Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Obama changed Lebanese minds (BARF Alert)
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 10 June 2009 | Cynthia Tucker

Posted on 06/10/2009 2:16:41 PM PDT by ScottinVA

Osama bin Laden was so worried that President Obama’s Cairo speech might win over Muslim hearts and minds that the jihadist sent out a pre-emptory audiotaped message denouncing the United States and warning against Obama’s “new beginning.”

It turns out that bin Laden was right to be worried: The president did, it seems, change some minds in the Middle East.

On Sunday, an American-aligned coalition won a surprising victory in Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, pushing back a challenge by Hezbollah, which had been widely expected to win a majority of seats. There were undoubtedly many factors at play — Lebanon’s politics are fractured and Byzantine — but Obama’s well-received speech has been credited with making a difference.

So, while it’s much too early to tell whether the president’s emphasis on an empathetic diplomacy can push old enemies back to the negotiating table, the early result confirms an old adage: You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.

In pursuit of national security, there’s nothing wrong with making friends and influencing people.

You’d think that might be obvious, but, in some quarters, it’s not. Bin Laden isn’t the only observer unhappy about the president’s speech, in which he used his singular biography to reach out to the Muslim world.

Obama’s paternal grandfather, a Kenyan, was Muslim. And the president spent part of his childhood in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, after his mother’s marriage to Lolo Soetoro.

“I am a Christian, but my father came from a Kenyan family that includes generations of Muslims. As a boy, I spent several years in Indonesia and heard the call of the azaan at the break of dawn and the fall of dusk...

(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: bho44; bhoegypt; bhomiddleeast; bhovisit; elections; lebanon; mideast; muslimworld; speech
Strange how the Bush Administration got scant mention when Lebanon had its FIRST free election a few years ago after many years of Syrian rule.

(BTW, my first post, so please be kind if I boof it)

1 posted on 06/10/2009 2:16:41 PM PDT by ScottinVA
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: ScottinVA

Hey, I ahve an idea. Let’s trade him to the muslims for Obama. An Obama for Osama deal.


2 posted on 06/10/2009 2:19:13 PM PDT by Free America52 (I just want it to be the way it always has been.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ScottinVA
Is the author stupid or insane?

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 10 June 2009 | Cynthia Tucker

Oh, Cynthia Tucker? I was wrong in implying it was either/or instead of allowing "both stupid and insane" as an option.

3 posted on 06/10/2009 2:19:35 PM PDT by KarlInOhio (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Chrysler and GM are what Marx meant by the means of production.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ScottinVA

So now he’s changing Lesbian minds.....oh, wait...I read that too fast.....nevermind.


4 posted on 06/10/2009 2:20:40 PM PDT by libertarian27 (Ingsoc: Life, Liberty and the Department of Happiness)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free America52

That’s a great idea!! We’ll even throw in Pelosi and Reid as well.


5 posted on 06/10/2009 2:20:51 PM PDT by ScottinVA (Impeach President Soros!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: libertarian27

“So now he’s changing Lesbian minds”

LOL!


6 posted on 06/10/2009 2:21:18 PM PDT by ScottinVA (Impeach President Soros!!!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: ScottinVA
Hezbollah, which had been widely expected to win a majority of seats

That is a complete falsehood! Not one analyst predicted that result, because...

1. Polls 2 weeks before Obama's speech predicted almost the exact result that occured, and besides...

2. Hizbollah only ran 11 candidates, which--even if they had all won--would not have been enough for a majority

Liberals lie. They just cannot help themselves.

7 posted on 06/10/2009 2:22:22 PM PDT by FreepShop1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Free America52
You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.

You can attract even more with a fresh, steaming pile.

8 posted on 06/10/2009 2:22:49 PM PDT by T Minus Four (Matthew 15:8 - 9)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: ScottinVA

oooh yeah, KISS SOME MUZZIE ASS...! Obsequious, yowza..!


9 posted on 06/10/2009 2:22:58 PM PDT by gaijin
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ScottinVA

For a minute I thought the headline was, “Obama changed lesbian minds.” But I read it again before I got going...


10 posted on 06/10/2009 2:26:00 PM PDT by karnage
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson