And so the oppressed remain oppressed, with no one to speak for them, and those who believe that they have a divine responsibility to wage war against those who do not share their creed, impose institutional inequality upon women and disbelievers, and extinguish the freedom of speech and the freedom of conscience, see that the putative leader of the free world fears to speak out against them.
Here is an analysis of Obama's disastrous Cairo speech.
"The crafting of Obama's Cairo speech to world's Muslims," by Christi Parsons in the Los Angeles Times, August 2 (thanks to James):
Reporting from Washington -- He sat with his legs crossed in an armchair in the Oval Office, his brow furrowed. Aides clustered on the couches around him. They could see black scratch marks all over their proposal for the most sensitive speech of his young presidency -- his long-promised address to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims.For weeks, they had toiled over the text. Now, some stole glances at the lead writer of the address, 31-year-old Ben Rhodes, as the lengthening silence confirmed that their best shot had fallen short.
Finally, President Obama dropped the manuscript into his lap and took a deep breath.
"I know you've been under a lot of pressure to get this right," he said. "But this speech is way too cautious. We have to say everything and say everything candidly. I'm not going all the way to Cairo to do anything else."...
Candidly? Yet he stood at the brink of the defense of human rights, and drew back:
Obama worked his way around the cream-colored couches that flank the Oval Office fireplace, probing his aides' thoughts."We knew all the arguments not to say things," one recalled.
"He said, 'Look, put all those concerns aside. We need to be aware of them. . . . But I'm not going to fail to raise 9/11. I'm not going to not talk about women's rights in this way because it might be uncomfortable for some people.' "...
Some Israelis and American Jews recoiled at the way Obama juxtaposed the suffering of the Holocaust and centuries of anti-Semitic persecution with the experience of Palestinians under Israeli occupation.
Some Muslims were stunned to hear a Christian American president quote the Koran as he spoke to them about changing their attitudes toward Israel....
Other experts warned of pitfalls.
Talking about 9/11 would feed the theory widely believed in the Arab world that the U.S. had staged the attacks to justify military action against Islam. Decrying unequal treatment of women could bring charges of hypocrisy because of U.S. friendship with the likes of the Saudi royal family.
One especially emphatic warning came from a couple of Middle Eastern scholars. Beware of quoting the Koran, they said; the president might sound like he is pandering.
Worse, the complexities of Koranic interpretation might open Obama to ridicule by hostile clerics. Obama would "be playing on the turfs of the religious authorities," said one person who was present. "And then who are people going to believe -- the president of the United States, or the sheik?"...
References to the Koran changed, too. Instead of tucking quotations deep in the speech, Rhodes followed Obama's admonition to invoke the Islamic holy text more prominently.
Rashad Hussain, a devout Muslim on loan from the White House counsel's office, suggested the passage: "There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, 'Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.' "...
A motorcade sped them through the streets. Then, surreally, the frenetic pace was interrupted as the president paused to tour the Sultan Hassan Mosque, one of the world's oldest.
Hussain from the White House counsel's office joined Rhodes, McDonough and others trailing behind Obama.
Afterward, there was a hint that the Cairo speech achieved at least one goal -- reaching over the heads of leaders and making contact with ordinary Muslims.
Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center, heard poignant evidence of that.
A friend in Cairo told Salem that on the day of the speech, he saw a little boy walking along the street, a smile on his face as he chanted in a soft, singsong voice: "Obama quoted the Koran. Obama quoted the Koran."
Here are some of the comments that were made when this article was first posted, during the IntenseDebate era.
AIKENBRYCE said - From the article,
"Rashad Hussain, a devout Muslim on loan from the White House counsel's office, suggested the passage: "There must be a sustained effort to listen to each other , to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground. As the Holy Koran tells us, 'Be conscious of God and speak always the truth.' "...
- Why?
- Tells who?
-Is it possible that the remainder, non-muslim, MAJORITY don't give a chit about the, world's 1.5 billion Muslims?
JEWLOVER said - He should have started his speech as follows:
"I know Muslims are not allowed to doubt the Koran (2:1), and Muslims are not allowed to have non-Muslims as friends (5:51), and that non-Muslims are sworn enemies of Islam (4:101).
'I also know that Muslims are allowed to lie to non-Muslims to advance Islam which is called Taqqiya (Koran 3:28, 16:106),
'I know too that Muslims must terrorize non-Muslims (8:12), and that the only guaranteed way to get to heaven is to kill us non-Muslims (9:111).
'I also realize that non-Muslims must convert to Islam, be killed, or pay a penalty tax called Jizya to remain alive (9:29), and non-Muslims are the vilest of creatures deserving no mercy (98:6),
'and I'm also aware of hundreds of other hateful, violent passages against non-Muslims that I learned when I studied Islam in Indonesia,
'but putting all of this aside,' (Now you can continue with the speech Mr. President).
BOSCHFAWSTIN said - my cartoon take on BO's Submission Speech in Egypt
[he provided a link but alas, my browser didn't carry it over]
ABU LAHAB - (quoting) "saw a little boy walking along the street, a smile on his face as he chanted in a soft, singsong voice: "Obama quoted the Koran. Obama quoted the Koran." "
[VOMIT]
CAPTAINAMERICA said - Pandering to those that attacked us.
