Rajiva Wijesinha

“ At first the Obama strategy had seemed admirable. Those of us who thought the war against Afghanistan an acceptable war, based as it was on a clear United Nations resolution that was grounded in the undeniable fact of 9/11, had also marked the clear distinction between that and Iraq, where Anglo-American adventurism manufactured false dossiers, ignored the UN and charged in with no understanding of what victory would mean. ”

“ The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States was welcomed all over the world. Even in Sri Lanka, though obviously the Bush approach to terrorism had helped us, and though John McCain was more likely to be tough on terror, an idealistic young President with no hang ups about race or ideology seemed by far the better bet for the world. ”

“ And meanwhile the ideals one had hoped would be applied generally will shrink into an acceptable space, while naked self interest will once more be the main guiding principle of the foreign policy that shapes the world. ”