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Obama’s Sweet Middle Eastern Nothings
Commentary Magazine ^ | January 27, 2009 | Eric Trager

Posted on 01/27/2009 7:05:39 AM PST by Jbny

Upon hearing that President Barack Obama sat for an interview with pan-Arab satellite news channel al-Arabiya, my first inclination was to salute him for doing his best to sell U.S. foreign policy to a broad Arab audience. But then I read the transcript. Brace yourself - what follows is a series of statements that range from naively optimistic to disturbingly misinformed:

Well, I think the most important thing is for the United States to get engaged right away. And George Mitchell is somebody of enormous stature. He is one of the few people who have international experience brokering peace deals.

Apparently, my fears have been confirmed: Obama believes that Mitchell’s reputation and experience are sufficient for catalyzing progress toward Israeli-Palestinian peace. He is sorely mistaken. Indeed, the key factor determining the success or failure of an envoy is the extent to which the envoy speaks for the President of the United States himself. Israelis and Palestinians are most likely to respond to an envoy whose word can be backed by tangible power; political celebrities, on the other hand, will be treated with suspicion, if not ignored entirely.

(Excerpt) Read more at commentarymagazine.com ...


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Government; Israel; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bho2009; bho44; bhoforeignpolicy; bhogwot; bhointerview; bhomiddleeast; husseinobama; israel; middleeast; mitchell; obama; palestine
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1 posted on 01/27/2009 7:05:39 AM PST by Jbny
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To: Jbny

We can only hope Obama is lying as much to our enemies as he is to us.


2 posted on 01/27/2009 7:09:50 AM PST by poindexter
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To: poindexter

Ummm - I watched the interview and granted I am not a MEast expert but I thought well at least it’s a change in direction and hopefully gets the 98% of the Muslims in the world to see that we’re not out to get them — as you know, we take care of our backyard first (that includes our family/friends/community) so perhaps this will get the 99% of Muslims to find/root out the fundamentalist 2% that are causing a lot of the problems


3 posted on 01/27/2009 7:18:05 AM PST by GerardKempf (Let's Get Over This)
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To: GerardKempf
This is disturbing to put it simply. I mean Jesus he is 10x worse than carter with his naivety. I dont want to put the muslims at ease i want them to fear what will happen if one more major American gets attacked
4 posted on 01/27/2009 7:21:22 AM PST by republicansforever
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To: Jbny

Islam only respects brute force against them. Anything less and you are considered weak and cowardly. STUPID OBAMA! This idiot is clueless!


5 posted on 01/27/2009 7:21:49 AM PST by WellyP
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To: Jbny

What’s in a name ?
They will just add his name to the death to Americans list.


6 posted on 01/27/2009 7:21:59 AM PST by 4Speed
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To: republicansforever

This is disturbing to put it simply. I mean Jesus he is 10x worse than carter with his naivety. I dont want to put the muslims at ease i want them to fear what will happen if one more major American City gets attacked
Sorry For Double post. Missed a word


7 posted on 01/27/2009 7:22:56 AM PST by republicansforever
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To: GerardKempf

“Islam” knows perfectly well that we’re not “out to get them.” They’re out to get us, and we’re just having the bad taste to resist. Of course, that’s something Obama knows perfectly well, so the only conclusion is that he sympathizes with their goal. What do you expect of a President who was educated in a madrassa and can recite the shahada by heart?


8 posted on 01/27/2009 7:26:30 AM PST by livius
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To: dennisw; Cachelot; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; Lent; GregB; ..
If you'd like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

He's nice looking, speaks well, dress' nicely. Even his VP describes him as clean and articulate. If he's lacking content, you can't have everything.

9 posted on 01/27/2009 7:32:28 AM PST by SJackson (The American people are wise in wanting change, 2 terms is plenty, Condi Rice)
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To: GerardKempf

You are deluding yourself. The Wahabbi and their ilk and the Ayatollahs have their hands on the oil revenues and thus their influence is pervasive and they make sure that the vast majority of the population never hears the truth.


