Posted on 06/06/2009 1:33:40 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
The trouble with U.S. President Barack Obama's boffo speech in Cairo to the Muslim world was not what he said -- but that he said it.
To explain: The content was generally fair, rational, evenhanded and fitting for a moderator, arbitrator or neutral adjudicator.
But that's not what Obama is. He is, or should be, the embodiment of his country and its interests. When he appoints himself the go-between who sees all sides and takes no sides -- who chastises all conflicting parties equally and impartially -- he does a disservice to himself, his country and to truth.
His speech has generally been applauded. Superficially, at least.
But on reflection it was arrogant, condescending. A "father knows best" speech of moral and practical equivalency.
It was a speech that the world's moderate middle could relish and feel good about. But it was also a speech unlikely to appease extremist factions of any side. A speech that simply didn't ring true in many ways.
All civilizations are not equal. All cultures are not equal. Some are more benign than others, some more lethal. Some crueler and less deserving of tolerance.
Fine for Obama to stress the tolerant, benign nature of Islam, but whatever it was in the past it is not that tolerant or benign now -- and I'm not thinking of 9/11, or suicide bombers, or its bigotry towards women. Sunni and Shiites often cannot tolerate each other, and kill over the issue of who are the true followers of Mohammed.
Avoiding the word "terrorists," Obama chose the gentler word "extremists", which clouds what he's saying and softens the impact.
He slighted America by failing to mention that after 9/11, his countrymen showed remarkable generosity and grace by rejecting reprisals against Muslims and, in fact, going out of their way to absolve Muslims of blame.
There was nothing resembling the flavour of internment camps that were imposed on Japanese-Americans in the early days of the Second World War, when hysteria reigned.
MISLEADING
By his laboured impartiality, Obama seemed to imply that before his coming to presidential power, America was somehow lacking, negligent or derelict in generosity and decency. Nothing could be further from reality.
Stressing America's "unbreakable" bonds with Israel while pledging "we will not turn our backs" on the "intolerable" situation of Palestinians who endure "the daily humiliations that comes with occupation" is grotesquely misleading.
Good politics if it works, and effective diplomacy, but it's dishonest. Until the Arab countries attacked Israel in 1967, the West Bank and Gaza were "occupied" by Egyptians and Jordanians.
In his series of speeches around the world, Obama seemed intent on denigrating his own country by apologizing to other countries for its actions. Now he is setting himself up as the arbitrator and source of all wisdom in dealings with the Muslim world.
If he were UN secretary general rather than the president of the United States, his efforts might be more appropriate. But he isn't. Yet.
At least the Toronto Star is an Obamaniac -- witness its headline: "A speech that might change the world." Hmm. Wanna bet?
Hardliners around the world are unlikely to buy Obama's message. How he handles the next terrorist incident will be his big test.
When all this comes back in the annointed one’s face, the fallacies upon which he stands will be clear, perhaps even to him.
I guess it beats crawling on your belly!
In short, “The Speech” was stupid.
Drudge got the headline right when he reported Obama’s speech...”Peace In Our Time?” Chamberlain would have been proud!
In other words; he is a buffoon.
Broadcast: Barack is Swahili for “Jack Ass”, zona.
Hear! Hear!
Good politics if it works, and effective diplomacy, but it's dishonest. Until the Arab countries attacked Israel in 1967, the West Bank and Gaza were "occupied" by Egyptians and Jordanians.
It's about time people started speaking the truth....
I find it dangerous that the Obambutts speak kinder of terrorists than they do of republicans.
bttt
Obama, the first true post-modernist, relativist, to fill the chair. A man who believes every nation is equal, and everyone’s ideology is right, where it’s possible for A = -A. A little frightening, to put it mildly.
Obama’s claim that Cordoba was an example of islamic tolerance and multiculturism was a joke.
The entire region was raped, pillaged, and plundered by the muslims during that time period. Christian and Jews were treated as second class citizens (Dhimmitude), forced to either convert to islam by the sword or pay the Jizya tax, and used as slaves by the berbers. Christian houses of worship were razed and only mosques allowed to be built. Christian and Jewish children were ripped from their homes by the thousands and sent as virgin sex slaves for harems in north africa and middle east. In a single typical year of islamic rule of Spain, more Christians were beheaded, than all those who died during the entire Spanish Inquisition.
Very true. The ignorant American voter elected a ne’er-do-well bozo of a community organizer to the highest office. Now the Mutt thinks he can rule over us, cast capitalism to the side, insult our allies, and lecture the world.
For me, I long for a little “cowboyism”.
How’s that hopey-changey thing working for you, Obama voters?
Man, this guy put it all into words for me. Thank you.
The next terrorist/jihadist attack on the US will be ignored by the White House and the MSM. (As in the ten days ago), or blamed on right wing extremists. God forbid they should name our enemies. That Air France plane that went down...the latest nonsense is that it was caused by global warming. Maybe 9/11 was caused by global warming, too. Who knew.
Thank you for some historical truth.
The “Glories of Al-Andalus” stuff always makes me sick. In addition to what they did there, the Muslims had most of the kingdoms of northern Spain as vassal states, and collected tribute once a year in the form of crops, money and a certain number of young women and boys who were marched off to Southern Spain every year, where they were then used by the Muslims there or sold to other parts of the Islamic world.
And life in the harem was no fun. I remember seeing a small fountain at the Alhambra where the Muslim king, believing that his favorite concubine was cheating on him with the eunuch who was in charge of the harem, filled the fountain with hot lead and had his guards push her face into it. Ah yes, life was groovy under the Muslims.
But Israel started the war in 1967 (and in 1956 for that matter)
Only after being threatened with annihilation by their enemies. Google Israeli 1967 Six Day War.
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