Thursday June 4, 2009

I've Been Thinking:

Today President Obama stands in Cairo, addressing the Muslim world from an Arab capital.
The president of the United States of America will speak to his audience about misunderstandings and misapprehensions.

There is a certain irony to this scene.
Obama cannot push real democratic ideals from this spot. The soapbox he has chosen is one of the most notorious police states in the Arab world, it is a country that has no interest in liberalizing. And before arriving in Cairo, Obama visited Saudi Arabia, a monarchy that has shown almost no interest in democratic reforms.

Obama thinks he needs the Arab leaders. By embracing them and by embracing them on their playing field, he is accepting their terms -and their terms include the abuse of human rights.
The Bush administration had to sell its soul to the Arab leaders, too. But the previous administration received important counter terror intelligence in exchange. And even then the Americans were "asked" to butt out of internal Arab politics.

The Obama administration wants more than some info and intel. They want to transform the image of the United States in these areas and that means remaining mum on the thuggery inherent in the dictatorships and monarchies of the Middle East.

It is a mighty high price for a leading Western democracy to pay. And it is an even mightier disappointment for the many people of the region who are begging for and hoping that the United States under Obama will release them from their oppressive regimes and bring a ray of freedom and light.

What a shame, an all around shame.

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