Writing What Leaders Read: My Obama Story Part One

"The first piece of advice is this. Don't just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table. If you decide not to set yourself at the table, you have to make sure you have a say in who does. It matters. My second piece of advice, never under estimate the power of your advice. The last one is simple, but perhaps most importance. Persevere. Persevere. Nothing worthwhile is easy." President Barack Obama’s commencement speech at Barnard College, New York. May 14, 2012.

Introduction

On September 22, 2012, I wrote a piece on managing the situation in the Middle East, titled “Overcoming the Crisis in the Muslim World.” Not comfortable with its outcome, I republished it on September 21, 2013, without any alteration. This second time around, I knew that, in spite the novelty of the canvassed lines of thoughts, on perusal, Washington and its allies will never again dabble into another troubling spot in the Middle East, unless, of course, under extraordinary humanitarian circumstances begging for western intervention. I also knew that President Obama will not buckle in the face of the orchestrated “leading from behind” accusations being brandished all over American TV Networks by Republican pundits. And the high point of the piece came, when this prominent Middle Eastern President, who did not only show his appreciation for the work, went as far as borrowing a phrase from it and had it incorporated into his address at the UN General Assembly. And suffice it to add at this juncture that the piece has been, on my last check, recommended 8,433 times on Google. Unprecedented, no doubt! Here are some excerpts.

“You can't fight a war, when you cannot define the struggle or the mood of those you are supporting or arming. The Spirit of change must come from within for outside intervention to be meaningful, appreciated and enduring.  The earlier the West and the rest of the World do the unthinkable and leave the troubling Muslim world alone, the safer and better it is for the unwanted guest and the rest of the World. This is not about weakness or surrendering in the face of heightened tension. The Muslim world will only be receptive to ideas for change generated from within, induced by factors or circumstances beyond their control and must be agreeable to their cultural and religious beliefs. That is the only way the potential visitor with the magic wand - capital and expertise - and with the ability to arrest those troubling circumstances that are begging for answer can be loved and appreciated.”

“To overcome the madness of the moment and similar occurrences in the future, we need a Mother Teresa, a Martin Luther King Jr. and a Nelson Mandela to champion the call for tolerance and self-awareness. Indeed, we have many a Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi within the Islamic faith. But the trouble is, the struggle and the narrative are not in any shape or form about tolerance, nor consistent with political and socio-economic emancipation championed by some of these individuals. It is not what Mahatma Gandhi lived and died for. It is not what Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King Jr. preached. And it is not what President Nelson Mandela suffered for and went to jail for. It is something else – something fundamentally and radically different in scope, style, content and goal. That is the dilemma that the World is facing.”

“Therefore, that spirit of change, of renewal, of acceptance and tolerance must come from within for it to be meaningful and sustaining. It cannot be imposed from outside. It must be internally generated by realities in search of new beginning. In other words, the circumstances certain to make foreign intervention or changes appreciated within the Muslim World must be internally generated for it to be sustainable and enduring. They have to want the change.” Culled from “Overcoming The Crisis In The Muslim World,” By Alex Aidaghese. Written and posted on this Blog on September 22, 2012.

In spite the seeming positive impacts of the essay, I was to alter my stand about two years later, persuaded by the avalanche of the carnage resulting from “Arab Spring” gone wrong in Syria.  Simply put, if the bloodbath and the indiscriminate beheading of Journalists, Christians and POW in the past four years in Syria and in the Iraqi desert are not extra-ordinary occurrences, I beg to differ.

Making The Dream: The Behind the Scene Action

September, 2014, after a critical review of the ISIS reign of terror and the lingering inter-tribal conflict in Syria, I wrote two essays on the subject. One was titled “A Timid World: Confronting the Dogmas of ISIS and Religious Radicalism Around Us,” published on September 06, 2014. The second part, titled “Of Combat Boots and The Search for A Moderate Rebel in Syria," was published on September 19, 2014. The second version centered extensively on the reasonableness of Western intervention in the civil war in Syria. In hindsight, none of the essay garners the sort of buzz that I expected. Nevertheless, they generated reasonable hits, but not to the extent that I wanted. I wasn't so particular about hits or the lack of it. My mind was on action or reaction from Washington and its allies.

