President Putin has put Skelemani to shame

Whenever they question her academic credentials, Assistant Minister Botlogile Tshireletso is always quick to remind everyone that she attained some qualification in politics from Russia. No doubt, Tshireletso is one of the best politicians in the country. She is one of the fiercest yet humblest politicians. She is doing well as member of both parliament and Cabinet. She seems to know when to speak and what to say at a particular time and doesn’t just speak to prove she has a mouth. I admire her. I respect her. I admire leaders who demonstrate some level of humility in their dealing with people. I respect leaders who do not allow emotions to overpower their rationality when they have to make decisions. Real leaders are never quick to recklessly and aimlessly prove their authority. Real leaders strive to bring peace and stability among their followers. I know of a case where Tshireletso is said to have brokered peace between President Khama and some political activist whom it is said Khama was not prepared to welcome into the BDP. This makes Tshireletso a replica of President Vladimir Putin in his efforts to broker peace between America and Syria.
Well, Tshireletso is not really the subject of my discussion for this week. I was only reminded of her short stint in Russia as I read through a statement written by Russian President Vladimir Putin. The message is a plea from Putin over the impending attack on Syria by the United States of America. Putin’s message will go along as one of the best statements ever made by a president. Tshireletso can therefore take pride in being associated with Putin’s country. She learnt politics in Russia. The Russian President has proved to be a great politician in as far as the bickering between the US and Syria is concerned. Tshireletso has therefore learnt from the best. This she can claim and be justified. Look, I love America and I love everything American. Like I once mentioned, if it was possible I would have readily swapped citizenship with Jeff Ramsay. I blindly love America. So much that I supported their envisaged attack on Syria. I couldn’t be bothered with the justifications for, or against the attack. From the look of things, it was evident all along that the war was going to be between the US and Russia. Syria was only used as an excuse for the war. Syria was just a pawn in a game of chess between Russia and the US. I so much wanted the battle to begin so that America could teach, not Syria but Russia a lesson on who is the real world super power. I enjoyed the exchanges between Obama and Putin. It was a clash of egos and the war was going to be a clash of the titans.
Just as we were all ready for the launch of missile attacks on Syria, Putin put a stop to a war that, honestly, was not necessary and was going to bring more harm than good to the people of Syria. Putin seems to have realized that America was going into this war not necessarily to resolve the problems besieging the Syrians but more importantly to prove a point to Russia. Instead of daring Obama to bring it on, Putin humbled Obama with his diplomatic approach which was beyond reproach. Instead of trying to prove to Obama that he was equally military prepared to fight from the Syrian corner, Putin put his ego aside and knocked some sense into Obama. Unlike our Phandu Skelemani who cheered for a war against Syria, Putin devised a more amicable solution to the Syrian crises which, had the war gone on, there were going to be more cries than celebrations in Syria. It still beats me as to why Skelemani would support military intervention in Syria without first proposing a bloodless solution. Batswana are known to subscribe to the notion that it is better to jaw-jaw than war-war and it therefore it was shocking to hear Skelemani advocate for war towards a country that really has no connections with our country. In his effort to prove that he has the authority to make public statements on foreign issues, Skelemani got overly excited and called for war in Syria yet he failed to justify how war would save the civilians from the barbaric rule of President Bashar al-Assad. Look, Skelemani might have expressed his support for the US based on his personal love for everything American like myself but really, a person in his position should never allow personal emotions or attachments to motivate national decisions. As individuals, I and Skelemani are not wrong to support everything that comes out of America. However, the decisions we make in our personal capacity should not blindly influence public policy. I have no doubt that in his personal capacity, Putin was itching for a fight with America so that he can prove a point to Obama. However, Putin didn’t allow his emotions to overcome public interest. In his address to Obama, Putin reminded him that relations between their countries have passed through different stages. They stood against each other during the cold war but were also allies at some point when they defeated the Nazis together. In other words, Put impressed upon Obama that no country can have permanent enemies. Putin, like a true statesman, told Obama that the potential strike by the US against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the Pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It beats me how Skelemani failed to realize this reality as outlined by Putin. What was Skelemani thinking when he called for war instead of dialogue? This is the same Skelemani who believes dialogue can solve problems in countries that his government seems to be fond of and have a soft spot for and he doesn’t feel the people of Syria deserve such a peaceful route to solve their problems. While he was diplomatic in his address to Obama, Putin didn’t hesitate to tell Obama that he should never undermine other countries or be fooled to believe only America has the moral right to dictate how problems can be solved in other countries. Putin said while his working and personal relationship with Obama is marked by growing trust, he disagreed with a case Obama made on American exceptionalism. “It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord’s blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal”, this statement from Putin left Obama humbled and with no reason to go on with the attack on Syria. Skelemani can learn a lot from Putin.
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