Nation Bids Farewell to the Hon. Senator Edward M. Kennedy

By Padmini Arhant

The moment has arrived for the nation to acknowledge the final departure of their tireless and long serving representative, Senator Ted Kennedy, the youngest son of America’s beloved family.

Senator Kennedy, the brave survivor of many family tragedies was a true warrior in various aspects. The Senator zealously battled for the large segments of the society on significant issues and health care was the top priority among them. Senator Kennedy delivered the health care speech with sincere emotion and great concern for the neglected groups in our society.

Ted Kennedy was not prepared to settle for anything less than universal health coverage and clarified the urgency with authority and conviction. The Senator, as a veteran legislator was all too familiar with the opposition and the politics behind the ‘health care’ reform and anxiously looked forward to realizing his lifetime dream into eventuality. Therefore, it’s a test of the time for his colleagues on both sides of the aisle eulogizing the departed leader’s dynamic role in legislative history to legitimize their words into action in the matter that was appropriately the Kennedy ‘brainchild.’

In other historic issues, Senator Kennedy’s valiant declaration to endorse the candidacy of the then Senator Barack Obama led to the successful nomination and election of the President Barack Obama as the first African American breaking the long held tradition to the office of Presidency.

It’s poignant to specify that Senator Ted Kennedy had many aspirations and desires for his fellow citizens and strived to accomplish them ranging from civil rights to equal wages and opportunities for all in every possible social and economic front. Once again, despite the current political atmosphere pervasive of a legion across the party lines to represent the powerful and influential in the society.

Another phenomenal trend set by the audacious Senator was to join the minority legislators and party members in his opposition to invade a nation, Iraq based on hypothesis and concocted theories validates the experience, foresight and diligence, rare qualities in contemporary politics.

Life presents choices and decisions are consequential, sometimes with a reversible or irreversible state. Senator Ted Kennedy demonstrated repeatedly by seeking the arduous journey in legislative affairs that it’s easier to default on the promise to the constituents electing public officials to power to do the right for them but rather challenging to live up to the trust and expectations of the republic.

Ted Kennedy portrayed the latter with poise and passion.

Considering the long career span of Senator Ted Kennedy, it’s a daunting task to summarize the portfolio sparsely without compromising the achievements in the several hard fought legislative issues.

The nation comes together to bid farewell to the bastion of peace, freedom and equal rights for all Americans – natives, naturalized and others on American soil.

As we celebrate the life of Senator Edward M. Kennedy, his legacy must continue beyond the horizon of hopes in the American politics.

So long, Senator – May your soul rest in eternal peace.

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

Remembering the Service of the Honorable. Senator Edward M. Kennedy

By Padmini Arhant

The passing away of Senator Edward Kennedy, one of the longest serving public officials in the United States Senate has created a vacuum in the battlefield for humanitarian cause. Senator Kennedy’s representation on many issues remembered nationwide. Among them, the Senator’s relentless effort to bring equality and justice to the poor and underprivileged in the hallmark healthcare, education and immigration was commendable. There is more reason to pass the public option health care reform as a tribute to the deceased Senator.

Senator Kennedy fought for millions in not only his constituency but also the entire nation with passion and power. The Senator extended his service beyond shorelines in ways to resolve the international conflict such as the Northern Ireland peace process. Senator Kennedy was committed and dedicated in helping citizens of stars and stripes achieve their American dream.

The national recognition of Senator Kennedy as ‘The Lion of the Senate’ personified in the Senator’s role in every legislative matter of great value and importance to all people regardless of socio-economic status.

Senator Ted Kennedy lived up to the reputation of the Kennedy legacy in national service. As a true patriot, the Senator deeply cared and carried out the legislative duties and responsibilities diligently and frequently in a bipartisan manner, a monumental achievement in contemporary politics.

Senator Edward M. Kennedy will be truly missed by the nation, while his service commemorated now and in the future as the member of the iconic Kennedy family and the esteemed United States Senate.

