The Pros And Cons Of President Barack Obama

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The element of surrealism continues to thicken in US politics this election season. A race for the White House pitting arguably the two most unpopular candidates in history has entered the homestretch amid gaffes and divisive rhetoric unlike anything witnessed in previous cycles. If Hillary Clinton outlasts Donald Trump for the presidency, as polls presently suggest, it will be thanks to her rival’s loose lips and inability to stay on message rather than the visibly underwhelming nature of her campaign.

To add to this bizarre state of affairs, the US Congress in late September dealt President Barack Obama the biggest political embarrassment of his tenure as commander-in-chief by overriding his veto of a 9-11 bill allowing ordinary Americans to sue the Saudi government for its complicity in the terrorist attacks. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers who ploughed two commercial airliners into the World Trade Center buildings on September 11, 2001, were Saudi citizens. Saudi Arabia is also America’s closest ally in the Middle East alongside Israel.

Back in May, when the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) emerged in Congress as a bipartisan initiative, the Saudis were quick to voice their displeasure. In one breath, Riyadh both painted the proposed legislation as part of a larger witch-hunt against Muslims and threatened …show more content…

Since his predecessor George W. Bush green-lit the global war on terror near 15 years ago, US military actions around the globe have contributed to the suffering and deaths of countless people, mainly Muslims. JASTA, Obama fears, will embolden foreign governments to freeze diplomatic immunity and prosecute US citizens for alleged war crimes. Or in very least, make Washington cough up substantial cash for the bereaved

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