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Obama: Promises are no longer Enough, Actions are Crucial

CUBA, May 26, 2009. The promises not yet met by President Barack Obama, which were at the center of his electoral campaign, prove that in the United States all you say you wish to do means nothing if you are not able to accomplish it, Cuban panelists agreed at a round table discussion aired on Cuban radio and television on Monday.

Obama promised to rapidly withdraw the US troops from Iraq, publicly denounce torture, immediately close the US prison in the illegally occupied territory of Guantanamo, among other pending measures, which run contrary to the wrong policy of the former Bush administration.

The publication of 15 new pictures on tortures applied on inmates in US secret jails, despite the denial by Obama, has made the President look ridiculous, said journalist Lazaro Barredo, director of Granma newspaper. President Obama has let himself be trapped by the evident ambivalence of the US empire, whose power is well beyond the presidential executive.

Those who voted for Obama were encouraged by his promise to rescue the American dream and the country´s prestige, but Obama is not responding to that reality, said professor Esteban Morales, who recalled that during electoral campaigns candidates usually made promises that they never fulfill later.

The coalition opposing Obama is crystal clear: the extreme right neo-liberal sector in both political parties, said the expert who noted that the President needs to put aside his contemplative attitude, mark boundaries and respond to the demands of his voters, or else his popularity will begin to fall.

Current accords stipulate that US troops must begin withdrawal next June 30 from all Iraqi cities and towns; the US military will remain within military bases only, journalist Juana Carrasco recalled and she added that by 2010, all US combat forces are scheduled to withdraw, leaving in Iraq only the training units, which would depart the country in late 2011 or early 2012. However, she said, there are items in the timetable referring to the real situation, which could delay the withdrawal of US troops.

The pretexts used to invade Iraq have been falling apart, said professor Morales, who noted that even in this respect Obama has not been consistent with his own promises. Meanwhile as to Afghanistan Obama has maintained the policy of a “militaristic missioner”, that favors sending more troops to that country with the evident interest of having a military pressure against Russia and China.

What is clear enough is the fact that the United States will not win the war against Afghanistan, while predictions indicate that if the current contradictory policy prevails, that country might become Obama´s Vietnam, said journalist Barredo.

In the national arena, US media outlets say that the mismanagement of public funds will continue to worsen the already deficient medical assistance, while the loss of jobs increases in 44 US states along with the so-called “tent cities” that shelter tens of thousand families that lost their places.

According to statistics, the US population possesses some 270 million fire weapons, a fact that shows in thousands of murders and wounded people every year, plus the increase of the country´s criminal indicators.

Reports say that the US Gross Domestic Product would fall by 2 percent this year in contrast to the predicted 1,3 fall. American economy undergoes continuous loss of jobs with an 8,9 percent unemployment rate, the freefall of its different markets, depressed housing prices and closures and bankruptcies of companies and banks. (Cubaminrex- ACN)

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