No words can possibly heal the moment of sorrow except time.

Time is the best healer and trusting in the brighter tomorrow ease the pain experienced during the natural events in life.

I convey my heartfelt condolences to the Kennedy family, friends and the entire nation.

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

P.S. Due to technical difficulty at the personal end, the delay occurred in posting the message earlier on. Please accept my apologies for the time lapse.

Afghanistan War and Election

By Padmini Arhant

The nation ravaged with decades of wars, terrorism, militant rule and occupation goes to the polls to exercise the basic human right, a privilege in this part of the world , while taken for granted in the U.S.of A as reflected in the health care battle.

Afghanistan known for the ruggedness and terrains with the Khyber Pass enabling invaders to move across the foreign territories in a manner as the ‘no-man’s land’ ignoring the inhabitants scattered around the vast mountainous regions.

Afghan demography is complex and beyond the grasp of understanding for Western powers and even its Central Asian neighbors. The Imperial powers from the British, Russian and now the American & NATO forces have struggled to enforce any form of stability, political or otherwise.

The tribal laws conforming to the medieval times view the progress desired by the mainstream population from the rural to the urban areas, a threat to the ancient culture and the tribal archaic ascribed to the Western influence through occupations.

Further, the abandonment of the Afghan nation by the Western forces after brutal Soviet decimation solidified the anti-trust against the Western power. Unfortunately, the desolate population then sought the support of the groups earlier recognized as the mujahedeen (combatants against struggle) trained by the CIA and fostered by the Reagan administration core foreign policy titled Reagan doctrine to challenge the Soviet rule.

Ironically, the trade tricks related to weaponry and military retaliation imparted by the sophisticated U.S. armed forces in the late 1970’s to combat Soviet presence tactfully demonstrated in the on-going war on terror between the Taliban insurgents and the U.S & NATO alliance.

Mujahedeen were nurtured through the neighbor Pakistani ISI and military aid essentially representing various multinational forces like the United States CIA, Saudi Arabia, People’s Republic of China, several Western European countries and the military regimes in Pakistan.

When the U.S. departure followed the end of Soviet occupation, the country engaged in a civil war in the late 1980’s forcing the orphans of the Mujahedeen evolve into today’s menace the Talibans. The outcome – the tiny lizard morphed into a tyrannosaurus…wreaking havoc in the Islamic Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan apart from becoming the terrorists’ haven for the terror organization Al-Qaeda and the world’s most wanted Osama Bin Laden.

Now when democracy appears to work its way through, the country riddled with bureaucracy, corruption and the ever-lucrative production of poppy fields.

What could the people of Afghanistan possibly live for and aspire in the twenty first century?

After prolonged tyranny and drudgery, the people are tired and worn out from the perpetual cycle of violence that has paralyzed progress leaving the nation behind in stone age, when the rest of the world zoomed past them reminding that Afghanistan frozen in time.

The Afghani people as part of the human race seek simple life. A life guaranteed with freedom, human rights allowing every human being to live with respect, honor and dignity. Above all, the people of Afghanistan deserve peace like their fellow citizens in Palestine, Africa and other war torn regions of the world. Women as victims of extreme hostility and abuse imploring for their release from the ideological shackles and inhumane practices shockingly happening in both the developed as well as the ‘backwaters’ of the nation.

Children, the future of any country and the world dream of normal existence such as attending schools for both girls and boys, raised by their parents and the family unit if they are lucky to survive the Western aerial bombardments via drones and the Taliban insurgency. These innocent souls, even in that environment of despair and hopelessness don’t forget to smile or pose…momentarily floating in their fantasy to be the center of the universe for the international press and media.

When they grow up, the men have the options to either become a terror network recruit or hired by the tribal warlords to toil in the poppy fields contributing to the flourishing narcotic industry. The alternative for young women is to become the obedient slave in the male chauvinistic society regardless of the Western backed and financed political leaderships in Kabul.

