With this issue our magazine “Development and Socio-Economic Progress” will undergo a transformation. As we are living in an age of “Information Technology”, more and more people use internet in their daily life. Most of our friends and even AAPSO national committees use internet and websites. Therefore we have decided with this issue to feed our website rather than separately publishing the magazine. This serves time and economise work. Interested readers can select the required article from the issue in the website.
2008 will make a landmark event in modern history of the world. In the first place, the disastrous “Bush Era” will end, to the satisfaction of peace loving people in the world. For the first time an African-American is in the lead for the US Presidential election which will take place in November. Hopefully if Barak Obama triumphs, it will be history in the making.
But will the policy of U.S. change with the election of a Democratic candidate? It would be only marginal. “These two parties do not represent “war” or “peace” but only different electorates, different tactics, and are always at the service of the multinationals. Hence it is not a republican but a democrat, Harry Truman, who launched the war in 1950 against Korea and China. It was not a republican, but a democrat, John Kennedy, who started the war against Vietnam in 1961”. (Michel Collon)
In the Middle East both republican and democratic are bent on controlling the oil resources for which the U.S. would do whatever it could to keep their foothold. As for the Palestinian Peace process, it is unlikely to be lifted to a level where Palestinians will get their state. U.S. is committed to support Israel whatever the latter does. Despite tall talk of human rights, as regards the Palestinians, it operates in the breach.
The U.S. Russian relations too are in disarray after the Georgian crisis. The U.S. armed Georgia to the teeth which resulted the demagogic President Shakasvili of Georgia launching a military campaign to recover the breakaway regions of South Osetia and Abkazia. The adventure failed because of the presence of Russian forces within the breakaway regions ultimately leading to declaring them independent recognized by Russia and several other countries. The Georgian military was completely smashed but both the U.S. and the West blamed Russia as invader. If the U.S. continue to rearm Georgia, it would be considered a hostile act by the Russian. Under the situation there are talks about another cold war. All this depend on what will take place after the election of new president of the U.S.
The financial turmoil which started with the collapse of the “wall street” had adverse effect throughout the world. No country has escaped from its impact. Although China and Russia were protected by a huge U.S. dollar reserves, nevertheless with recession in the West it will affect the foreign trade. Asia-Europe Summit in Beijing was convened to specially discuss this issue and to take effective measures to restore financial stability.
Added to the financial crisis is the falling of oil price in the world market. For the non-oil producing countries it may be a temporary boom but will not help to overcome the effect of Western recession on their economies.
Under these condition, the whole world is looking towards the outcome of the U.S. presidential elections and the policy of the new president to remedy the disastrous mismanagement of the Bush era.
-----------------------------
*Coordinator of AAPSO Secretariat