Clinton and Obama, The Lost Anima

Amidst a very busy week that I had due to endless ceremonies and activities for Earth Day celebrations in the City Council and with the NGOs, I've had a glimpse of BBC and English Aljazeera every night.

I was lucky to see parts of the recent morning debate of Senators Clinton and Obama and particularly that suspicious question dealing with Iran. They were asked :"what would you do if Iran nuked Israel?". The intentional inclusion of such a question in the debate was an outright attempt to create a delusion for the audience, inferring that Iran has nuclear warfare capability (which American security reports have denied), and that they might employ it against Israel.

More important however, was the approach that each of the two Senators took in their responses. Clinton, trying to look very stern, went too far in trying to convey a sense of power using the phrase "... we will attack Iran and obliterate it". Obama took a different approach, while also responding forcefully, Obama said that he did not find the employment of such terms as obliterate useful and said he thought that the correct choice of words was important, he also said that he would respond forcefully.

Thinking about the feminine archetypes which I believe are needed in the management of global affairs, I had come across a clear example. On the basis of Jungian psychoanalysis, I have written and spoken about the anima ( the feminine archetypes such as compassion and love) and the animus ( masculine archetypes such as strength, mathematical order, and control)and about the need for a balance in these archetypes not only within individuals but also at the level of global decision making. I believe that in the current world order the anima has very little influence and say.

When I heard Hillary talk, I felt she had so strongly denied her anima to remain in the race. She had mistaken ruthless revenge for firmness and strength. Does Clinton for one moment think that she can obliterate a 70 million nation like Iran? She has not learned her lessons.

Obama had responded with a thoughtful ,balanced and more rational approach. Here we have the case of a man who is capable of displaying some anima in his words and a woman who denies her womanhood to gain power.

The American people will bear the costs

The Israeli attacks on Gaza residential areas are unrelenting. They claim they are targetting rocket launchers. An Israeli minister has threatened the Palestinians with a Holocaust for them ! Have you seen some of the footage from the recent attacks? The scenes of injured or killed babies transferred to ambulances or morgues is shocking. But more shocking is the indifference of major international bodies like the UN and the censored reporting of international media. During the past 72 hours more than 100 civilians have been injured, over 35 have been killed, more than 10 among them are children.

The Palestinian people have been suffering under occupation, as refugees or in Israeli prisons now for more than half a century. None of the unimplemented plans for peace have undertaken the plight of the occupied territories or the 4 million refugees. They are overwhelmed by despair. Hamas leaders speak the truth, they reveal the true intentions of the occupiers and their supporters. It is broadly held among political circles that without the unconditional support of the American Government the occupiers could not have gone this far in their excesses.
In another development, in an act of military intimidation, the Americans have deployed two warships to the eastern Mediterranean. In light of the pressures on Hezbollah, the pending Presidential crisis in Lebanon and the very tragic situation in Gaza, this act is viewed with suspicion .

The interference of the American government in the Middle East has a long difficult history . In addition to a handful of pro-US undemocratic regimes, they now have the honor of being largely detested by the public opinion in Muslim countries.
The case of Iran is however paradoxical, while the US has uprooted the Taliban regime whose enmity with Iran was evident, and it also led to demise of the despotic regime of Saddam, but yet at the same time the historical enmity between Iran and the US has not subsided. Today contrary to the NIE report, or the recent IAEA report, which indicate there is no hidden agenda behind Iran's quest for nuclear energy, the US has braced for a propaganda campaign and a third resolution from the security council.
In any case the American people should know that if they live in a free and democratic country they will bear the costs of the adventures of their leaders in this part of the world and they be held accountable for the decisions their leaders are making and for the devastating consequences that those policies have for millions of people in the world.