It’s relevant to analyze the objective and achievements by the U.S. led war against terror mission in this region. After consuming millions of Afghani lives as well as American/NATO casualties and billions of American taxpayer dollars the status quo is –

There is no information on Osama Bin Laden, Talibanization of Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan leading to Pakistani military action in Waziristan and the Swat Valley, fragmented Al-Qaeda temporarily relocating to Somalia while controlling operation in Pakistan.

In terms of the U.S. national security, the war in Afghanistan claimed to be justified.

How long is the war in Afghanistan long enough for the U.S. and allied forces?

Has continued U.S. aggression eliminated terror forces from the region?

One might argue that there have been no attacks against U.S. interests since 9/11 as a result of the continuous drone and ground attacks in Afghanistan. It could serve as a legitimate argument,

However, the fact of the matter is the terrorists believe that they gain nothing from repeating September 11 attacks. The motive behind September 11 was to inflict economic chaos and constrict the once booming U.S. economy, which the terror network accomplished with the catastrophic terrorist activity. The economic turmoil further exacerbated with the previous administrations’ Machiavellian Iraq adventure exceeding Al-Qaeda’s expectations to reign in on the U.S. economic progress.

Instead, Al-Qaeda diverted its attention to Iraq’s battleground with their insurgencies to prolong the Iraqi conflict in their aim to continue draining the U.S. treasury.

Meanwhile, the re-emergence of the Taliban in Afghanistan issuing death warrants to the electorate and forbidding them from going to the voting booths confirm the insurgents’ defiance against the U.S. and NATO forces. The Taliban and Al-Qaeda’s primary goal is to re-establish their Sharia law governance and headquarters in Afghanistan. They will fight fiercely until the Western power exhausted of the never-ending guerilla warfare that the West proven weaker at… for e.g. Vietnam, Iraq and in Afghanistan.

The Drones might be successful in reducing the U.S and NATO casualties and seemingly achieving their targets, but the major problem of the entire warfare strategy lies in the massive civilian loss of lives from this operation. Although, the Taliban insurgents counteracting the Western drone attacks by blending in with the civilians in the remote and rural regions, the Afghani government and the people view the incidents as Western negligence given the past track record and remarks by the ex-defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the civilian deaths in Kabul in 2001 – “collateral damages in war.”

No populace would like the eternal presence of foreign troops on their soil, whether it’s Afghanistan or Iraq, irrespective of the occupiers’ mission. The hypocrisy is conspicuous when the U.S. conservative agenda vehemently opposes the ‘illegal’ immigrants represented by the unarmed civilians and in the same breath relentlessly supports the ‘illegal military invasion and occupation’ of foreign lands whether it is Iraq or Afghanistan.

How does the U.S and NATO make progress in the rocky Afghanistan?

First, eliminating the arsenal and arms supply to the insurgents would considerably debilitate the militants’ strength. Detecting the providers and enforcing severe international arms control would substantially relieve the U.S. and NATO command from any additional troops requirement. Similar techniques in Iraq would reduce the internal violence over there.

The immediate implementation of such methods would not only protect immense lives from all sides but also greatly help the U.S. economy from the war spending and investing in the life saving “National health care with public option.”

Second, allocating a major segment of the military operation towards nation building like infrastructure, schools and hospitals rather than held responsible for national chaos and killings. This would easily win the hearts and minds of the local population.

Last but not the least, paving way for job creations in both agricultural and industrial sector would gradually lead to the emancipation of the society. Afghanistan believed to be thriving in poppy plants yielding Opium. Likewise, Afghanistan has other valuable cash crops with vast potential to become a leading exporter of dry fruits and nuts, other than woolen products – clothing, shawls, carpets, rugs and silver, mineral ore etc.

Therefore, substituting Opium with healthy life sustenance crops like wheat, nuts, dry fruits and setting up woolen mills and carpet manufacturing guaranteed to revive hope and change that is long overdue in this nation.

