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Departments International Issues Is anyone speechless? This seems to sum up US President Barack Obama’s much vaunted speech to the Muslim world. Comments and analysis from the Arab street as reflected on the screens of al-Jazeera, CNN and BBC suggest that while Obama’s message is generally welcome, skepticism abounds. This is mainly due to a bitter price paid by many in the Muslim world by trusting American governments more than necessary. The other is as a result of knowing that actions speak louder than words – and that as yet Obama’s speech contained no more than articulate sounds. What is intriguing though, is that while global anticipation of ground-breaking decisions to “mend Muslim fences” heightened expectations; it’s the re-affirmation of neoconservative rationale that seemed at odds with his “re-imagination”. As much as he sounded like a Sunday school preacher or to be closer to his global Muslim audience, like an Imam, Obama retained a military quality. From women’s rights to democracy; from human rights to economic development and from decrying regime change to practicing it, his range covered the entire gambit of life on earth in idealistic rhetoric. Yet it was incomplete! Despite galloping through a lengthy oration in a historic setting within Islam’s oldest citadel, the custodian of the free world’s most powerful state must have pondered long and hard about his moment of détente with the Muslim world. In his circuitous route, from 9/11 to rockets and back to Afghanistan, the first Afro-American president of the United States crafted his talk with a degree of circumspect. Mindful that pro-Israeli lobbies back home would be hard at work analyzing every syllable, Obama invoked the Jewish Holocaust. After softening feelings in Israel, he donned the mantle of a philosopher by confirming an oft-repeated claim by Muslims across the world: “The situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable”. This cold brutal fact alongside his equally harsh admonishment of Israel’s need to acknowledge Palestinian suffering and Palestine’s “right to exist”, is the closest any US president has ventured to unsettle Zionist colonialism. Robert Fisk attests to this. “Not for a generation has Israel had to take this kind of criticism from a US President. It sounded like the end of the Zionist dream”. Yet the fact is that for the Muslim world, Obama did not go far enough. Palestinians languishing in refugee camps or in the Occupied Territories are distinctly aware that despite his harsh criticism of settlements, their quest for freedom is consistently squashed by American-sponsored weapons. They are aware that the defunct Abbas-led Palestinian Authority is legitimized by American support. They know too that the movement of their choice, Hamas, is marginalized and subject to clandestine regime-change operations at the behest of America Peace and prosperity while papering over injustices whether in Palestine, Iraq or elsewhere cannot be attained. Neither can words alone heal the wounds of centuries. |
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Recent International Issues Articles On Gaza drivers, rumors and Egypt’s steel wall It's the system, stupid: The Ragnarok of globalized corporate capitalism and the rise of the planetarian paradigm Palestine/Israel: A single state, with liberty and justice for all Obama's rejection speech Peace movement objects to Peace Prize Afghanistan: What Obama and the US Media Aren't Telling Us Columbus Free Press editors Bob Fitrakis and Harvey Wasserman speak out against sending more US troops to Afghanistan Afghanistan: Our 177th Colony The Meaning Of The Gift-Giving Season, According To Rev. Billy Of The Church Of Life After Shopping A paradigm shift in Singapore: yet Apec offers no clear answers Dissidents make noise -- oops, news Thai military wants U.S. satellites to hunt Islamist rebels Globalization unchecked: How alien media is suffocating real culture Death to no one America won't lift sanctions unless Suu Kyi is freed for election Admiral Mullen announces Afghanistan strategy: prepare to nonviolently resist America Appeals to Extradite Russia's Alleged "Merchant of Death" War, negation and Muslim identity revisited Obama’s test: democracy or chaos in Latin America The G-20 Announces the New World Order Crucial questions on Afghanistan war The scapegoat's apology Fighting for the right to walk The heart of the future Italy to declare independence from US military Israel attacks justice boat: kidnaps human rights workers, confiscates medicine, toys and olive trees North Korea: "sanity" at the brink A boy and an artificial leg: a Gaza story Is anyone speechless? Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi is on trial because an American had "A Vision" Support U.N. Economic Crisis World Conference Gaza disowned: the Pope, Israel and "reconciliation" Applying the lessons of Nuremburg to the USA in 2009 Vets Speak Out! Interview with Rick Reyes Goliath's vulnerability is the truth Harvest of suicides The Hague's International Criminal Court will not put Bush on trial War without context: Fatah, Hamas and flawed language CAIR's humanitarian mission to Iran Sixth Nobel Nomination for Leonard Peltier The international criminal court and a rogue empire Wall of fear The big strike Somali piracy or Somali patriotism? Israel investigated, but will it repent? Intifada: A third chapter American protester critically injured by soldiers in Ni'ilin Engaging Hamas: Will history repeat itself? A new Afghanistan nightmare A new Afghanistan nightmare Under siege again, but Gaza will not die The moral dead zone Children of Gaza, run to the angels Let Gaza live Gaza: Plan of Attack Read International Issues Articles by Year: |
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