Looking for the Ideal Spot to Make a Speech (Obama to Give Major Speech in Islamic Capital)

NEW YORK TIMES ^ | December 4, 2008 | Helen Cooper

[Alter Kaker]

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s aides say he is considering making a major foreign policy speech from an Islamic capital during his first 100 days in office.

So where should he do it? The list of Islamic world capitals is long, and includes the obvious —Riyadh, Kuwait City, Islamabad — and the not-so-obvious — Male (the Maldives), Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), Tashkent (Uzbekistan). Some wise-guys have even suggested Dearborn, Mich., as a possibility.

Clearly it would be cheating for Mr. Obama to fly to Detroit, talk to Dearborn’s 30,000 Arab residents and call it a day. And Male and Ouagadougou, while certainly majority Muslim, can’t really be what Mr. Obama’s aides have in mind when they talk about locales for a high-profile speech that would seek to mend rifts between the United States and the broader Muslim world.

So Burkina Faso and the Maldives are out. But that leaves a whole swath of Islamic capitals, all ready to be spruced up for Mr. Obama to make his speech. I’ve thought hard about this, and asked a few people — diplomats even — which capital Mr. Obama should pick.

The consensus, after an entire day of reporting, is Cairo.

[redstateconfidential]

Obami's foreign policy platform

[TribalPrincess2U]

My usual first thought on about every story nowadays.

Of course!

[econjack]

...a high-profile speech that would seek to mend rifts between the United States and the broader Muslim world.

WTF? Maybe the "broader Muslim world" should stop running around the world murdering people if they want to mend rifts with the US. Screw 'em!

[Made In The USA]

How about Mecca? Isn’t B. Hussein supposed to lap that big box thingy a bunch of times? I think the ritual calls for Obama to wear a sombrero, whistle dixie, do shots of Gin, and briefly pause every so often to do the macarena dressed as Porky Pig.

[Ouderkirk]

Mecca.

There he can reveal that he has reformed from his apostate ways and that he has come home to the bosom of the Ummah.

[Txsleuth]

I am with you....this has to be a joke.

[missnry]

Asscrackistan?

[SevenofNine]

How about Indonesia LOL!

[TonyStark]

for a high-profile speech that would seek to mend rifts between the United States and the broader Muslim world.

Yes, this is the same "rift" that exists between a murderous stalker and his intended movie star victim. Having the movie star give a speech to the stalker doesn't typically reduce the threat.

[Centurion2000]

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama’s aides say he is considering making a major foreign policy speech from an Islamic capital during his first 100 days in office.

Hmmm .. I'm betting ... BABYLON ... about 90 klicks south of Baghdad.

[doug from upland]

He is an apostate. That idea is very dangerous.

[PapaBear3625]

Give it from Mecca, and show the world that you’re really Muslim.

[Txsleuth]

IF he goes to Mecca, the Secret Service better keep an eye out for Tom Tancredo. LOLOL

[VaBthang4]

Detroit or Minneapolis?

[nutmeg]

Is Minneapolis becoming as “Islamic” as Detroit?

[lilycicero]

I heard it smells really bad.

[null and void]

Is he? Al taqayya?

[Eric in the Ozarks]

OMG !

[VaBthang4]

"Step One in the path to Obama’s reconversion to Islam while in office. If he is re-elected in 2012, Obama will re-convert to Islam in January 2013."

Ugh...

...we have our own loons here at FR dont we?

[mouser]

Tehran Iran

That way he can meet with president mahmoud ahmadinejad at the same time.