44 did the first television interview of his presidency to the Al Arabiya news channel six days after his inauguration, and sent a Persian New Year video address to the people of Iran a few months later. The high water mark of his stated quest to rehab Great Satan"s rep rep reputation occurred in Cairo, in a speech titled “A New Beginning.”
A scant 3 years ago, 44 was like all apolgies for past sins (real and imagined) against m"Hammedist world (like colonialism) and heralded the religion’s historical “tolerance and racial equality.”
To stay on message, 44avoided mentioning some of the more uncomfortable realities—that our most significant terrorist threat is from those using m"Hammedism as a shield, as well as the gender discrimination women face, in the world capitol of the world’s horrific most egregious and systematic abuses of human rights.
Didn"t seem to help very much!
76 percent of Egyptians would like to make him a one-termer. Majorities in Pakistan, Lebanon, and Jordan don’t want to see 44 re-elected, either. “Respondents in predominantly m"Hammedists countries continue to have a low opinion of 44, and the American leader’s ratings have slipped significantly since 2009 in the five countries where trends are available, including a 13 percentage-point poll drop in Egypt,” according to Pew. “Opinion is generally against 44 in most of the countries surveyed.”
Why cause?
Because!
In Cairo, 44 promised a relationship with uh, certain elements and their world built on “mutual interest and mutual respect.” He avoided any strong calls for the democratic movements that would sweep the region two years later, leaving dissidents feeling like they were standing alone. “What touched on democracy and human rights in the speech was far less than we wanted,” said Ayman Nour, a prominent Egyptian political prisoner, after the remarks.
44 then missed a series of opportunities to be on the right side of history. First, in real time, he didn’t lend support for democratic dissidents in Iran in 2009, where today’s nuclear endgame might be quite different if he did so. His policy of non-interference left Tehran’s leadership empowered to torture and imprison leaders of the Green movement and closer than ever to obtaining a nuclear weapon. 44 was behind the eight ball on Egypt, largely silent on the Saudi crackdown on Bahrain, and appears at a loss about who to back in Syria.
Although he did choose to bomb Libya and oust Gaddafi—a despot, but one who had renounced his nuclear program to avoid Saddam Hussein’s fate—support on the Arab Street was fleeting because of 44"s inconsistent policy of ousting dictators who serve no American interest, but tolerating despotic royals in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.
The world has wised up to the harsh reality of 44’s foreign affairs leadership. The Nobel laureate is all words and no deeds
Pic - "Tactics Over Strategy"
Obama is unpopular with the Muslim world for these reasons,IMO:
ReplyDelete1)After the Cairo speech, the Arabs expected Obama to deliver the Jews of Israel on a platter. He couldn't. They don't understand that even though Obama would have loved to, congress and more important the American people wouldn't go along with it. Nor did the Israelis, in spite of all the threats and bluster.
2) The Saudis and others who have traditionally been US allies ( or at least, responsive to our interests) looked at how Obama treated the Israelis and Mubarak and realized he was weak and untrustworthy. His appeasement efforts and weakness RE: Iran underlined that. In that part of the world, people respect the strong horse.
Hi Rob, idk 44 really intended for anyone to think he would offer up Little Satan on a silver platter. Got a link for that?
ReplyDeleteA case could be made tho that 44 did think a lot about taming Little Satan"s power (ala Dr Walt"s risible meme about "Taming American Power")
Elise is correct in her analysis. 44 has made a difference during the Arab Spring mostly by not making a difference. By failing to decisively use aid, diplomatic influence and military power to support the removal of dictators and the beginning of democratic transformation, he has helped tip the balance toward the old regimes — or chaos. No, the mess is not his fault. But he deserves a share of the blame