The United States, European countries as well as developing nations like India and others should collectively promote the Afghanistan economy by easing the trade tariffs and quotas for these products and facilitate the trade flow from this long battered nation.

With respect to the political system – Unless and until the substantial corruption, bureaucracy and nepotism restrained if not eradicated from the political structure, no western power can succeed in the democratization of this demographically estranged society.

The incumbent administration under President Hamid Karzai, survivor of several assassination plots and attempts by the alleged Pakistani ISI supported Talibans up until early this year, has disappointed the international community on a range of issues.

President Karzai’s inability and lack of interest in housekeeping specifically the Opium production, minimizing government bureaucracy leading to corruptions, alleviating the nation’s poverty and devising any effective plan for job creations and economic growth has undermined regional advancement given the tribal control of the remaining areas.

Moreover, the Karzai government’s endorsement of social injustice towards women slighting women’s rights in the marital relationship is a matter of deep concern and violates the democratic norm in a society represented by the Western sponsored leadership.

According to various news reports, the voter turnout was relatively low as a result of the Taliban’s stern warnings to harm the electorate.

In light of the above perspective, Afghanistan would be better off with a coalition government of the three contenders – President Hamid Karzai, DR. Abdullah Abdullah and DR. Ashraf Ghani exchanging ideas, sharing intellect and experience in a concerted effort to move the war torn nation forward to the twenty first century. In addition, the fractured society would benefit from the collective talent and experience of the consolidated government, besides maintaining checks and balances on activities hindering the democratic functions.

On that note, Best Wishes offered to the new government in Afghanistan with peace, progress and prosperity in the immediate future.

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

Reconfiguration of the U.N.Security Council

By Padmini Arhant

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” – simple yet meaningful creation by the renowned American Poet – Robert Lee Frost.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Only if the authorities in power – the corporations and the governments alike, in the contemporary world honor the commitment to their people and prioritize the promise to the general population over personal quest for profit, privilege, prestige and politics,

Perhaps, it might be possible to wipe out the global problems such as poverty, disease and war polluting the planet and restore the deep, dark and lovely woods that once used to be the nature’s paradise.

The past week event involving the release of two American journalists – Laura Ling and Euna Lee through high profile diplomacy aided with the former President Bill Clinton’s visit is a confirmation that communication and dialogue can be effective in resolving international crisis.

Congratulations! to President Bill Clinton on the job well done and the American citizens Laura Ling and Euna Lee on the reunion with their respective families. The former Presidents’ expertise and popularity always remains a valuable asset to the nation and the international community.

The world is not a safe place than it was before. In fact, in the nuclear era and arms proliferation – the trading of conventional and modern weaponry particularly the nuclear arsenal is a major threat to global security. It’s not the question of who’s entitled to the possession of new age weapons of mass destruction gauged by the threats materializing into action and the responsible vs. irresponsible nuclear ownership etc.

Whenever there is a hierarchy in terms of quantity and superiority, it foments a possibility for back channel arms race or illicit exchange of the nuclear technology as it is prevalent now. It’s relevant to the recently intercepted cargo shipment allegedly containing nuclear materials from North Korea to yet another brutal regime Burma.

Even though, the recent agreement between the United States and Russia in the arms reduction including the non-proliferation of nuclear warheads is significant due to President Obama’s strategy, the desire among other nations like North Korea and Iran to be a nuclear power is symbolic not to mention the defiance towards the Superpower and the United Nations.

The present volatility in international security stems from the lack of trust and cooperation among the major players in control of the world security and economic prosperity and their undue dominance for five decades yielding the status quo counter-productive. The focus is directly on the United Nations Security Council permanent membership.

U.N.Security Council originally set up with the five nations permanent membership following the major world wars I and II in identification of the role and economic status then, does not synchronize with the present reality.