10 posted on 01/27/2009 7:32:42 AM PST by AmericanVictory
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To: GerardKempf

Every day we witness another series of total cluelessness and sheer ignorance. Every friggin’ day there’s something else that makes absolutely no sense. God help us all.


11 posted on 01/27/2009 7:33:18 AM PST by bergmeid (Watchin' Obrother self-destruct)
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To: GerardKempf

Helllllooooooooo!!! Muslims are out to get us. That’s the problem. Since when was the U.S. out to get Muslims?


12 posted on 01/27/2009 7:36:37 AM PST by abclily
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To: AmericanVictory

And the more ME oil we buy, the more terrorists we pay for.


13 posted on 01/27/2009 7:40:22 AM PST by abclily
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To: GerardKempf
That is so sweet by you and Obama to share.

Do you realize how far back those 2%ers (More like 20% and I am being generous) have hamperd America?

In 1778, Adams and Jefferson were met with: "(Islam) was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Quran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in Battle was sure to go to Paradise."Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja, Ambassador of the "Dey of Algiers".

Keep in mind Adams and Jefferson did nothing to provoke these people. You seem like an educated man, why don't you go back further, before the Crusades, and see what those 2%ers have done (And were quite victorious as well). Maybe you might realize why they have not or will not stop, even if America "minds it's own business".
14 posted on 01/27/2009 7:42:13 AM PST by rollo tomasi (Working hard to pay for deadbeats and corrupt politicians.)
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To: livius
I suspect that there are two kinds of muslims. The kind that want to kill us outright and the kind who believe that we will slowly destroy ourselves as they progressively take over. Μολὼν λάβε
15 posted on 01/27/2009 7:45:40 AM PST by wastoute (translation of tag "Come and get them (bastards)")
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To: GerardKempf
So you agree with Obama that the root cause of our conflict with fundamentalist islam is the racism and ignorance of the American citizen?

A significant minority (if not a majority) of muslims believe that non-muslims have three options:

From the sound of it, Obama would be OK with dhimmitude or perhaps even conversion - which one are you going to opt for?

16 posted on 01/27/2009 7:52:34 AM PST by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
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To: GerardKempf

I apologize, the quote was made in 1786, not 1778.


17 posted on 01/27/2009 7:55:31 AM PST by rollo tomasi (Working hard to pay for deadbeats and corrupt politicians.)
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To: Jbny

I was reading some of the comments from the news article and the DUmmies are at it again....

One guy actually said that his first TV interview on a ME TV station was strong and he did it because of respect...i don’t know about you guys but not a single Muslim found that “respectful” in any way. They are still looking to wipe us and Isreal off the face of this Earth. Obama is not doing the right thing here if you really think about it.

That 2% is always gonna be there of Muslims who don’t like anyone, so the only way to douse an out of control fire is to suffocate it....same with radical islamist terrorists, they need to be “removed”, not talked with....


18 posted on 01/27/2009 8:13:56 AM PST by VanillaBlizzard
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To: GerardKempf
. . .and hopefully gets the 98% of the Muslims in the world to see that we’re not out to get them — as you know, we take care of our backyard first (that includes our family/friends/community) so perhaps this will get the 99% of Muslims to find/root out the fundamentalist 2% that are causing a lot of the problems.

Where do you get these numbers and as well the idea that the 'problem' lies in their imagining 'we are out to get them'?

Do not accept either of these as the root of the problem here.

19 posted on 01/27/2009 8:48:25 AM PST by cricket (America's Freedom Rings! Thank You ~ U..S.A. Military~/)
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To: Jbny

Historically, Arabs have been in an expansionist mode, or when pushed back, in a kind of depressive state. Right now, well you already know. The West, as Mark Helprin has suggested a number of times, must aggressively push back. The world is not an American New Age kidergarden, where every child is exceptionally talented and rewarded for it.


20 posted on 01/27/2009 8:55:23 AM PST by Revolting cat! (Let us prey!)
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