Showing posts with label US election. Show all posts
Showing posts with label US election. Show all posts

Thursday 1 February 2024

Can Biden win hearts of Arab Americans?

US President Biden sought to lean into his strengths during a Thursday trip to Michigan, even as the discontent among the state’s large Arab American population over his handling of the situation in Gaza loomed over the visit.

The tensions Biden is facing with Arab American voters in Michigan lurked just on the periphery of his visit.

Biden’s itinerary did not take him into Dearborn, where Arab Americans make up a majority of the population, nor did it include any meetings with Arab American leaders.

Rashida Tlaib, one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Gaza and who represents a nearby district, did not accompany Biden on the trip.

Community members gathered Wednesday night in nearby Dearborn to protest Biden’s visit. They congregated near the union hall in Warren waving Palestinian flags and carrying signs that read “Abandon Biden”.

The publicly available White House schedule for Thursday’s trip was vague. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters she was not aware of any particular concerns.

“I do want to say, more broadly, that the president has met with Americans with varying opinions about the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” she said aboard Air Force One. “Officials at the White House are also in regular contact with Muslim and Arab American leaders in Michigan and across the country.”

Jean-Pierre said senior Biden administration officials will travel to Michigan in the coming days to hear directly from community leaders on a range of issues that are important to them and their families, including the conflict in Israel and Gaza.

Biden has been grappling with frustration among Arab Americans and other voters who have been outraged by his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.

Biden has steadfastly supported Israel’s right to respond to the Hamas attacks and has rebuffed calls for a cease-fire, instead pushing for humanitarian pauses to allow supplies into Gaza and for the release of hostages and urging Israel to minimize the impact on civilians.

Protesters have followed Biden wherever he has traveled, disrupting unrelated events to call for a cease-fire and condemn his handling of the situation in Gaza.

Biden’s support among Arab American voters plunged to just 17 percent in October, just after the war started, with 25 percent in a poll conducted by the Arab American Institute saying they weren’t sure who they would vote for if the election were held then.

Michigan is a crucial swing state, one Biden carried in 2020 by 154,000 votes against Trump. But recent polling out of the state has shown him trailing Trump narrowly. A Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released Wednesday showed Trump ahead there by 5 percentage points.

 

Friday 2 October 2020

Rising fears of war in Iraq

Reportedly, the United States has started making preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq after warning Baghdad it could shut its embassy. Any move by the US to scale down its diplomatic presence is being seen as an escalation of its confrontation with Iran.

“The American threat to close their embassy is merely a pressure tactic, but is a double-edged sword,” said Gati Rikabi, a member of Iraq’s parliamentary security committee. He said US moves were designed to scare Iraqi leaders into supporting Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

However, there are growing concern among Iraqis is that pulling out diplomats could be followed by military action against forces Washington blamed for attacks and turn their country into a battle zone.

Many fear the possibility of military action, with just weeks to go before an election in which US President Donald Trump has campaigned on a hard line towards Tehran and its proxies.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has threatened to close the embassy in a phone call a week ago to President Barham Salih.

Populist Iraqi leader Muqtada al-Sadr, who commands a following of millions of Iraqis, issued a statement last week pleading for groups to avoid an escalation that could turn Iraq into a battleground.

One of the Western diplomats said the US administration did not “want to be limited in their options” to weaken Iran or pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, Washington is expected to respond militarily.

Earlier it was said the US would reduce its presence in Iraq to 3,000 troops from 5,200. Pentagon reinforced its committed to support Iraq’s long-term “security, stability, and prosperity”.

In a region polarized between allies of Iran and the US, Iraq is the rare exception, a country that has close ties with both. But that has left it open to a perennial risk of becoming a battleground in a proxy war.

That risk became more evident after Washington killed Iran’s most important military commander, Qassem Soleimani, with a drone strike at Baghdad airport. Iran responded with missiles fired at US bases in Iraq.

Since a new prime minister has taken power in Iraq, supported by the US, Tehran is still maintaining close links with powerful Shia factions.

Rockets regularly fly across the Tigris towards the heavily fortified US diplomatic compound, constructed to be the biggest US embassy in the world in central Baghdad’s so-called “Green Zone” during the US occupation after a 2003 invasion.

Thursday 3 November 2016

Next US President: Hillary or Trump

The fast changing poll results are creating more confusion, rather than providing a credible forecast about the outcome of US presidential elections being held on 8th November 2016. Around the world Muslims and particularly Pakistanis are anxiously awaiting the official announcement. I posted a blog on Wednesday exploring the possible implication of the outcome on Pak-US relationship. The bottom line was that whoever wins the election ‘status quo’ will remain, meaning the relationship will get good if Pakistan’s services are needed or will get bad if the US focus shifts to other regions.
Some of the readers of my blogs asked a funny question, who will win the election? I wondered if they believe I have a crystal ball or I am a fortune teller. Despite knowing my inadequacies I sat down to explore the probability. Born in a third world country, having witnessed domestic, South Asia and MENA geopolitics for nearly half a century I have also started believing in conspiracy theories. Based on my observations, I tend to say that Hillary Clinton could be the next US president. The reasons are following:
The US ruling junta has created a history by electing a black and half Muslim President. This time they will create another history by electing a woman as US president.
It is often said that in third world elections are engineered. I tend to say that the elections are also engineered in the US and the active players are part of electoral system. This time the female members of the system will play a decisive role. I say this because often the female members have not played a key role, some reports say they prefer to abstain from casting their vote.
A closer look at the outcome also indicates that the elected president should be from Republican. However, it the ruling elite are adamant at making Hillary the next president, they will not hesitate in violating this norm. If they want to continue proxy wars, maintain US hegemony in South Asia and MENA and even South China Sea they have to elect Hillary who is known as ‘queen of status quo’.