President Donald J. Trump: Making America Great Again?

Every American president tries his very best to leave a legacy before exiting the White House. This legacy could be either positive or negative depending on where you stand. Most former American presidents left legacies of helping to destabilize one country or the other. Examples of such countries are Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and currently Syria. When they are campaigning to be elected as president of the U.S.A., they always spell out their policies especially their foreign policy. This makes the whole world know the kind of administration they will have to deal with after the elections and one of them eventually emerges as the winner.

President Donald Trump is no exception to the above, in fact he made the whole world know that his administration’s foreign policy will be guided by the mantra “I will make America great again”. This he said he will do by not meddling in the affairs of other countries militarily. That is, he will allow countries to solve their own problems and will not help any of the factions. He said he will also make sure more jobs were created in America for American citizens to benefit. Thus, making sure that American companies who have factories in China and other countries will relocate back to America and provide jobs for the American people. These and other numerous measures President Donald Trump promised to undertake during the campaign period so as to make America great again.

But what have we seen since he assumed the reins of power? Is he on the path of making America great again or making more enemies for America? Is he also on the path of creating more tension in the Middle East and also on the Korean Peninsula? He launched a barrage of cruise missiles against the Syrian government for an alleged sarin gas attack in the Idlib province which killed many children. Will that make America great again? He also sent attack navy ships together with an aircraft carrier to be stationed in the Korean Peninsula, just to warn or deter North Korea from undertaking any new missile tests. This was a show of force and might, and he vowed to deal with the North Korean problem once and for all. And he promised to take military action against North Korea should they do anything to threaten South Korea or any of their allies in the region. North Korea responded that they were prepared for war and they will not hesitate to strike back decisively should the U.S. provoke them. Will this make America great again? Or is Trump trying to diffuse the pressure mounting on his administration as investigations are being conducted on his alleged ties with the Russians and they meddling in the U.S. elections of 2016, thus helping him defeat Hillary Clinton?  Has he also drained the swamp as he promised? Or are the neocons and the warmongers feeding him with wrong intelligence contrary to his foreign policy? Will America be great again under President Donald Trump? Is he really on the path of making America great again?

The Syrian Conundrum

Syria was a very peaceful country with a lively population a decade ago. Damascus, the capital city used to be one of the oldest cities in the world. In fact Syria had one of the World Heritage Sites at Palmyra with well preserved historical artifacts. All of a sudden this peaceful and lively country was thrown into a never ending confusion with some citizens calling for the stepping down of the President, Bashir Al-Assad. These protests started six years ago which later turned into a full blown civil war which has been raging on ever since. More than half a million people have lost their lives in this never ending conflict. At first all seemed to be going well for the so called moderate rebels who were being sponsored by their western friends through Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman with military hardware and money. Since Russia saw it as very strategic to support Assad due to her interests, the Syrian government started gaining the upper hand with the help of the Russian military and air support.

The Assad regime had to deal with rebel factions and ISIS on several fronts and this stretched his army thin, so Russian support was so welcoming and this helped the Syrian government to push the so called moderate rebels out of their controlled territory. Russia also joined the fight against ISIS in Syria and used her military base at Latakia in Syria as a launch pad for airstrikes against the terrorist organization. In 2013 the Syrian government was accused of allegedly using chemical weapons on its citizens, but Assad’s regime denied this accusation. Russia and the US then called for a destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons. These two powers had representatives on the ground to supervise and ensure that Syria’s chemical weapons were destroyed.

Fast forward to April, 2017, the Syrian government is suspected to have launched a chemical attack in Khan Shekoun in the Idlib Province killing many children. The Syrian government comes out to deny this accusation and they accept the fact that they launched an airstrike against a rebel warehouse with no knowledge of chemical weapons in it. The western biased media decide to blame the Assad government for the deaths. In the early hours of 7^th April, 2017, the US launches a barrage of cruise missiles, more than 50 missiles against a Syrian airbase near Homs. Before they did that they contacted the Russians to make sure no Russian was caught in the strike. Several questions need to be answered.

Why will Assad gas his own people? Knowing very well that the international community will never forgive him for such an act, why will he do that? Is it true that the sarin gas that was the cause of the deaths of these innocent children was shipped from Libya to the Syrian rebels with the tacit approval of a former US Secretary of State? Why will the UN Security Council allow the US to take a unilateral decision to launch strikes on Syria? Is it not a breach of international law? Why was the US and her allies quick to blame Assad for the gas attack hours after it happened? Why didn’t they allow independent investigators to do their work?