Besides the poor achievements or the lack thereof on global fronts i.e. economic, political and environmental issues by the exclusive body, the obvious polarization within the P5 or the permanent membership club has been detrimental for the world security and prosperity.

The P5 has demonstrated politics more than delivering solutions on many international crises rendering the United Nations most important component redundant and controversial. The council’s inability in arriving at a consensus on crucial international matters due to predictable action by members exhibiting economic and political clout is strongly indicative of its impotence in the decision making process.

Much to the frustration and disappointment of other big and small nations, the P5 management of genuine global catastrophes ranging from nuclear containment or disarmament to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease has been a miserable failure. Any positive results in the latter attributable to the relentless work by the non-governmental and non-profit organizations funded through private endowments and caring international groups.

Again, not all P5 members meet the criteria primarily based on economic status given the conspicuous shift in the current world economic dynamics. Notwithstanding, the precipitous decline of P5 performance in hosts of issues particularly with respect to North Korea, Iran, Burma and other despot leaderships around the world, unequivocally requiring the urgent expansion of the Security Council from P5 to P11.

Further, the ‘so-called’ P5 and Plus in reference to the western ally Germany as a defacto member of the U.N.Security Council regarded hypocritical by the deserving and true economic powers seeking permanent membership for years only to be declined noting obvious reasons reminiscent of the twentieth century imperialism not in concurrence with the new millennium geo-economic and political setting.

P5’s likely opposition and reluctance to the proposal possibly viewed as a monopoly of the power, thereby unnecessarily creating opportunities for aptly qualified potential members to seek alternatives undermining the P5 course of action in the regional and worldwide issues.

Apart from the Security Council permanent membership enlargement, the U.N. Preamble is due for review and modification in the permanent members’ tenure depending on the member track record to world peace, progress and prosperity. Otherwise, the U.N. Security Council permanent membership no longer set in stones as a guaranteed life-long privilege for the perceived presumptuous players despite them abdicating responsibilities, and voting rights abuse on global matter witnessed until date.

To reiterate, under the new structure, the permanent membership will be strictly merit based and humanitarian objectives attained collectively from the individual member contribution. Non-cooperative members on universal cause viz. defense programs and warfare, environment…disqualified and replaced with other aspirants subject to eligibility conditions.

In light of the true perspective, the new members to the imminent expanded P11 Security council, in addition to the existing ones – United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia and China are:

Brazil, Japan, India, South Africa, Germany and UAE (United Arab Emirates) assuming functions of the permanent council members in the leadership role for the respective regions reflecting diligence and fair representation anchored on promoting regional trade, security, economic prosperity, cultural exchange and eventually nuclear disarmament.

The inevitable expansion in addition to the prevailing U.N. temporary membership on roster allowing other U.N. members to participate in the international resolution to global issues is the only and concrete remedy for the burgeoning arms deal, human rights violation, illegal occupation of lands, economic disparities, natural disasters and last but not the least global warming.

As stated above, the five members council neither adequately represents nor addresses the growing demands by the rest of the world in terms of political, economic, energy, social, cultural, and environmental challenges.

Therefore, it is incumbent on the United Nations to pursue the proposal set forth for immediate reorganization of the Security Council irrespective of the five members dissent or approval in accordance with the new world order.

Reconfiguration of the Security Council would provide positive outcome with majority voting
in favor of curbing international threats and terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation leading to disarmament by all nations, economic prospects, and political stability by liberating occupied lands as well as containing if not eliminating miseries in the impoverished regions of the world.

The recommended action targeted towards power and responsibility sharing among other economic and democratic/progressive nations rather than the continuation of twentieth century dominance proven ineffective in advancing the humanitarian rights and goals.

Finally, Congratulations are in order for the new member nations to the Security Council –

Brazil, Japan, India, South Africa, Germany and UAE (United Arab Emirates)

Appropriately representing the continents/regions considering their contributions to the world economic, political and international security.

Thank you.

Padmini Arhant

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