Obama's Middle East Policy Is in Ruins (Germans GET IT)

der spiegel ^ | 9/14/2012 | ds

[barryobi]

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung

"The murder of an ambassador in Libya and the attacks on US diplomatic missions in other Arab countries is sure to strengthen the skepticism that more than a few Americans feel toward Muslims and the political changes brought by the Arab revolutions. The deeply held American belief that all you have to do is liberate people from serfdom and dictatorship, and then democracy and a market economy will develop more or less on their own, burned to ash in the trial by fire of Iraq. A fact that academics and historically informed diplomats have always known can now be observed throughout the Arab world: Deeply ingrained cultural attitudes do not change simply because one political regime replaces another. In the long process of building a democratic society, it is not possible to simply skip stages."

TBerliner Zeitung writes

"The attacks on US embassies and consulates in the Arab world can not be justified in any way. If it turns out that al-Qaida is behind the attacks, as some US officials suspect, then they are acts of terrorism committed under the guise of religion. If they turn out to be uncoordinated actions by angry believers, then they are an expression of a frightening ignorance. A crazy individual US citizen has uploaded a movie onto the Internet which denigrates the Prophet Muhammad. The US government can not be held responsible for that. But that clearly does not help US President Barack Obama very much. He has to bear the political consequences of the recent events"

"Four years ago, Obama pledged to seek reconciliation with the Muslim world. Now, it is doubtful whether he has succeeded. The US and its European allies now have to ask themselves how much support they still enjoy in the countries of the Arab Spring."

[Toespi]

Many Americans would get it, if their news wasn’t being filtered. The real and greatest threat to this nation is, without a doubt, media. Until there is an organized movement against them and a complete boycott of any advertisers who support them, we are going to continue to get filtered news.

[ZX12R]

Obama’s entire presidency should now be in ruins, and at the very least, he should be impeached and Hillary should be removed from her appointment,but the main stream media will continue to protect them from any REAL questions that should be asked and answered by them. But nooooooo, they will not ask them, because the answers would destroy them, if the truth were told. His and Hillary’s middle east policy has been harmful due to it simply being retarded on the face of it, and pathetically naive. What’s happening is the pure logical consequences of such stupidity and liberal nonsense.

[Vince Ferrer]

The Arab Spring is going to be a profound shock to the Democrats, although I doubt they will learn from it.

The reason they are blindsided is that they are Progressives, with a profound belief in a linear progression of humanity along a line which they get to define. They believe in their own inevitability as much as muslims belive in the inevitability of islam.

Progressives feel that the Arab Spring would naturaly produce an Egypt more like them. Instead, it produced the opposite, a rejection of "Progress", as defined by progressives. Not only have they lost Egypt, but they also need to realize they have also just gone through a convention courting the muslim vote into their tent. So now they have a progressive/dark age coalition.

[DannyTN]

"The deeply held American belief that all you have to do is liberate people from serfdom and dictatorship, and then democracy and a market economy will develop more or less on their own, burned to ash in the trial by fire of Iraq. "

Our founding fathers told us this. Democracy only works with a virtuous people.

Our nation building should have been about changing the culture and religion of these countries. Otherwise we are just rebuilding the enemy of western civilization.

[Anima Mundi]

It reminds me of a line in a George Strait song: “You can lead a heart to love, but you can’t make it fall.”

[Lucas McCain]

Next we’ll be hearing that angry teapartyers attacked the embassies in Egypt and Libya.

[listenhillary]

A friend and I were toying with the idea of dropping a billion liberator single shot guns over the Middle East just as a thought. I came to the conclusion that it wouldn’t lead to freedom from government as most find comfort in their chains and security in their cages.

People have to want freedom. It’s scary outside of the cage.

I led me to the idea that America really will have been an exceptional period in American history. As much as I want freedom for myself and my family, more people seem to want security.

[luv2ski]

I heard yesterday (Rush?) that BHO was shocked by the 2010 elections. That he lives in a bubble of staff and advisors who tell him how great he is (he knows that anyway but likes to hear it) and doesn’t really get what is going on out in the real world.
I hope that is true for the general election as well: let him, in his own mind, believe that the public still loves him, that he still has the mojo he had in 2008 and will coast to victory. He is so narcissistic, it is possible he believes this.

[DannyTN]

If it was going to blow, I’m glad it’s blowing up before Obama leaves office. He can’t blame this on Bush or Romney.

It’s an expensive lesson, but maybe now we will have less support for the Obama way.

[9YearLurker]

I do look to the evening posting of the English newspapers to get the closest thing to real news on the US.

[Tuanedge]

“A crazy individual US citizen has uploaded a movie onto the Internet which denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.”

Crazy? That's not even in crazy's neighborhood.

Crazy is stealing a Koran from a mosque, tearing out the pages and soaking them in bacon grease, feeding them to dogs, combining the poop that results with menstrual blood and molding it into a little statue of Muhammad, making it into a jack-in-the-box and UPSing it to the High Mullah in Qom.

We elected a terrorist to the highest office in the land, don't tell US what crazy is...

[9YearLurker]

I’d say that’s a fair summation of W’s beliefs too.

[hal ogen]

Is the “movie” in any of the languages these savages mumble or is it in English? It was posted in July...I guess it took them a while using an English-Urdu dictionary to translate it and figure out it insulted them. These anti-civilization freaks are always insulted by the truth in any venue. Anyway, do any of these cromagnons have access to the internet in their mud-baked huts? Is smell some rancid BS here.

[9YearLurker]

Freedom is antithetical to Islam. You’d be picking the wrong part of the world.

[uncbob]

The deeply held Democrat and MSM belief that all you have to do is liberate people from serfdom and dictatorship, and then democracy and a market economy will develop more or less on their own, burned to ash ...

Don't leave out George Bush who thinks the Arab Spring was a good thing

[Texas resident]

The dims and their media will never turn on obama because their first loyalty is to their party, not to our country.
IF the media acts like they are turning on obama it will be false because all they will be doing is trying to protect their journalistic reputations, but it will be too little too late. The entire party and their media have chosen sides and it ain’t with us.

[Aria]

Correction: The deeply held Democrat and MSM belief that all you have to do is liberate people from serfdom and dictatorship, and then democracy and a market economy will develop more or less on their own, burned to ash ...

As I recall this was the rational for Bush's expedition into the ME also. It was supposed to be a series of dominos falling after throwing out Saddam.

[uncbob]

that BHO was shocked by the 2010 elections. That he lives in a bubble of staff and advisors who tell him how great he is (he knows that anyway but likes to hear it)

They also dictate policy and Obama just dances to their tune

[Grampa Dave]

Carter is Obama. Obama is Carter.

Both are Traitor Losers, who hate America!

Jimmy Carter's presidency was doomed by the Iranian hostage crisis after the US embassy in Tehran was stormed by Islamist extremists following the Iranian revolution.

A year after the 52 Americans were taken hostage, Carter lost the 1980 election. The hostages were released just as President Ronald Reagan, who defeated Carter, was sworn in.

1979

2012

As Clint noted, the Empty Chair improved by codetoad:

It is past time to fire Barack and have him hit the road back to Chicago!

Thanks to RushIsMyTeddyBear and Focault's Pendulum and for finding these morphing graphic art realities

[GOPJ]

Bush has been off the scene for four years... I suspect it's possible for our intelligence people to learn things about radical muslims they might NOT have known four years ago. This IS Obama's failure. If Romney's elected, everything he does will be his fault two weeks after he's in office... the press won't give him 4 years or 4 weeks to blame someone else.

9YearLurker - uncbob - - what's the point about the Bush comment? Since you both made almost identical comments.