DON'T BE FOOLED (1)

Assalamualaikum w.r.t.

Came across this article in the http://www.islamonline.net, written by Muhammad Gamal Arafa titled "Neocons in Their Democratic Dress : Members of the New Obama Administration". The author is a political analyst and his main argument is no matter who resides in the White House (incidentally that has been the focus of late) the policies are going to be the same but with a different flair. I reproduce the article wholly below for your consumption.

"Obama's government is like a collection of Clintonists," is a remark becoming familiar now after the main features of the President-elect — and very soon President — Barack Obama's administration has become clear. The team that includes most of its ministers and officials who served in the administration of former President Bill Clinton, is headed by Clinton's wife Hillary Clinton.

However, what the Americans did not say — and is important to the Arab region — is that those named by Obama are not only "Clintonists", but also belonging to the hawkish conservative "Democrats", like the neoconservatives in the Republican Party. The main danger that is feared they may pose is that many Arab and Muslim dossiers are expected to be transformed at their hands into bloody ones.

It is not true that only the Republicans do represent the conservative, fundamentalist, and extremist wing in the United States of America. Yet, a general current called "the fundamentalist conservative current" has emerged in the US since September 11th, 2001. This current includes both Republicans and Democrats.

This new current inside the Democratic Party — called the "New Democrats" or the "Neoconservative Democrats" — has the same ideas held by the neocons within the Republican Party and is linked to the hawks of this party. Indeed, it follows the same policies as to the hostile attitude toward the Arabs and Muslims and the bias to Tel Aviv. The neocon Democrats adopt "a progressive strategy for defeating Jihadism and defending freedom," as mentioned in the title of a book authored by the chairman of the Progressive Policy Foundation, one of the conservative, Democratic thinking centers. Some, such as Peter Beinart, the editor of the New Republic newspaper, call for the return to the cold war principles laid down by President Truman, with the aim of expanding the war on terror.
This new Obama team is largely composed of the prominent figures of the conservative hawks who support the war in Iraq and the shift toward escalation in Afghanistan and Pakistan and igniting the already burning region between India and Pakistan following Mumbai bombings.

It is noted as well that Obama has named some figures known for their extreme support for war against some Arab and Muslim countries, notably Sudan. This has raised doubts regarding the change of which Obama spoke about, and that he may prove to be nothing but a copy of Bush and his administration; the only thing that will undergo change is raising the "the Republican Party" sign.