Posted on 02/03/2006 11:18:23 PM PST by DesScorp
I vote relax.
The road of diplomacy requires a measured response. Now is not the time to rile the very people we’re attempting to free from fundamentalist subjugation. Their response should have been anticipated over this flap. In fact the cartoons are old news, published last year, and now being used by the terrorists to incite western hatred among the uneducated masses of Islam.
I highly doubt the majority of these protesters have even seen the offending toons. Think of them as useful idiots of the undeclared war against western civilization. Feel pity for their ignorance, not hatred. That emotion is for our enemies.
Diplomats responsibility is to kill our enemies with kindness, before, during, and after , we kick their butts. Anything less would be dereliction of duty to everyone involved in the war on terror.
Be nice (-:
Been there, done that....but the US Government should not in any way say anything other than the media has a right to publish those cartoons and anyone advocating violence as a response should be dealt with harshly.
QUESTION: Yes? Can you say anything about a U.S. response or a U.S. reaction to this uproar in Europe over the Prophet Muhammad pictures? Do you have any reaction to it? Are you concerned that the violence is going to spread and make everything just --
MR. MCCORMACK: I haven't seen any -- first of all, this is matter of fact. I haven't seen it. I have seen a lot of protests. I've seen a great deal of distress expressed by Muslims across the globe. The Muslims around the world have expressed the fact that they are outraged and that they take great offense at the images that were printed in the Danish newspaper, as well as in other newspapers around the world.
Our response is to say that while we certainly don't agree with, support, or in some cases, we condemn the views that are aired in public that are published in media organizations around the world, we, at the same time, defend the right of those individuals to express their views. For us, freedom of expression is at the core of our democracy and it is something that we have shed blood and treasure around the world to defend and we will continue to do so. That said, there are other aspects to democracy, our democracy -- democracies around the world -- and that is to promote understanding, to promote respect for minority rights, to try to appreciate the differences that may exist among us.
We believe, for example in our country, that people from different religious backgrounds, ethnic backgrounds, national backgrounds add to our strength as a country. And it is important to recognize and appreciate those differences. And it is also important to protect the rights of individuals and the media to express a point of view concerning various subjects. So while we share the offense that Muslims have taken at these images, we at the same time vigorously defend the right of individuals to express points of view. We may -- like I said, we may not agree with those points of view, we may condemn those points of view but we respect and emphasize the importance that those individuals have the right to express those points of view.
For example -- and on the particular cartoon that was published -- I know the Prime Minister of Denmark has talked about his, I know that the newspaper that originally printed it has apologized, so they have addressed this particular issue. So we would urge all parties to exercise the maximum degree of understanding, the maximum degree of tolerance when they talk about this issue. And we would urge dialogue, not violence. And that also those that might take offense at these images that have been published, when they see similar views or images that could be perceived as anti-Semitic or anti-Catholic, that they speak out with equal vigor against those images.
QUESTION: That the Muslims speak out with equal vigor when they see -- that's what you're asking?
MR. MCCORMACK: We would -- we believe that it is an important principle that peoples around the world encourage dialogue, not violence; dialogue, not misunderstanding and that when you see an image that is offensive to another particular group, to speak out against that. Anti-Muslim images are as unacceptable as anti-Semitic images, as anti-Christian images or any other religious belief. We have to remember and respect the deeply held beliefs of those who have different beliefs from us. But it is important that we also support the rights of individuals to express their freely held views.
snip to:
QUESTION: Do you caution America media against publishing those cartoons?
MR. MCCORMACK: That's for you and your editors to decide, and that's not for the government. We don't own the printing presses.
Lots of people jumping offside over nothing.
Lots of people jumping offside over nothing.
It appears that the MSM paid no attention to the official press briefing and went instead on a hunt to find someone that would express their own opinion.
Actually, we don't.
Actually, we don't.
Actually, that's called "diplomacy" at the State Dept. ;-)
It's called pandering to the rest of the us. The State Department should have immediately condemned the violence and left it at that. There is no law against getting your feel;ings hurt and every time we pretend there is, they behave more and more as if it were enshrined in law and we were the ones in violation.
The purpose of the State Dept. is diplomacy (pandering if you wish). I'm more upset with the media. It's their purpose to keep us informed. They are the true cowards in this.
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