In a speech at Al-Azhar University
in Cairo, President Obama reached out to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims
today, and urged people the world over to open dialog and reject violence
as a means of solving problems.
Like a popular political science
professor teaching a first year course on contemporary issues, the President
laid out a laundry list of difficulties facing the world, gave his views,
and offered insight into how his Administration hopes to solve these
problems, much to the delight of the crowd, who, most likely, never
could have imagined seeing an American President with a Muslim father
who could quote the Quran with such ease in their lifetime.
The issues President Obama
addressed included the fight against extremism, the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict - specifically the importance of a two state solution - and
nuclear non-proliferation, all of which he discussed in an attempt to
allay fears of perceived malice on behalf of the United States.
He also praised democracy and spoke of the importance of transparent
government, stressed the need for religious freedom and women's rights
and made his case for globalization, in an attempt to persuade conservative
Muslim states to open up to the world (read
the transcript).
Whats the deal with democracy?
Obama began his lecture in
earnest by talking about extremism. He claimed that the United
States has no intention of exploiting Afghanistan for political reasons;
that the war is all about quelling Islamic extremism, which has, the
President noted, killed more Muslims than any other faith. And
although nothing is finalized, obviously, he set an achievable benchmark
before ordering the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, making no
mention of democracy.
"We would gladly bring every
single one of our troops home if we could be confident that there were
not violent extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan determined to kill
as many Americans as they possibly can," he said. "But that
is not yet the case."
But President Obama's later
praise of democracy was consistent with the reason he did not talk about
it with respect to Afghanistan; it really is up to Afghans,
now. Though he said he was committed "to governments that reflect
the will of the people," unlike past presidents, he has no appetite
for coercion. "No system of government can or should be imposed
upon one nation by any other," he said, specifically referring to
Bush's claimed desire to spread democracy in Iraq.
Avoiding pitfalls like the
Prince of Persia (the video game)
The expectations for this speech
were so great, that most commentators were concerned that the President
could only make mistakes. This did not appear to be the case,
although it is hard to please everybody.
Obama did not make the mistake
of generalizing. Though he did mention tension
once between "Islam and the West," he did not once refer to a Muslim
or Arab world - an acknowledgment of the complexities that exist in
many predominately Muslim countries. He even made an appeal for
Sunnis and Shias to respect one another's differences in his call for
increased religious freedom.
And speaking of religious freedom,
many commentators also thought that Obama would completely ignore the
praise of democracy, but he did not. In fact, although Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak did not attend the speech, many dissidents either
did or were invited.
He also attempted to avoid
the mistake of appearing biased when speaking of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict - difficult juggling act forany American diplomat. But these fears proved to be unfounded, as he defended
America's alliance with Israel, while simultaneously recognizing the
plight of the Palestinian people. The right of Israel to exist
must be recognized, he said, just like the right of Palestinians to
exist must also be recognized.
For the President, this speech
was all about reconciliation. Although he made no mention of civilian
casualties in Iraq, Pakistan or Afghanistan, he acknowledged past injustices
perpetrated by the American government; from the CIA engineered overthrow
of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadeq in 1953, to Guantanamo Bay
and the Bush Administration's decision to go to war with Iraq without
building a strong international consensus. It helped convince
his Muslim audience that he was more understanding of their situation
than past presidents, though he stopped short of the apology that many
had hoped for. And although this lost him some fans, he managed
to avoid the consternation of those at home, who find the idea of America
apologizing repugnant.
Even if he did want to apologize,
pressuring an administration to apologize for wars it did not start,
at the best, is counterproductive. "If we choose to be bound
by the past," the President explained, "we will never move forward."
As expected, Obama's push for
all parties involved to put differences aside did not please everyone. Some felt he did not quite
get the balance right. Others felt that there should be no balance
at all. But the fact that he's trying to alienate extremists on
all sides, in a relatively peaceful manner, speaks volumes for his plan.
Cracking a few eggs could lead to quite the tasty omelet.
Send in the technocrats!
The main concern of many Egyptians
and other Muslims was not what Obama was going to say, but rather how
his policies would actually materialize. For example, just because
he says that he hopes to find a two state solution doesn't mean that
he will exhaust every avenue trying to make it happen.
But with the President offering
specific assistance programs in his push for closer ties, you can bet
your bottom tax dollar that development specialists will soon be on
their way to the Middle East, North Africa, and Central and Southeast
Asia. An increase in funds will probably end up at USAID, the
State Department, and the Department of Education, as the President
spoke of plans to fund literacy programs and microfinance institutions
for women, and to establish an exchange between American students and
foreign students living in Muslim communities. Even expect the
Department of Defense to receive a boost in funding, as the Obama Administration
researches nuclear non-proliferation.
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