patience. Knowledge that helps Pakistanis understand that USA's goal is peace, however knowledge to Americans about why negative feelings against USA exist in the first place is equally important. We need more Gandhis and Mandelas. We don't need bullies.

Terrorism should be hit hard, but the underlying cultural differences requires silk gloves approach. If Americans are viewed as bullies, then not only the substance of foreign policy needs to change but also the delivery/communication strategy has to change. When an American multi-national enters a foreign market, there is a lot of thought and care that goes into understanding of the new market. Local leadership and local product adoptation are important ingredients to commerical success. How about using the same skills in foreign policy. Don't send the bullies, send savvy  and culturally aware leaders who know how to build bridges.  

Ultimately, the Pakistanis want economic prosperity, and fundamentalism hurts commerce. Pakistanis are hard workers with solid family values. Americans are good people and desire the same things from life such as freedom, opportunity and personal development.

Both Omaba and Clinton are going in the wrong direction by making each other look bad. Americans deserve leadership that helps Americans look good. I love living in the US and I have loads of Americans friends that are nothing but solid, loving people. The same is true for my Pakistani friends. Seeing the good in each other is more important than ever. We cannot afford any more misunderstandings stemming from personal political interests.

Americans should work harder to elect the President that represent their true values. Unfortunately, the media is not helping us understand what each the different candidates actually represent. Sensationalism is taking too much of our bandwidth. Ask all candidates 200 questions with true/false and multiple choice questions: that way we can truly examine who is who.

Personally, I want a USA that deals with domestic issues (plenty of problems) and has a democratic international policy that understands that democracy in one culture means something else than another culture. Let's make the US the land of opportunity and fair treatment (again) and the world will admire us. Focus on how we can be better, and not on how others need to improve.

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