The world must tread cautiously in relation to the Syrian civil war, because the exit of Assad will burn the Middle East. Isis and the various factions in the Syrian conflict will resort to fighting each other once Assad is kicked out and another Iraq and Libya will rear its ugly head in the region. The Syrian people should be allowed to choose their own leaders. There should be no meddling from any other foreign power. Syria needs peace and a political solution should be found as soon as possible to end the suffering of the Syrian people.

South Africa: When The Rainbow Loses Its Colors

Is Africa a united continent? Are we serious about being each other’s keeper in Africa? Why should we fight amongst ourselves to the extent of killing each other? February 21^st, 2017 will go down in the history of the African continent as one of the saddest days for Mother Africa. This was a day when some black South Africans decided to attack other nationals in their country. Most of those attacked were Nigerians and other African nationals. Their shops and businesses were vandalized and burnt to the ground. Some of these foreign nationals also lost their lives as a result of these attacks.

Whiles the police moved in to protect the lives and properties of these foreign nationals, the attackers fought running street battles with them. They were complaining about not getting jobs as a result of these foreign nationals taking over jobs that were meant for them. But in my humble opinion and from my readings, these same South African citizens are not ready and willing to take up some of these so called menial jobs which the foreigners have taken up.  The South African government should condemn these xenophobic attacks and put in place measures to curb future occurrences of this nature. My question is, why is it that most black South Africans are still under economic apartheid? Why have they not been empowered economically? Why do they look down on certain menial jobs but when other nationals take up these jobs, they turn around to attack them? Should the ANC government be blamed for these acts of lawlessness being perpetuated by some black South African citizens? Meanwhile, I have not heard the African Union condemn these xenophobic attacks.

Ghana’s Parliament condemned the xenophobic attacks in South Africa and measures have been put in place to safeguard the lives and properties of Ghanaian citizens living and working in South Africa. When the attacks do not stop, I think we should boycott South African products and businesses in Ghana. This will put pressure on their government to act swiftly and curb the xenophobic attacks. Have they forgotten so soon when almost all the African countries came together to help them fight against the apartheid system? What if we also retaliated as it was reported that some Nigerians wanted to vandalize some MTN offices in Nigeria? One thing we should know is that Africans need each other to survive no matter the situation. I am sure the western world would be looking at South Africa with glee and their sensational media houses will have a field day giving 24 hour updates on the situation in South Africa. They always want to project bad news from Africa to the rest of the world. It’s time we proved them wrong. South Africans should be ready to coexist peacefully with Africans from other countries as they are in their country to do legitimate business and also pay taxes to help develop the country. United we stand, divided we fall. Africa must unite.

The Quest For Peace In Syria (When The Eagle and The Bear Agree)

The world witnessed a rare moment in the last few days. This was when the US and Russia agreed on a ceasefire and peace plan for Syria. This plan is supposed to gradually bring an end to the Syrian Civil War that has claimed so many lives. The whole world watched with much anticipation as the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavarov and the US Secretary of State, John Kerry met to agree on a peace plan for Syria. I had a feeling those who always prayed and hoped that these two super powers will fail again to agree on a peace plan for Syria.

It is a known fact that the Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad is being backed by the Kremlin likewise the various rebel movements notably the Free Syrian Army is also being backed by Washington. Both super powers are fighting a proxy war in Syria. But certain rebel groups such as the Al Nusra Front which is an affiliate of Al Qaeeda have to be forced to accept the ceasefire plan. In the plan the rebels have been granted the right of self defence if attacked by the Syrian Government. With ISIS also lurking around in Syria, I hope this plan will bring the various forces together to fight them and push them out of Syria. The world is watching as the two super powers have taken a bold step to ensure that they find a political solution to the Syrian Civil War. President Bashar Al Assad will definitely listen to the Russians as they have been his main backbone throughout the civil war. If not for the involvement of the Russians with their airstrikes on rebel targets, the Syrian President would have been long gone. The future of Syria is to be determined in the next few days if the ceasefire is to hold and that is if all the warring factions implement their parts in the agreement. So much blood has been spilt, women and children have borne the brunt of the carnage going on in Syria. Their attempt to flee the conflict too is being hampered by most of the countries bordering Syria refusing them entry. This has created a humanitarian crisis in the Middle East as Syria’s neighbors can’t take any more refugees with Europe being the worst affected.

