by John Hawkins | June 4, 2009 9:33 am
Obama obviously timed his speech in Cairo[1] (2 PM local time) to minimize the number of people in the states who might be tuning in live to see it in the States (before 8 AM). That was a good move given the alarming naivete that was on display from the man who’s supposed to be the leader of the free world.
On the one hand, you have to give Obama some credit for doing the speech. It’s nice to see the effort to reach out to the Muslim world — but, the weakness and foolishness of Barack Obama is more likely to embolden our enemies than it is to hearten the friends this country already has in the Muslim world.
Here are a few lines that stood out in particular:
I know, too, that Islam has always been a part of America’s story. The first nation to recognize my country was Morocco. In signing the Treaty of Tripoli in 1796, our second President John Adams wrote, The United States has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion or tranquility of Muslims. And since our founding, American Muslims have enriched the United States. They have fought in our wars, served in government, stood for civil rights, started businesses, taught at our Universities, excelled in our sports arenas, won Nobel Prizes, built our tallest building, and lit the Olympic Torch. And when the first Muslim-American was recently elected to Congress, he took the oath to defend our Constitution using the same Holy Quran that one of our Founding Fathers – Thomas Jefferson – kept in his personal library.
I understand what he’s trying to do with this, but Islam has NEVER been a meaningful part of America’s story. If America was a thousand page long novel, Islam would be the bit character who showed up for half a paragraph on page 292 and was never seen again. Creating these historical myths, “One Of The Largest Muslim Countries In The World” and “Islam has always been a part of America’s story,” is not truthful and therefore, it’s not helpful.
Much has been made of the fact that an African-American with the name Barack Hussein Obama could be elected President.
After all the complaining during the campaign — and even cries of racism about Barack Obama’s middle name being used, he’s now using it in his speeches. How ironic.
The dream of opportunity for all people has not come true for everyone in America, but its promise exists for all who come to our shores – that includes nearly seven million American Muslims in our country today who enjoy incomes and education that are higher than average.
Although nobody seems to have an accurate count of the number of Muslims in the US, this estimate seems to be way high. The real number is probably somewhere closer to 3 million[2].
Given our interdependence, any world order that elevates one nation or group of people over another will inevitably fail. So whatever we think of the past, we must not be prisoners of it. Our problems must be dealt with through partnership; progress must be shared.
Really? So, in Barack Obama’s view, the United States shouldn’t be elevated above, say Egypt or Afghanistan? This is not a man who believes in the greatness of the nation he leads. This is not a man who believes in American exceptionalism.
Let me also address the issue of Iraq. Unlike Afghanistan, Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. Although I believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein, I also believe that events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible.
Earlier in the speech, Barack Obama said, “We will, however, relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security” — but, Iraq was a war of choice, which he would have opposed. So, which is it? Are we going to “relentlessly confront violent extremists” or are we going to condemn confronting violent extremists as a “war of choice?” Don’t worry, he’ll eventually figure it out based on which way the poll numbers are.
I’d also note that we used diplomacy and sought international consensus on Saddam Hussein for more than a decade before we moved. If that doesn’t objectively qualify as using diplomacy and seeking international consensus, nothing does.
I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.
This is part of the moronic liberal world view that comes back to bite us in the behind again and again. Most of the people in the world who believe the United States has tortured people were convinced of it by American liberals or by people copying their arguments. The same goes for people who think ill of us having prisoners in Gitmo. Moreover, what happens if Gitmo doesn’t close by “early next year” because Obama can’t find a way to move the prisoners? Wouldn’t he have then lied to the “Muslim world?”
Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. Tomorrow, I will visit Buchenwald, which was part of a network of camps where Jews were enslaved, tortured, shot and gassed to death by the Third Reich. Six million Jews were killed – more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today. Denying that fact is baseless, ignorant, and hateful. Threatening Israel with destruction – or repeating vile stereotypes about Jews – is deeply wrong, and only serves to evoke in the minds of Israelis this most painful of memories while preventing the peace that the people of this region deserve.
Sadly, standing up against Holocaust denial, which is already laughed at as ignorant across most the planet, was probably the single most courageous part of Obama’s speech.
Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America’s founding.
That’s a particularly stupid analogy given that it completely ignores the Civil War.
I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America’s commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation – including Iran – should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.
Except that we are never going to have a world where “no nations hold nuclear weapons” unless a weapon is developed that is so powerful it makes the nuke obsolete. He might as well be promising gingerbread houses and Platinum Express cards for everyone that they’ll never pay off. Maybe I should delete that line. Knowing Obama, if he ever read it, he might try to borrow enough money to pull it off.
I know there has been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other.
Tell that to the Germans, Japanese, and South Koreans.
And in too many Muslim communities, there remains underinvestment in these areas. I am emphasizing such investment within my own country. And while America, in the past, has focused on oil and gas when it comes to this part of the world, we new seek a broader engagement.
On education, we will expand change programs and increase scholarships like the one that brought my father to America.
…On science and technology, we will launch a new fund to support technological development in Muslim majority country and to help transfer ideas to the marketplace so they can create more jobs. We will open centers of scientific excellence in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia and appoint new science envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, grow new crops.”
Given that this country has a massive debt and is running deficits so large that they threaten America’s future prosperity, I find it disturbing that Obama is bragging about creating new programs to spend money in the Muslim world. How about we get the deficit under control first?
Summary: As per usual, the TOTUS had a nice delivery on his speech and seemed to get a friendly reception from the crowd — but, the grotesque pandering and weakness he displayed make this speech much more of a negative than a positive.
PS: Can someone confirm that Barack Obama realizes that there was a Civil War?
Update #1: More commentary from Erick Erickson at Redstate[3],
This is perhaps one of the most disturbing parts of Barack Obama’s speech to the muslim world.
…Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust. ….Six million Jews were killed – more than the entire Jewish population of Israel today…..
On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people – Muslims and Christians – have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable.
The American Heritage Dictionary notes that the idiom “on the one/other hand” refers to “two sides of an issue”, that is two sides of the same issue.
How is what happened to the Jews the same issue as what is happening to the Palestinians?
I’m not sure whether Obama was deliberately trying to make that comparison, but it’s worth taking noting.
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