The Bishop and the Butterfly: Murder, Politics, and the End of the Jazz Age
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    Yeah, I'm still in love with our president ... (Obama's Speech to Muslims)

    By Deadman on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 3:18pm | Politics

    What can you add when one man says everything you're thinking and says it with such clarity and such poetry??

    All of us share this world for but a brief moment in time. The question is whether we spend that time focused on what pushes us apart or whether we commit ourselves to an effort, a sustained effort to find common ground, to focus on the future we seek for our children and to respect the dignity of all human beings.

    It's easier to start wars than to end them. It's easier to blame others than to look inward. It's easier to see what is different about someone than to find the things we share. But we should choose the right path, not just the easy path. There is one rule that lies at the heart of every religion, that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

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    Obama sure is a master of the spoken (and written) word. Quoting both the Qu'ran and the Talmud in the same speech: masterful.

    Even though the speech was intended to lay down broad principles, it is right now being parsed and reparsed in capital cities around the world. Among things that struck me, two stand out: Obama's explicit invitation to Hamas to play a role in shaping a Mideast peace, and his recognition of Iran's right to a nuclear program. The latter is not entirely new, but the context was interesting:

    "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."

    Got that? He wants Israel to join the NPT, which at the very least means opening its nuclear arsenal to inspection and regulation. Right now, that's just an aspiration, not a demand. But poor Bibi must be rolling over in his grave. Oh wait, he's not dead yet. He probably just wishes he were.


    by acanuck on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 5:23pm

    wow, funny that that's what you took from the speech. no doubt there was plenty to appeal to the audience to which he was speaking but there was plenty of language reaffirming America's bond with Israel and the need for Arabs to stop using that battle as an distraction from other issues (and i only wish some of the lines about jews and israel also received some of that freely given 'APPLAUSE').


    by Deadman on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 5:49pm

    These were "among the things that struck me" because both seemed to break new ground. Obama referring to U.S. bonds with Israel as "unbreakable" was indeed remarkable -- because of where it was being delivered and the audience it was being delivered to. But it didn't mark any kind of policy shift.

    On the other hand, Obama inviting Hamas -- by name -- to take an active and positive role in shaping the future state of Palestine was a far bolder and more radical move than even his outreach to Iran. He reiterated the standard preconditions, but his language was nuanced: Palestinians had to renounce violence, not renounce "terrorism."

    His choice of language was equally subtle throughout the speech. Describing U.S.-Iran relations as "tumultuous" struck me as almost intentionally humorous. Obama conceded what everybody (outside the U.S.) has long known: the CIA's "role" in overthrowing a democratically elected, secular Iranian government. He didn't apologize; he just acknowledged the truth, and the fact that it played into the future deterioration of U.S.-Iranian relations.

    Supreme Leader Khamenei may hold out for an abject apology, but I think the average Iranian will look at Obama's statement, and accept it as a genuine offer to turn the page on past grievances.

    Obama also anticipated the main criticism from the Muslim world: that pretty phrases and noble aspirations are no substitute for concrete actions. Although short on details, I think it was a pledge of concrete actions -- a commitment the president described as "personal."

    To see how well Obama connected, watch for the polls that will be published within a week or so. There is no way this speech did not significantly improve America's standing in the Muslim world. People will expect Obama to deliver, but I suspect the president intends to do so. 


    by acanuck on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 11:37pm

    I am struck less by the speech itself than by the fact that there was a speech and that the world tuned in to to watch. Can you imagine G.W. giving a speech to the nations of the Middle East? Could you imagine, were he to make such a speech, that it would make news for anything other than empty threats and verbal gaffes?

    What the Republican critics, lost in the textual details of moral equivalency and perceived capitulation, have missed is that this speech was an exercise of power. George Bush, for all his "shock and awe" and bellicose threats and Al Hurra broadcasts, was unable to achieve what Obama has done with minimal cost and no loss of life: Geoge Bush could not make people listen.


    by Michael Wolraich on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 6:25pm

    An exercise in power. Quite right, Genghis. At a time when the limitatations of military might are becoming ever more evident, Obama reiterates what he has always maintained is America's strength: the moral integrity of its national vision.

    Forget for the moment that he has to gloss over eight years of international perversity; he is speaking to a culture whose historical memory goes back centuries. So it's legit to quote Thomas Jefferson and say, "That's what my country is really all about." As I said above, they'll expect him to deliver. But then Obama himself intends to match his deeds to words. He said at the beginning of his speech we would try to speak plainly and truthfully. He's put his sincerity on the line; most people understand the odds he faces. I think he'll win his bet.


    by acanuck on Thu, 06/04/2009 - 11:55pm