Way to ingratiate yourself to your hosts.
Posted on 11/08/2010 7:49:00 PM PST by freespirited
When George W. Bush was sworn into office, he was mocked by his political enemies as a parochial idiot who had no understanding of world affairs. That proved untrue. By contrast Barack Obama was touted as a multicultural "citizen of the world" whose childhood residence in Indonesia, adult trips to Pakistan and Kenya, and Harvard degree were supposed proof of his sophistication. Obama subsequently disproved this belief by making reference to "speaking Austrian" during a European speech and sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Russia to "press the reset button," (the word "reset" in Russian was misspelled) a stunt so stupid that a high school girl at a Model UN conference probably wouldn't do it.
Now, in his quasi-imperial trip to India, Obama has made ridiculous P.C.-inspired statements that managed to offend both India and Pakistan and reveal an astounding ignorance of South Asian politics and history.
First, Obama told an Indian audience that he supported India's bid to gain a permanent seat (and veto) on the UN Security Council. Aside from the fact that this is unlikely to happen, the idea greatly offends Pakistan, a sworn enemy of India since both countries became independent in 1947. While Obama's support for an Indian seat on the Security Council was greeted with applause in India, it was immediately denounced by Pakistan. Pakistan is our "ally" in the war on terror, but it is very unstable, partially ungovernable, and likely harboring Osama bin Laden. Obama gratuitously offended it by supporting its #1 enemy, India. How can this possibly help our efforts in the Af-Pak theater of war?
Second, Obama contradicted centuries of Indian history when he told an Indian schoolgirl that Islam is a "religion of peace" and that only "extremists" corrupt it. According to The Hindu newspaper, Obama said Islam is "a religion that reaffirms peace, fairness, tolerance. I think all of us recognize that this great religion in the hands of a few extremists has been distorted by violence." This must be an astonishingly false statement to Indian ears and to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Indian history.
India has had virtually non-stop conflict with Islam since it was first invaded by Muslims in the seventh century. Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan have been in a virtual state of war since 1947, when British India was partitioned along religious lines, resulting in nearly a million casualties. Today, both India and Pakistan are nuclear-armed powers. There have been at least three shooting wars since 1947 and constant low-grade war over Kashmir. The attack on the Indian parliament by Muslim terrorists in 2001 and the Mumbai Massacre, perpetrated by Pakistani Muslims in 2008, are not the result of "extremists" who "distort" Islam but merely the latest incidents in centuries of war and conquest India has suffered at the hands of the "religion of peace."
It's clear that the Obama foreign policy isn't based on sophistication or even a basic knowledge of world affairs. It's based purely on fatuous P.C. sentiments that meet with approval in faculty lounges, but are downright dangerous to American security in the real world.
Exactly! His ignorance on a lot of things would be on full display if we had an honest media.
Obama is an idiot!
Anyone who heard or read O’s speech in the Indian parliament never heard of a veto for an Indian seat other than this author. His undersecretary of state also declined to go into the specifics on any possible timeline or possible powers of any new members.
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/full-text-of-obamas-parliament-address/134649-3.html
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-11-08/obama-backs-india-for-bigger-role-on-security-council.html
Beside’s O just mentioned what every US president since Clinton has expressed regarding expansion of the UNSC-vague suppor.
At some point, the Corporate Media is going to respond, because he is now damaging Corporate interests with his potentially dangerous combination of vast ignorance and unrestrained arrogance!
vague suppor=vague support.
Pakistan government was behind the 2008 terrorist attack. They are to help us find terrorists?
35,000+ acts of terror since 9/11 from the “religion of peace.”
57 states. Breathalyzer. Austrian. Obama sans TelePrompTer has more gaffs than George W. But we won’t see Letterman joke about Zero.
Ironically, the lack of sense of humor from Zero — in general and particularly about himself — adds to the alienating effect of his personality. The more Americans are exposed to Obama, the less they like him.
As far as Islam & India are concerned, there are more Muslims in India than Pakistan. Also, India intervened to help Bangladesh secure its independence from Pakistan; they have a very different relationship with those Muslims than the ones to the west.
That being said, it really isn’t a place where anyone thinks there is anything “peaceful” about Islam. Obama should just shut his mouth, and show his hoops prowess or something.
The only course that Obama passed in school was: I hate the USA.
Actually the author exhibits a fair level of ignorance as well. On the one hand he says that Obama upset Pakistan and while on the other he says that he was too polite on Jihad, which in India (and Afghanistan) is a Pakistani-manufactured commodity.
0baMao did manage to do both.
The Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent mainly took place from the 12th century onwards, though earlier Muslim conquests made limited inroads into the region, beginning during the period of the ascendancy of the Rajput Kingdoms in North India, although Sindh and Multan were captured in 8th century.Throughout its history the Indian subcontinent (encompassing modern-day Pakistan, India and Bangladesh) has been frequently subject to invasion, from the North-West by Central Asian nomadic tribes and the Persian Empire. With the fall of the Sassanids and the arrival of the Caliphates, these regions were integrated into Muslim dynasties of Central Asian heritage; initially Turkic people and later Mongol and Turco-Mongol people. Unlike earlier conquerors who assimilated into prevalent social systems, Muslim conquerors retained their Islamic identity and created legal and administrative systems that challenged and destroyed existing systems of social conduct, culture, religious practices, lifestyle and ethics.
The first foray by the new Muslim successor states of the Sassanid Empire occurred around 664 CE during the Umayyad Caliphate, led by Al Muhallab ibn Abi Suffrah towards Multan in Southern Punjab, in modern day Pakistan. Muhallab's expeditions were not aimed at conquest, though they penetrated only as far as the capital of the Maili, he returned with wealth and prisoners of war. This was an Arab incursion and part of the early Umayyad push onwards from the Islamic conquest of Persia into Central Asia, and within the limits of the eastern borders of previous Persian empires. The last Arab push in the region would be towards the end of Umayyad reign under Muhammad bin Qasim, after whom the Arabs would be defeated by the Rajputs at the Battle of Rajasthan in 738, and Muslim incursions would only be resumed under later Turkic and Afghan dynasties with more local capitals, who supplanted the Caliphate and expanded their domains both northwards and eastwards.
It took several centuries for Islam to spread across India and how it did so is a topic of intense debate. Some quarters hold that Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam by the establishment of Jizya and Dhimmitude favoring Muslim citizens, and the threat of naked force.
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Obama did what he does best-say nothing of substance. The only people tearing their hair out over it are a bunch of Indian commies, Pakis and conservative commentators.
"And as two global leaders, the United States and India can partner for global security-especially as India serves on the Security Council over the next two years. Indeed, the just and sustainable international order that America seeks includes a United Nations that is efficient, effective, credible and legitimate. That is why I can say today-in the years ahead, I look forward to a reformed U.N. Security Council that includes India as a permanent member.
If you are a permanent member of the UN Security Council, you have a veto.
Obama is truly a fool.
Umm no. That’s precisely the reason why the UNSC hasn’t been expanded. The P-5 have been ok with expansion in general, but not on veto powers, which is why the G-4 bloc (India/Germany/Japan/Brazil) haven’t accepted overtures.
Do you think Indian Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs bought that BS about jihad just being a spiritual precept of Islam distorted by a few extremists?
Permanent membership in a reformed UNSC doesn’t mean an automatic veto. Obama and his crew were smart enough to avoid that.
Way to ingratiate yourself to your hosts.
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