Posted on 09/14/2012 7:14:23 AM PDT by barryobi
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
"The murder of an ambassador in Libya and the attacks on US diplomatic missions in other Arab countries is sure to strengthen the skepticism that more than a few Americans feel toward Muslims and the political changes brought by the Arab revolutions. The deeply held American belief that all you have to do is liberate people from serfdom and dictatorship, and then democracy and a market economy will develop more or less on their own, burned to ash in the trial by fire of Iraq. A fact that academics and historically informed diplomats have always known can now be observed throughout the Arab world: Deeply ingrained cultural attitudes do not change simply because one political regime replaces another. In the long process of building a democratic society, it is not possible to simply skip stages."
TBerliner Zeitung writes
"The attacks on US embassies and consulates in the Arab world can not be justified in any way. If it turns out that al-Qaida is behind the attacks, as some US officials suspect, then they are acts of terrorism committed under the guise of religion. If they turn out to be uncoordinated actions by angry believers, then they are an expression of a frightening ignorance. A crazy individual US citizen has uploaded a movie onto the Internet which denigrates the Prophet Muhammad. The US government can not be held responsible for that. But that clearly does not help US President Barack Obama very much. He has to bear the political consequences of the recent events"
"Four years ago, Obama pledged to seek reconciliation with the Muslim world. Now, it is doubtful whether he has succeeded. The US and its European allies now have to ask themselves how much support they still enjoy in the countries of the Arab Spring."
(Excerpt) Read more at spiegel.de ...
My answer to Lurker:
I believed once - a long time ago - that people in the middle east wanted freedom. But for years now I’ve realized it isn’t true. Muslims don’t want freedom - they want the ‘stuff’ that a free society can produce - but they want it under Islamic law. And that’s not possible unless they’re lucky enough to live under a money tree or be born on top of a pool of oil. Some cultural ideas produce wealth - some produce violence.
Islam is so intertwined with governing that religion and state can’t be separated without outside force. There will never be a true ‘rule of law’ type democracy in an islamic country.
Our ideas are incompatible with Sharia.
Most freepers understand that - and have expressed it over the years. And we learned that by watching the world - we don’t have access to the same level of intelligence reports that Obama and Hillary have. Obama should have based US policy on knowing how Sharia works - he had a Pakistani room-mate in college after all... And he has all the intelligence agencies of the United States working to give him reliable information. I don’t think he sent them all away so he could follow Bush’s lead... silly stuff there.
Sharia is so controlling it tells men how to push back their hair. What fingers to use. Really.
When Hillary expressed surprise that these people would pay us back for liberating them with violence, it told me she had no clue how everyday people in the ME feel... United States policy should be based on reality not wishful thinking. The reality is what you’re seeing on your TV screen - and it’s going to get worse as they perceive us as ‘weak’.
Tell me, did you think apologizing was a good idea? Or did you think it would inflame Muslims? My guess is you knew 9YearLurker. You knew it was a bad idea just like the rest of us. Now ask yourself, why didn’t Obama and Hillary know. How can you explain that?
I think Obama knew full well what he was doing. Remember, his first big foreign visit and speech was in Egypt, where he set precedent by inviting the Muslim Brotherhood to attend. I don’t take him to be a Muslim believer, but I do believe he is a Muslim loyalist.
Hillary is something of a useful idiot to the likes of Obama. She doesn’t really set policy IMO, but is happy to play the role of SoS since she couldn’t be president.
“One thing is clear: If jihadists believe they can attack American installations and kill an ambassador on the anniversary of Sept. 11, then America’s deterrent power has declined considerably. For a superpower, it is not enough just to want to be loved. You have to scare the bad guys to keep them in check.”
Very true—and why it hasn’t happened since Carter was president.
It reminds me of the stories about white South African women ( before the take-over) talking about how some black woman working in their home was their 'best friend'. Or whites in the years ago racist south bragging about how much the 'darkkies' loved them - you know 'mammy' and all. Can people be that blind? Looking back it's laughable. That the same is going on today in our State Department isn't funny. That type of silliness is a common delusion among those who are able to 'lord it over' others, but that doesn't help. Our people need to put away their desire to have their egos massaged and be real. Delusions of grandeur always bites in the end.
Anyhow, I don't care what delusions people have about the ME AS LONG AS they're not President or Secretary of State or one of our congressmen who loves being kissed up to - in exchange for taxpayer billions.
What we really need is for our own, flawed, presidential candidate and team to be in office by January.
It seems fairly common for pols to be simultaneously cynical bastards and dupes. I suspect Hillary fits into that category just fine.
It seems fairly common for pols to be simultaneously cynical bastards and dupes.
That sums it up beautifully. I'm impressed. Until next time...
Don’t drop the liberators. According to my NRA magazine they were’t that effective.
FRegards.
Obama’s foreign policy is in ruins? That’s strange. So is our economy. :(
Setup for Internet censorship?
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