Posted on 09/14/2012 11:15:09 AM PDT by IsraelBeach
Cross-Cultural Advice To Obama: Do Not Apologize To Islamic Arabs In Libya, Egypt, Yemen
By Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Jerusalem, The Capital of Israel --- September 13, 2012 ... As a professional, cross-cultural consultant who has trained dozens of diplomats in Israel, I can tell you that Barack Obama and the US State Department are making lethal cultural mistakes.
Following the tragic murders in Libya of US Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three members of his staff, you don't apologize. An apology would be great for politically correct Washington, New York, Hartford, LA, Paris and London but not the Middle East.
The US did nothing wrong, as it protects free speech and other freedoms. We need not apologize for our culture and values.
An apology coming from the US to Libya, Egypt, Yemen and Morocco would be interpreted as a sign of weakness. And with that a loss of respect. And with a loss of respect - more violence.
Cross-cultural differences are vast between the US and the Middle East.
How we perceive time and distance, is completely the opposite. How we greet one another, dress and do business are day and night.
What Barack Obama has done by apologizing for American values is too have weakened him as a President in the eyes of the Islamic world.
In less than his first 100 days, Obama had apologized on three continents for what he views as the sins of America and his predecessors. And he continues. And does so at the expense of both the American people and the US allies.
Obama apologizes to Islamic Arabs who wage a holy war against democracy as he tells Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu that he does not have time to meet with him. That even though children in Israel are today carrying gas masks, Iran does not need to be given red lines on its development of nuclear weapons.
President Obama - your "reaching out" to the Arab, Islamic world has failed.
Look at the facts.
The thugs who murdered Ambassador Stevens were not your every day street protesters. Stevens was killed in what appears to be an organized terror attack as street protesters do not come armed with RPG's and automatic weapons.
The Islamic terrorists appear to have launched this operation in celebration of and relation to 9/11 and are using the pretense of an anti-Islamic movie as a means to gather local support against the US, European nations and democracy.
What we are witnessing here is Islamic Jihad vs. Democracy. Al-Qaeda and or other Islamic terror organizations such as Iran backed Hamas spitting in the face of "Infidels" - Christians and Jews.
What was the first name of that Ambassador who was just murdered in Libya? Christopher?
And the US is losing this war.
What advice would I give to the White House and US State Department?
Stop apologizing and show measured force.
The Arab world only respects strength and force. This can be illustrated with the deployment of uniformed, local police working in cooperation with US, NATO troops. Those who committed murder and attacked embassies against both local and international law must be found and punished.
The US must take the valuable words stated by President Theodore Roosevelt a century ago - speak softly and carry a big stick. Roosevelt did not attribute this proverb to a store keeper in Chicago or a policeman in Texas, but rather Roosevelt attributed the term to a West African proverb. West Africa is very close to the Middle East. Closer than Washington.
Walking softly and carrying a big stick is not a policy which advocates violence. It is a policy which demands respect and actually reduces violence.
The US should not reduce aid and other humanitarian means. The US, Obama, the State Department must be understanding and respectful of other cultures as when in Rome act as a Roman. It does not mean apologizing for democratic values but rather showing force while using Arabic to explain your position that violence and murder is not acceptable.
Immediately after Islamic terrorists murdered US diplomats in Libya, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo issued a statement saying that it condemns "the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims - as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions." Not one word about those who murdered US diplomats and attacked US embassies around the Middle East.
US INTEL - the CIA, NSA, military intelligence, the FBI must stay on top of all that is going on in the Middle East to prevent acts of Islamic terrorism and retaliation back in the US against Muslims. To find the terrorists who murdered a US Ambassador and who are now fueling fires of hate against the US and democratic values of freedom.
The White House has said that Obama has "changed the image of America around the world" and made the U.S. "safer and stronger."
Tell that today to the families of our dead diplomats.
The White House must stop apologizing for being American.
Great article. Apologizing and accepting blame for American free speech is absurd.
Outing thr filmmaker is criminal.
This author gets it right...
The author assumes he isn’t doing it on purpose.
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