Posted on 06/07/2009 3:40:58 AM PDT by MartinaMisc
PRESIDENT OBAMA went to the Middle East, he said, to speak frankly and forthrightly about the issues that bedevil America's relations with the Muslim world. "Part of being a good friend is being honest," he had said in an interview just before his trip. He warned his Cairo audience that he intended to be blunt. "We must say openly the things we hold in our hearts and that too often are said only behind closed doors," he declared, so he was going to "speak as clearly and plainly as I can."
About some things, the president was indeed direct. He conveyed his impatience with those - there are many in the Middle East - who blame the 9/11 terrorist attacks on a Jewish or American conspiracy. "Let us be clear: Al Qaeda killed nearly 3,000 people on that day" and "the victims were innocent men, women, and children . . . These are not opinions to be debated; these are facts to be dealt with."
He was even more scornful about Holocaust denial. "Six-million Jews were killed" by Nazi Germany, Obama said - "more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful."
Would that the rest of his remarks had been equally plain-spoken. As the first American president with Muslim roots, Obama benefits from much acclaim and goodwill in the Middle East. Rarely has a president had a better opportunity to openly address the pathologies and prejudices that drag Islamic societies backward, trapping so many of the world's Muslims in cultures that are unfree and unenlightened. As a candidate for president, Obama had argued that his experience of Muslim life gave him the moral authority to speak truth to Islamic power.
(Excerpt) Read more at boston.com ...
What the Brandenburg Gate was for Ronald Reagan in 1987, Cairo University could have been for Obama. Reagan seized the moment, spoke the truth, and helped liberate half a continent. All Obama did was give a speech.
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And play with his ‘false teeth S’s’ that drive me up a wall. I can’t listen to him more than two-three minutes.
All 0bama did was give an EMPTY speech. Actually TOTUS gave the speech, 0bama just moved his lips and let his “S’s” roll.
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