Daily Times

In a twitter post, Joe Biden, the president elect of United States of America said “when I am speaking to foreign leaders, I am telling them America is going to be back. We are going to be back in the game”. This this could be taken as a policy statement reflecting on what the Democrats need to do after their victory over the Republican Donald Trump. Joe Biden has emphasized building bridges across the gender and race divide, and he has underlined the need for continuing further reforms of the health sector, including expansion of Obama-care. Furthermore, education financing reforms are high on the agenda, especially at tertiary level. Here the next First Lady Dr Jill Biden, a professor at community college, is certainly going to remind her husband and Kamila Harris of that, should they not give priority to it. Jill Biden is herself going to make history as First Lady, because of her high academic qualifications and her intention to continue earning her own salary even when her husband is president, as she did when he was vice president during Barack Obama’s two times presidency (2008-2016). Keep in view, that one must not necessarily be rich to become president of USA. People of ordinary means who have been associated with the Democratic Party have a chance to offer their services to the Biden-Harris administration, to serve the people, the fellow Americans and the people all over the world.

Joe Biden has worked with three Democratic Presidents and he hopes they will support him to get USA out of the self-created crisis. Afghan issue, Syrian crisis and the row with China, all must come to an end.

It is expected the Democrats will support the oppressed Kashmiris to get out of curfew and Indian oppression. Kashmiris right to self-determination must be acknowledged and granted as per the United Nations resolutions, and bilateral agreements between Pakistan and India.

USA’s time as a moral leader is not over yet, as long as the spirit of cooperation and working together exists. Europe should however play a more central role in developing welfare states worldwide

It is important that the United States regains an active and respected role as a prominent member of the multilateral world, leading in issues which are for the good of international community. People in the United States, Europe and rest of the world need to revive the more idealistic peace movement work of the yesteryears. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United States and Europe did not play their required role for building a sustainable world with a mission and goals for a healthy and wealthy world community. It is for Joe Biden and his team to analyse and determine where the United States of America had failed and particularly the Trump administration failed on important fronts, such as global cooperation, science, the handling of coronavirus pandemic that could not be contained effectively. One of the failures of Trump administration was the lack of effective policy to fight the disease seriously. Trump, during his reign, put a halt on many projects and schemes which were environment friendly. His policies were not people friendly and neither friendly to world community, as the world’s richest country stopped funding people friendly projects, mostly health and environment related.

In my view the failure of Trump administration on policy regarding issues that matter most, is the failure of the United States for lack of vision or due to stubbornness. For Joe Biden and his team, the challenge should be to improve the declining image of the United States of America. In psychic and behavioural terms, the sole remaining superpower following the fall of USSR, is no different from an ordinary country in the Third World. Joe Biden and his team is supposed to provide leadership that keeps the nation united on policy issues as well as strategic management, and the international scenario that impacts all communities and groups of people irrespective of their political affiliations and loyalty.

At this stage learning from mistakes is important even if the mistakes and failures were that of Donald Trump. The existential question is who will make America great again? Who will ensure peace and prosperity and the world free of tensions and free of poverty and disease? Above everything else, who will guarantee equality? Political solutions are the long lasting, everyone has to understand. War is not the solution of issues affecting lives of people and destination of Nations. Drone attacks in Afghanistan and Pakistan during Obama regime were inhuman and uncalled for. That tarnished image of Obama.

We should revisit criticizing for the sake of it, for style as well as content. It is satisfying that President Donald Trump, during his four years in office did not get the United States and the world community involved in yet another foreign war. Efforts have been made to wind up the longest ever war in Afghanistan. Credit should go to the United States under Donald Trump to end the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan, for creating an environment for peace which is essential for Afghanistan as well as for Pakistan. It is expected that the need to wind up 17 years old war in Afghanistan will soon get the attention of Joe Biden and his administration. The true spirit of politics and diplomacy can help achieve peace and security as well as welfare of the people.

I believe the USA’s time as a moral leader is not over yet, as long as the spirit of cooperation and working together exists. Europe should however play a more central role in developing welfare states worldwide. There is need to strengthen institutions, democracy and the urgency for paying more attention to caring for human rights of the have nots and the helpless. Those who violate human rights and resort to violence and brutality must be held accountable strictly.

The writer is a former director, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA) Government of Pakistan, a political analyst, a public policy expert and a published author. His book “Post 9/11 Pakistan” was published in the United States.