Obama’s Cairo Speech
Yes, I’ve read it. As with most of Obama’s speeches, it is a good speech and as with most of his speeches, hits all the right notes and says all the right things. What it all means, however, remains to be seen. One of the things I’ve learned so far with Barack Obama is not to take what he says too seriously as he is prone to ignore his own words or change his mind.
I also wonder if it will be considered a goodwill speech or a lecture by many. I know Israel isn’t going to be particularly happy about portions of it.
I compliment him for addressing some rather controversial issues (and this is where my thoughts about “lecturing” come from) such as women’s rights, religious freedom and democracy. None of the problems he addresses will change because of his speech nor is what he said new or original. He also spoke about Jews and quoted the Torah in Egypt which I found rather interesting.
Terrorism? The word was never mentioned. The closest he gets is talking about “extremists”. While he addressed some controversial issues, he avoided this one altogether.
And, unfortunately, he validated an Al Qaeda talking point about torture by claiming “I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture”. While he may feel that his point is important and the truth, it is a rookie mistake to hand enemies validation like this. He also tried to have it both ways with Iraq, claiming we’re better off without Saddam but essentially condemning the action that made that possible. Again, he probably thought that was an important point, but all it does is validate the other side’s talking (and recruiting) points.
Obama claims this speech establishes a framework for a new era of cooperation with the Islamic world. And, of course, that mostly has the US doing the giving and the “Islamic world” doing the taking. What that means, in real terms, about establishing a new era of cooperation with the nations of Islam, remains to be seen. But given what was outlined, it seems to pretty much be business as usual wrapped up in an eloquent rhetorical wrapper marked “new and improved”.
Anyway, just a few thoughts. You should take the time to read the speech. But, as I implied earlier, Obama is outstanding at talking the talk. Walking the walk, on the other hand, hasn’t yet proven to be his strong suit.
~McQ
He lies so eloquently.
I was not all that impressed. It struck me as a ‘peace in our time’ sort of speech. The problem here is not Islam. The problem is groups such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and al-Qaeda, which have no desire for peace no matter how much Obama hopes for it.Â
The speech, while well delivered, was naive at its core.
Iran told Obama to shove it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/04/AR2009060402305.html?hpid=topnews
It didn’t take long for Iran to toss a bucket of cold water in the President’s face, did it?
I’m kinda tight on time, today.
My comments here
Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Steven Ballmer said the world’s largest software company would move some employees offshore if Congress enacts President Barack Obama’s plans to impose higher taxes on U.S. companies’ foreign profits.When you’ve lost Steve Ballmer .. it’s over.
@Tonus
Ironically enough, one of the toughest problems for moderate Islam are regimes like Iran and their proxy terrorist organizations.Â
McQ,
You missed the point all together his speech was for the Moslems who truly hate that their religion has been hijacked by a radical fringe. The Bush administration created the impression that all Moslems where terrorist in the minds of many Americans. The speech is winning support from a people who are the only ones that can put an end to terrorist attacks around the world and that is the true followers of the Islam. The day is quickly coming when this war will be settled not by U.S Military, but Moslems around the world and the President has the foresight to understand that. God Bless.
faith.Â
The Bush administration created the impression that all Moslems where terrorist in the minds of many Americans
The “Moslems” who killed innocent men, women and children and the ones who applauded those killers gave that impression all by their lonesome. And even then, very few Americans think that all Muslims are terrorists.
“The Bush administration created the impression that all Moslems where terrorist in the minds of many Americans.”
Yeah, I remember all of the speeches where Bush said “Islam means War” and how we had the TSA specifically check any Moslem boarding a plane.
LOL.
Or the calendar showing Muslim Americans in America. Or the marketing efforts by State and others. You know, I think I have this figured out, if you have the MSM behind you, the marketing actually works.
To his credit, Bush called Islam a religion of peace, and tried to reach out to Muslims and assure them this was not against their faith.  Most Muslims found that to be a rhetorical sop given all that was happening in American policy (and, of course, there was a lot of Islamophobia in the public).  I think Bush tried to say the right things — and perhaps because of efforts in the schools, students are now starting to show more knowledge and understanding of Islam than even five years ago.
It’s interesting how the rest of the world is reacting to Obama’s speech. http://www.newsy.com/videos/obama_s_balancing_act As always, there’s both positive and negative remarks. However, the negative remarks stem more from the common question, “How does Obama plan to get this done.” You can preach peace and unity as much as you want.Â
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“The Bush administration created the impression that all Moslems where terrorist in the minds of many Americans.”
You mean like in the immediate aftermath of 911 when Bush was giving speeches calling Islam a religion of peace? Or how about when Bush wanted the Dubai/Ports deal to go down? Or perhaps when he held the hand of Saudi royal family member…….