The presidential campaigns underway in US had turned winter into political summer. After 24 hours from Election Day, national election polls show an extremely tight race between Democrat's President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney.
The political strategies owned by each nominee relative to certain issues, differed and bore a resemblance too; hence masses began regarding or disregarding the credibility of candidate of their choice. The hurricane sandy emerged one of worst calamities, hitting US at a time when the race for presidency was in progress.
The devastating storm Sandy which pummeled the US east Coast and killed 90 people is expected to result in economic losses totaling over USD 20 billion (equivalent to Afghanistan's GDP), according to estimates by a catastrophe forecasting company.
Great leaders are always the outcome of crisis. Obama came forth with leading qualities put into action, limiting losses to minimum. It was therefore, the report says, every eight out ten people, of Sandy affected locales, were found applauding Mr. President, combating the devastating effect of Sandy.
US will continue to see itself as the most powerful nation on the international block, whether led by Obama or Romney. In the third and final US presidential debate, though economy remained the subject of interest of masses, nevertheless, foreign policy was focused, the decade long US-led war in Afghanistan drew conspicuously little scrutiny from either candidate.
The foreign policy of the United States is the way in which it interacts with foreign nations and sets standards of interaction for its organizations, corporations and individual citizens. The U.S. is highly influential in the world.
The global reach of the United States is backed by a $15 trillion economy, approximately a quarter of global GDP, and a defense budget of $711 billion, which accounts for approximately 43% of global military spending.
The U.S. Secretary of State is analogous to the foreign minister of other nations and is the official charged with state-to-state diplomacy, although the president has ultimate authority over foreign policy; that policy includes defining the national interest, as well as the strategies chosen both to safeguard that and to achieve its policy goals.
The US had set a goal; to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat al-Qaida in Afghanistan, and to prevent its capacity to threaten America and his allies in the future." - President Barack Obama, West Point, and December 1, 2009 "It's important to remember why we remain in Afghanistan.
It was Afghanistan where al Qaeda plotted the 9/11 attacks that murdered 3,000 innocent people. It is the tribal regions along the Afghan-Pakistan border from which terrorists have launched more attacks against our homeland and our allies. And if an even wider insurgency were to engulf Afghanistan that would give al-Qaeda even more space to plan these attacks."
For a war that American forces have been involved in since 2001, in which more than 2,000 US troops have died and more than 17,700 been injured, Afghanistan featured little in the last debate. That might be because both candidates know there are few votes to be won by talking about a war that is increasingly unpopular at home. Mitt Romney made clear he was backing Barack Obama's plan to pull US troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014, and said the US troop surge which the president had ordered had been successful.
While I was watching the presidential debate, I found that for the most part, Romney made an effort to look presidential by not attacking. He was exceedingly careful and desperately tried not to make a mistake. In fact, despite his rhetoric for the last two years, he now apparently agrees with most of the Obama administration's foreign policy.
As a result, Romney's biggest opponent was not the president, it was his own words. Obama did a brilliant job of bringing up past Romney statements on Iraq, on the nation's biggest adversary, on Afghanistan, on Osama bin Laden to make him look unprepared for the presidency.
When the discussion did linger on Afghanistan, both Republican contender Mitt Romney and President Obama talked about the upcoming end of the combat mission in 2014. Neither candidate discussed the merits of the 11-years war or potentially changing US policy there.
The debate is an indicator that whether Obama or Romney is elected, the US is unlikely to make any radical policy shifts regarding Afghanistan. The US and NATO combat mission is scheduled to come to a close by 2014 and America's longest war is heading toward a quiet close with little political debate. US consider Afghanistan in his paw, having singed memorandum of understanding and agreements on strengthening bilateral relationship.
The strategic partnership agreement guarantees, American presence in Afghanistan until at least 2024. This agreement is a legally binding executive agreement the purpose of which is "to cement an enduring partnership with Afghanistan that strengthens Afghan sovereignty, stability and prosperity, and that contributes to their shared goal of defeating Al Qaeda and its extremist affiliates". The agreement shall help to promote Afghan forces training, a reconciliation and reintegration process for Taliban fighters who leave the battlefield and regional stability with a focus on improving relations with Pakistan.
The duration of the agreement is 10 years and requires from both parties to replace the current status of forces agreement with a bilateral security arrangement to be negotiated within a year. Covered areas under the agreement are military and security issues as well as assistance in building Afghanistan's economy and its democracy. US also named Afghanistan as a major non-NATO ally, a distinction that gives Afghanistan preferred access to US weapons exports and defense cooperation.
Negotiations over the specifics of a bilateral security agreement, particularly as it pertains to whether US troops will fall under the jurisdiction of Afghan law, may cause some friction, but there are already a number of treaties in place securing long-term US commitment to Afghanistan.
America considers, war against Al-Qaida came to end, given that most wanted personnel of this organization ran away to middle eastern countries and Osama Bin Laden was assassinated in 2nd May operation, in Abbotabad. Both US and President Karzai have reached at a so-called conclusion to bring Al-Qaida's allied Taliban back to mainstream politics of Afghanistan, without winning other stake holders, in political realm of Afghanistan, on board.
The fact is that US policy associative to Afghanistan remained individual centric than institution centric. After an eleven years long combat mission we find inefficient and ineffective institutions, plagued by corruptions and misappropriations undertaken by privileged and ruling minority (a one man show), over greater majority, contradicts the spirit of democracy.
The history of long deprivation and accession to political rights of different section of society still remains equivocal. This flawed strategy will breach national harmony and integrity if democratic intuitions are not strengthened and democratic culture is not installed with letter and spirit. US must display a policy shift.