The ceasefire holds for now, Bashar Al Assad has been emboldened but the opposition is wary and observing this latest initiative with caution and will be seriously monitoring the next moves of the other parties or factions involved in the civil war. Lets all hope the Eagle and the Bear continue to agree on major issues in this world. This will go a long way to reduce the tension between these two super powers in the international arena as they are both jostling to overpower each other in terms of diplomacy, intelligence and military capabilities. Don’t forget to #PrayForSyria and all the conflict zones all over the world.

#Brexit: When Britain Left Europe

The world was shocked and taken aback when the British voted in a referendum to leave the European Union and be on their own. Some of the leave voters claim they did not know about the consequences of what they were voting for. Those who voted for Britain to remain in the EU were equally shocked about the outcome of the referendum. Now faced with the consequences of Britain feeling isolated in Europe, the same people who voted to leave Europe have launched a petition for another referendum to be held so that they can overturn the "Leave" vote. But in my opinion, this will also take some time. For now they have to accept the fact that the harm has already been caused and they must impress on their government to put in place the necessary measures, plans and policies so as to halt the further falling of their currency, the Pound Sterling. This #Brexit vote has had a rippling effect across the Atlantic Ocean 3000 miles away in America, and this has seen the various stock exchanges react negatively to this decision.

Arguments about the pros and cons of Brexit have focused on two main areas: the economy, and immigration. For both sides, the question “should Britain stay in the EU?” can only be answered with speculation – whatever the result of the EU referendum, it will be impossible to test whether the alternative would have been better – but that speculation has variable grounds.
For an overview of of Brexit pros and cons, read on.

Economy

That verdict is backed up by the CBI, which has warned that leaving the EU would cost £100 billion to GDP by 2020 and lead to the loss of 950,000 jobs.
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee, meanwhile, claims that Brexit is likely to lead to a weak currency– good for UK exporters, bad for UK tourists and the price of imported goods.
The Leave campaign has countered that pulling out the EU will allow Britain to retain the money it currently pays in .
Leave also claims that it would be possible to renegotiate trade deals quickly after Brexit, although it doesn’t specify how snubbed EU partners could be induced into favourable terms.

Security

Should Britain stay in the EU to enhance its security? The Remain campaign highlights the benefits of international cooperation in implementing sanctions, sharing intelligence and enforcing arrest warrants.
Leave has a very different account of the pros and cons of Brexit. According to Leave, the EU “stops us controlling who comes into our country, on what terms, and who can be removed.”

World Power

The Leave campaign has chosen “Let’s take back control” as its slogan, arguing that Britain will be freer to assert its will when not working through the EU. Remain counters that, by engaging with the EU, Britain has more influence than it would outside.

Source: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/staggers/2016/07

Fantastically Corrupt: An International Perspective

We were all baffled and surprised to hear an off the record statement made by the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron in a conversation with the Queen, described Nigeria and Afghanistan as the two most fantastically corrupt countries in the world. Little did he know that he was being recorded. The Nigerian Government swiftly responded and told the world media that it was embarrassed by that statement made by the British PM. The Afghan Government also responded. But, the British PM ironically had invited several leaders, including the Nigerian leader, President Buhari to an anti-corruption summit in London. I kept on asking myself, what at all were they going to talk about corruption that we don’t already know? We all accept the fact that Nigeria has been bedeviled with the issue of corruption and the current President was trying his best to curb the menace. President Buhari told the British PM that Nigeria does not need an apology from him but the British Government should make sure to return all assets and monies stolen by Nigerians which are being kept in Britain. This statement by the Nigerian President made my day. In the first place the British PM is behaving like the proverbial pot calling the kettle black. He is indirectly “fantastically corrupt”.

His father owns an offshore account in one of the tax havens, according to the #PanamaPapers and he benefited from it. What is the British Government doing about that? When Libya was invaded and their president was murdered, this same British PM told his fellow countrymen to move into Libya and secure all the oil contracts. Definitely some percentage will trickle down to and his close associates will get their cut from the numerous oil deals. Are they not the same people who come down to Africa, bribe our public officials to loot our natural resources, dodge taxes, repatriate their income back to their countries leaving their host countries in an economic quagmire? Have they returned all the artifacts they forcibly took away from Africa?  Someone who is fantastically corrupt is able to identify others who are fantastically corrupt.