Perhaps Khalaf would like to wash Obamessiah's feet while he is kissing his ass.
Almost universally, anything Obama does, is questionable - either its purpose, the end result, or the impact upon the nation and people. Almost everything. It is getting bloody difficult to do anything that doesn't begin and end with him, but the frustration level is very high. I believe he is doing more damage than had Bush nuked Baghdad, and the damage he is creating and causing now will impact us for at least another decade, and what he does in three years will be impacting us for the next fifteen years - at a cost of tens of thousands of lives.
Retardicans are also to blame. Conservatives are to blame. Democrats are to blame. Liberals are the cause of the problems, but no one is free of responsibility. It is very sad when someone like Khalaf writes the rubbish he does and the Economist prints it. One of the most prestigious magazines in the world, prints a glowing report of the Obamification of the Middle East, but for a small fact - the number of Muslims who want to destroy Western Civilization hasn't changed by one, yet the US is weaker as a result of Obama's ignorant ramblings.
Obama cracks the code to reach Islam
By Roula Khalaf
Published: June 4 2009 18:37 Last updated: June 4 2009 20:05
No wonder extremist leaders were nervous ahead of Barack Obama’s landmark address in Cairo, frantically firing off warnings to Muslims not to fall for his words.
For years the likes of Osama bin Laden have claimed to speak on behalf of oppressed Muslim communities as they perverted the message of Islam and exploited the conflicts in the Middle East to stoke fear and violence.
But Mr Obama took them on, not with threats to “smoke them out” or warnings that “you are with us or against us”, but with eloquence, authority, a deep grasp of Muslim history and an understanding of Muslim grievances.
Opening with a broad smile and the Muslim greeting of “Assalum Alaykum” (peace be upon you), Mr Obama drew on his family ties to Islam (mentioning his middle name Hussein) and his respect for Islamic civilisation to present himself as a credible interlocutor eager to end the “cycle of suspicion and discord”.
Rarely, if ever, has an American leader drawn so much applause from an audience in the Muslim world, or dared to quote the Koran so often (the only glitch in Mr Obama’s speech, and it was minor, was to refer to the Muslim headscarf, which he defended, as a hajib, rather than a hijab).
The audience, selected by the US to include friends and foes of America, gave Mr Obama a standing ovation.
Throughout the speech his message was the US was neither weak nor looking to appease its enemies but would act with fairness and on the basis of mutual respect.
Yes, the US has made mistakes, he said, acknowledging it had played a role in the 1953 coup in Iran that overthrew a democratically elected government. But he insisted that “we must not be prisoners” of the past.
If there was a magic list of words his audience wanted to hear, he delivered it. He spoke of the pain of colonialism, the suffering of Palestinians under occupation (their situation was “intolerable”), and the need for Israel to stop expanding settlements.
He underlined the US’s resolve to withdraw from Iraq and, eventually Afghanistan, without leaving “military bases”, countering deeply held suspicions in the region. And he highlighted a continued commitment to “democracy” and the rule of law, even as he warned that no country should impose its model of governance on another.
But he stated bluntly the US bond with Israel was “unbreakable” and called on Palestinians and Arab governments to contribute to the search for peace and choose “progress” over the “self-defeating” policies of the past.
With the change of tone from the Bush years, and the gracious delivery – the word “terrorism” did not even feature – Mr Obama has started turning the page on eight years in which the “war on terror” was perceived by Muslims as an attack on Islam.
Even before the speech, there were signs that thanks to his personal appeal, the US’s battered image in the Arab world was starting to improve. There were also hints that in Iran, for example, Mr Obama was perceived by the regime as more threatening than George W. Bush because of his ability to present a more moderate face of America.
[This is brilliant - Bush was terrible for world peace and Iran because he was threatening everyone, while Obama is perceived as worse because he is more moderate.]
But the speech also poses risks for Mr Obama. While he addressed masterfully the conflicting pressures the US faces in the region, he will find translating them into coherent policies far more challenging, if not impossible.
Mr Obama called for a joint effort to create a world where extremists no longer threatened Americans, US troops returned home, Israelis and Palestinians lived in secure states of their own, and nuclear energy was used only for peaceful purposes. It is an ambitious vision that would transform the Middle East, but it raises expectations far beyond the US’s ability to deliver.
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For people like Khalaf and Obama, facts do not matter. Khalaf suggests Obama understands Arab culture - I would argue just the opposite, and given the fact Khalaf claims Obama does understand it, I would argue Khalaf doesn't understand it well either, or he is purposely conveying something which is not true.
The fact is that Muslims kill other Muslims with far greater frequency than Westerners kill Muslims or even greater frequency than Muslims kill Westerners.
Small detail. Not important.
Obama did say that although he did "believe that the Iraqi people are ultimately better off without the tyranny of Saddam Hussein" he also believed that "events in Iraq have reminded America of the need to use diplomacy and build international consensus to resolve our problems whenever possible."
I am not sure whether I should throw up first or after, or maybe I should just bang my head on the wall until my skull is mush, maybe stick my head into a wood chipper, or jump into a pit of hungry lions.
Obama's statement shows a naivete that defies understanding. It shows he is not only naive, but ignorant, and that combination will be deadly for Americans.
The United States spent several years negotiating with Saddam in 1991. The UN negotiated. The world condemned, the world demanded Saddam conform to international norms ... and he ignored them. In 2001, Bush demanded Saddam open his nuclear program up for inspection - Saddam said yes, then no, then he taunted and openly violated international law. Bush spent over two years using diplomacy on Saddam and it didn't work.
Barack Hussein Obama has flaunted his Muslim roots, he isn't hiding them as he did during the campaign - now he is flaunting them, believing he does, that he has a special mission from Allah, to bring Christian and Muslim together - his childhood is the reason he can do it, and he believes he was sent to do just that. A man with a mission from God. A little different than Bush who prayed for guidance from God, Barack Hussein believes God has directed him to become the unifier.
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