Perhaps the US should have reached out to fascist Japan to try to understand the root cause of Pearl Harbor.
Obama sells out the US, the men & women who have taken an to protect it, and the people they protect. Charlatan! I hope my words wil sound to future generations. Protect our liberty. Protect our founding principles. Protect the United States.
SWILLIAMS2 said - Damage control. That's what this article is about. Every item that has been criticized in the American press is addressed. in the article.
WELLINGTON said - Trying to work your way around Islam being rotten and putting a happy face on it is a multi-faceted task which is very exhausting---------and ultimately self-defeating. Made worse if you don't grasp that this is the result of such futile effort; for instance, like all those in the Obama Administration who still remain clueless (unfortunately most everyone).
PROFITSBEARD said - The "lead writer of the address" was a "31 year old"?
How old was he when the Iranians seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran?
1.
Wise choice, O' Barry the Childish.
MO said - Why do people keep referring to this man as a Christian? A Christian is someone who follows Christ. Someone who follows Christ does not support infanticide, or sit in a racist/heretical "church" for 20 years, does not turn their back on Israel, does not turn their back on those fighting oppression in Iran, etc.
A follower of Christ certainly does not pander to a religion which not only denies EVERYTHING Christianity stands for (theologically speaking), but which also teaches a special hatred of both Christians and Jews, and which oppresses, enslaves and brutalizes every other group of people!
-HESPERADO said - Unfortunately, millions [NO: I would say thousands, and mostly among the leadership] of Western Christians whitewash Islam and promote, and participate in, various "inter-faith dialogues" and "bridge-building seminars" with Muslims -- and if some of them don't actively do these things, the majority passively countenance it, all over the West. Unless you are prepared to whittle down "true Christians" to a tiny minority of Jihad Watchers [and all those thousands of Christian missionaries who see Islam in the raw every day], you must realize this is a bigger cultural problem than you might think.
-MO replied - "This is true. But when it comes to Obama in particular, there is absolutely nothing that would lead me to believe he even knows what Christianity teaches, let alone has dedicated his life to it!
'In the grand scheme of things, this is a minor issue.
'It's just that I hear him referred to as a Christian so often and it strikes me as completely bizarre. A Christian is not someone who believes God exists, or goes to church sometimes. (Or regularly.)
'A Christian by the biblical definition is someone who believes Jesus Christ is the who he claimed to be - God come in the flesh, and the only way to forgiveness and heaven after death.
'I sure can't imagine this man claiming such a thing. Why others would put this upon him when he would never say it himself is beyond me."
And here's the rest of what I kept.
JOEBLOUGH said. - Off topic: Heads Up. Just in from Claudia Rosett.
From: Defenders of Democracy Out, Old Friends of Saddam In
'No, it’s not Iraq we’re talking about here. It’s the U.S. State Department. In an editorial on “Banishing Our Friends,” The Wall Street Journal reports that the State Department has revoked the diplomatic visas of a number of officials from Honduras, where the "interim government is part of a struggle" to defend democratic institutions against the Hugo Chavez-style aspirations of the ousted president, Manual Zelaya.
Meanwhile, urged on "by the United Nations" the same State Department has been quietly "busy batch-processing some 1,300 or more Palestinians in Iraq, former favored guests and beneficiaries of Saddam Hussein" for permanent resettlement in the U.S".
Basically, State is proposing to import to the U.S. almost the entire population of a refugee camp located along the Iraqi border with Syria.
I’ve always been in favor of admitting as many refugees to the U.S. as safely and reasonably possible — especially refugees who have put their lives on the line to stand up for democratic values.
But about these Palestinians, whose interests were long entwined with Saddam’s, may we at least hear more on why the administration believes there is no security risk? More in my column for Forbes.com , on “Your Tired, Your Poor, Guests of Saddam.”
-HESPERADO replied to Joeblough - (quoting) "these Palestinians, whose interests were long entwined with Saddam’s"
Remember also that Saddam reguarly raised funds to reward the families of Palestinian suicide bomber "marytrs".
CZECH6 said - "You can tell who the "leader of the free world" is by who attacks him as a bitter enemy. Today, Mr. Obama--the President of the United States--is not the leader of the free world--Geert Wilders is.
The free world will not be free much longer if the obamas of this world remain in political power. Mr. Obama is crippling the United States of America. Displaying flippant ideological arrogance, profound ignorance of history, fascistic abuse of power, and disrespect for American heritage, he has abdicated the fight to preserve freedom in the West. That freedom was won by our forebears through centuries of toil, sweat, and struggle against slavery and barbarism. Mr. Obama dishonors that sacrifice. He apologizes to today's slavemasters and barbarians. He gives comfort to tyrants, thugs, and Islamic pirates across the globe. "We are weak. Come attack us. Come loot our civilzation. We are sorry for who we are." Curse this wretched man and his wretched ideas."