Posted on 06/05/2009 5:23:03 AM PDT by kellynla
An American President could not have extended a more understanding hand to Muslims than the one Barack Obama extended in his much-anticipated speech in Cairo.
He was respectful, praised Islam as a great humanizing faith, paid tribute to Muslim contributions through history and used his presence in the Egyptian capital as a powerful statement of good faith.
So far, so very good.
The intent was to begin changing hearts and minds among the many millions for whom an irrational hatred of the U.S., if not of all Western civilization, has been woven into the fabric of life. The most starry-eyed optimist would have to agree that this will be a long, long process, at best.
You have to start somewhere.
Maybe by saying Assalamu Aleikum in the largest city in the Arabic-speaking world.
Obama married his appeal for better relations with some hard truths that needed telling and challenges that needed making.
Explaining the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, he said:
"I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the offense of 9/11. But let us be clear. Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day. The victims were innocent men, women and children from America and many other nations who had done nothing to harm anybody."
Describing Israel and the terrible history that led to the country's founding, he said:
"America's strong bonds with Israel are well-known. This bond is unbreakable. ... Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries. And anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. ... Six million Jews were killed, more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless. It is ignorant, and it is hateful."
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
"Obama's speech is an attempt to mislead people and create more illusions to improve America's aggressive image in the Arab and Islamic world," eight Palestinian factions, including Hamas, said in a statement.
Open hand, meet clenched fist."
Shouldn’t 0be have given this speech in Mecca?
Obama has done more to reach out to the US HATING ARABS than he has to US LOVING Republicans. Typical of a fabian socialist.
Somewhere in his freakish, deeply seated narcissism (easy to spot and chilling to consider), this blue lipped special is convinced that his verbal abilities combined with his tone and demeanor is overwhelmingly powerful and can roll over all barriers.
It is so difficult to imagine the cemetaries overseas FILLED with Americans who fought for the freedom of OTHERS, DIED and did so to represent their beloved country. These soldiers died knowing that America would NOT PLUNDER or ENSLAVE or STEAL from the nations it conquered because their nation was GOOD.
uhbama over there apologizing to a bunch of freaks that still STONE women to death and consider them dirty as dogs, freaks that PAID for and supported the KILLING OF AMERICANS as they went about their JOBS, unarmed and unsuspecting one morning just frosts the hell out of me. WHen I see a picture of uhbama...I see a coward.
What did anyone expect?
Zero is acting exactly like our Community Organizer in Chief.
He’s not president. He’s not governing.
He’s OPRAH on steroids.
God help us. This clown is going to get us killed.
This is exactly right! What we just saw was the ultimate display of ego and arrogance. Obama believes he will go down in history as the person who brought peace to the Middle East.
Our national security (and Israel's) is not what guides him. And for all his talk about how much he understands that part of the world, he appears not to have a clue.
Did he mention the assisnation of Private William Long in Little Rock, ARK? No. Bastard.
BTW-your TAGLINE is terrific....I love that quote! It would make a great bumper sticker!
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