Obama Should Turn His Eyes Toward Cuba
By Bashir Goth
With the election of Barack Obama, America has set the record straight. The American people have said it loud and clear that they want a change of direction. They believed and supported Obamaʼs message of change. The American people have delivered and it is now Obamaʼs turn to deliver. He has to show that he can walk the walk; that he is not only a man of words but a man of action as well.

The first obvious task for Mr. Obama should be to heal the divisions and wounds created by the toxic campaign discourse; he should reach across the aisle and form a bipartisan cabinet.

No doubt a top priority will be to address the financial crisis at home and on the global level, but equally important is for Obama to send a strong message to the world that he is ready to mend Americaʼs tattered image and restore its leadership role. And there is no quicker way to improve Americaʼs image than bring a speedy end to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Another equally important step would be to redefine the erroneous concept of the War on Terror without compromising on the security of the American people and the world at large. Mr. Obama should show the world that America is great because of its values and its unwavering support for human freedom; the values and freedom that brought him, a biracial child of an African father and an American mother, to the countryʼs presidency.


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