Although I am positive towards the United States of America, I am very concerned they fail in their project to make the world become a better place
Dear Mr. President,
I am personally thankful to the United States for receiving my grandmothers sister and her jewish husband when they fled Nazi Germany. I am thankful for the sacrifices done to end the Nazi Rule. And I am thankful for the protection Western Germany received during the cold war.
I love the US-American culture. My favorite Book is Hemmingways Fiesta. My favorite Director is Stanley Kubrick, who’s Paths of Glory touched me most. Allan Brian Calhamers Diplomacy was my favorite Board game in the 80s, and I still honor it as a collection piece.
I admire your performance in an incredibly hostile political environment. You got a lot of good things done. But defining Features of your Presidency are your Flip-Flop regarding whistleblowers and the mass executions by means of Drones.
On Whistleblowers
You made following proposition in 2008: „Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance.“ I can only congratulate you for this prophetic vision. You were absolutely right. The acts of courage and patriotism of famous whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Brandon Bryant, Michael Haas, Stephen Lewis and Cian Westmoreland coincided with your presidency or were even motivated by your proposition. Unfortunately you did not correct the wrongdoings which they exposed. You made a true Damascene conversion. Having campaigned in 2008 as a Paulus, friend of the whistleblowers, you converted to a Saulus, a fierce prosecutor of whistleblowers.
On mass executions
I agree that mass executions may seem justified to protect Democracy itself. Many experts of Robespierre’s Rule in the 1790s argue that the mass executions by means of Guillotine indeed where necessary to protect the french Democracy. Maximilien de Robespierre was a brilliant lawyer, whose political career was full of achievement. But his Reputation is so tainted by the Reign of Terror, that Robespierre is easily considered a plain mass-murderer.
Unlike the french Democracy in the 1790s, the US american Democracy is not fragile today. Mass executions are not necessary for its protection. But let’s assume the mass executions by the means of Drones were justified. Let’s assume they would not contribute to a spiral of violence, hatred and Terror. Let’s assume they made sense besides paying back the „Defense“ Industry. (time.com reported 2008: Obama beats McCain in Defense Contribution). Let’s assume the facilities at Ramstein air base were not essential to these mass executions and our Chancellor Angela Merkel would not face juridical fallout for passive support of these mass executions. Even in this hypothetical case your mass executions were a shame regarding their lack of any accuracy of aim. If there were any hope that you or your successor would stop these „extralegal killings“! Last but not least this would shorten the supply of furious young people searching for revenge who today may enter terroristic organizations.
On European wrongdoing
I have the firm believe that many of todays conflicts in the world are related to errors and poor judgement of the european powers in the past. Too often atrocities were committed for short-time gains. Just 100 years ago the German administration decided to fund and support a group of extremists, to transport them from Switzerland to Russia. They succeeded to destabilize Russia. Germany induced a century of instability to the entire world just for some short-time benefits which are longtime forgotten.
A century earlier the biggest Drug trafficker in history, the United Kingdom, waged the first Opium War against China. For sure many incidents of this „war“ qualify for the notion Terror, or may be qualified as mass executions for the shocking inequality of weaponry.
So while the founding fathers of the USA engineered a fantastic constitution, which helped the USA navigate through the troubles of more then 2 centuries, the european powers did worse. The French for example were led to imperial adventures by Napoleon, they did incredible atrocities in their colonies and smaller ones in Europe, and created many republics in the process. Today they are at the Fifth republic. The German were led to imperial adventures by Adolf Hitler, they did incredibly atrocities in Europe and smaller ones in their colonies. Germany does not have an official counting system. I suppose we are at Germany 4.1 now.
On Participation
The USA holds the record for longest running democracy. 227 Years without any mayor update. You know best whether this long run without any mayor update is an asset or a liability.
For sure the participation schemes which you introduced at http://www.whitehouse.gov/participate are an asset. By contrast http://www.bundesregierung.de does not comprise any meaningful participation scheme at all. It’s sender-receiver concept is still deeply rooted in the age of printing press and television.
On the US-American project to make the world become a better place
I still hope that such a project exists. I want to belief in its existence. Otherwise the US-American military could be used and misused without any ethical reasoning at all. In the context of such a project, 2003’s war on Iraq could be attributed to errors and poor judgement of the former US-Administration. Otherwise it had to be judged as a success story – to the weapon’s industry. You know best whether such a project exists. Or is it just „The Best Law Money Can Buy“, as time titled 12th of July, 2010?
Goodbye Mr. President,
You refrained from waging war. You banned torture. You did not destroy any democracies for purpose. You did not even bomb any pharmaceutical facilities. You could have done much worse. Your successor can do much worse. I sure will miss you.
Yours sincerely, Felix Luebeck