So, about two years later, that is, March, this year, sensing that the situation in Syria is not knowing improvement, and given the enormity of the death toll accompanying the Brussels and Paris suicide attacks, I decided to revisit the two essays. Not losing sight of my earlier arguments on the piece devoted to managing the crisis in the Middle East, I am now under intense compulsion, seeking President Obama’s direct intervention in the Syria conflict.

What I did was simple. I assembled some vital paragraphs in the two previous essays and integrate them with the emerging realities on the ground in Syria and the ISIS held territories that I was developing. I came up with two versions, though, with differing subheadings. I titled the first version “Confronting the Dogmas of ISIS and Religious Fundamentalism around Us.”  It was published on April 08, 2016. The second version, titled “A Timid World: Of ISIS and the wisdom of American combat boots on the ground in Syria,” was published on April 10, 2016. And that was the version that I sent to Nigeriavillagesquare for publication.

In both essays, I argued strongly for the introduction of American Combat Boots on the ground in Syria, without undermining the political factor in the crisis.

In my own words: “In every respect imaginable, a war against ISIS is a just war, Godly, and morally defensible. Therefore, we cannot, and we must not downplay the urgency or the efficacy of American combat boots on the ground in Syria.” “Without mincing words, I want to maintain that arming the Free Syrian Army, without the direct involvement of the coalition forces in real combat, will not vanquish ISIS from the occupied territories. In addition, the underlying grievances, mostly political, and allegations of human rights violations must be addressed simultaneously with the quest to annihilate ISIS; otherwise, Syria will remain a vast land of unequal rights and justice, and a testing ground for every form of Islamic fundamentalism.”

Three days after its publication, President Obama was in Hanover, Germany, where he gave what I would consider a landmark speech on his dream of a new Europe, coming at the tail end of his Presidency.

In his own words: “Just as I approved additional support for Iraqi forces against ISIL, I've decided to increase U.S. support for local forces fighting ISIL in Syria, a small number of special operations forces are already on the ground in Syria and their expertise has been critical as local forces have driven ISIL out of key areas." "So given their success I've approved the deployment of up to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria including special forces to keep up this momentum.” “Just as we remain relentless on the military front we're not going to give up on diplomacy to end the civil war in Syria because the suffering of the people in Syria has to end and that requires an effective political transition.” Culled from The BBC.

Now this: Is there another President or writer or commentator or pundit out there with these lines of thoughts on how to manage and arrest the situation in Syria? There is no one else I can think of, other than President Barack Obama himself and yours truly, the author of this piece, Mr. Alex Aidaghese. To have a full grasp of the essence of this story, I would recommend you pause for a moment and go down two steps beyond this piece to peruse either of the two essays discussed above. They were originally written two years before the Hanover Declaration.

Finally, over the years, I have never stopped harping and bragging about my relationship – okay, “perceived relationship” - with President Barack Obama – a relationship built on the trust of the contents of my works in the social media. In whatever respect the relationship is construed or interpreted, I feel great already. Simply put, the confluence of our respective thoughts, visions, and ideas is strong. Indeed, the Challenges, the grace and honor of writing what visionary leaders read are ennobling and inspirational! 

It is about a purposeful life. A life not defined by Wealth, Power or Position. It is living the dream – bringing deeper meaning, satisfaction and fulfillment into my life, the lives of others and also into the desk of every leadership that cares. And I thank God I am living it – having the opportunity to live and share my world with a President who is not afraid to dream, reason, and take a chance on a dreamer - yes, a dreamer, with the mindset of having the world on the palm of his hand. It is about knowing thyself and daring to dream, and daring to act. Thank God, I am living it.