Obama: Front Man for Washington’s Imperialism

By Paul Craig Roberts

July 07, 2019 " Information Clearing House " - Clarity Press is a good publisher for authors willing to provide real information in place of the officially sanctioned controlled explanations of our time. A current example is Jeremy Kuzmarov’s assessment of Obama , Obama’s Unending Wars. The forty-fourth president comes across as a successful front man for corporate rule and Washington’s imperialism.

Obama was the “drone king” whose regime bombed 7 Muslim countries, overthrew the democratic government in Hondurus, overthrew and murdered Gaddafi, tried to do the same thing to Assad in Syria, overthrew the democratic government in Ukraine and demonized Russia and the Russian president, tried to undermine and overthrow the democratically elected Latin American presidents Morales, Chavez, and Ortega, constantly lied through his teeth, and met with the approval of the military/security complex and global capitalists. Topping off these criminal events, Obama’s regime adopted the policy of murdering US citizens on suspicion alone without due process of law. Execution orders were issued every Tuesday as Obama with CIA director John Brennan at his side chose presumed terrorists from mug shots and biographies prepared by no one knows who. “Some were just teenagers like a young girl who looked ‘less than her seventeen years.’”

In the name of preventing atrocities, the Obama regime committed mass atrocities. One consequence was a massive flow of refugees into the US and its empire of peoples who have every reason to hate Americans, Europeans, Australians and Canadians for sending soldiers and bombs to destroy their homes and murder and maim their family members.

Obama was the perfect front man for a cruel empire. Being partly black, he could be presented as humanitarian and considerate of the dark-skinned peoples the George W. Bush regime had ground under the American boot. Being a one-term senator from Illinois, he had no following and no independent political base, and thus had no ability to stand up to powerful organized interest groups. Installed in office, he delivered the violence and mayhem that the ruling oligarchs wanted as they destroyed independent governments, controlled oil flows, and sought to establish Washington’s and Israel’s hegemony over the Middle East.

Kuzmarov’s report on Obama fits the model of Washington intervention that many have reported. For example, General Smedley Butler: https://www.paulcraigroberts.org/2019/05/27/something-to-think-about-on-memorial-day/ , John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, and Stephen Kinzer, The Brothers. The difference is that Obama was very much aware that he was fronting for the ruling establishment, whereas General Butler initially thought he was defending American interests rather than the interests of the New York banks and United Fruit Company. Perkins thought he was helping the countries targeted by the projects for which he worked, and the Dulles brothers operated independently of presidents. Obama knew who he was serving and suffered no self-deception.

Donald Trump attempted to reassert the independence of the presidency and found himself framed on Russiagate charges. It will be interesting to see if the authority of the office can be restored or whether henceforth the president will be a puppet of the Establishment.

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order . Donate and support Dr, Roberts Work.