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By Michael McGehee at Jun 03, 2009 |
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Occasionally politicians and policy makers have a way of telling the truth.
On Valentine's Day one year George W Bush made the comment "money trumps peace."
Madeline Albright said that half-a-million dead Iraqi children was "worth it."
Now Obama is going to Egypt to give a speech and even before he said anything someone let the cat out of the bag.
Same shit, different day.
"Our policies are a reflection of our interests and our alliances and while they may change moderately from administration to administration, the underlying interests are simply not allied with the policies that many Muslims around the world would like to see the United States pursue," explained Jon Alterman, a former State Department adviser, at a recent forum in Washington. "We're going to have to agree to disagree, and that's the first task for the President - to frame U.S. policy in a way that takes some of the passion out of the widespread hostility for the United States."
You got that right, our policies and interests "may change moderately from administration to administration,[but] the underlying interests [that will not change] are simply not allied with the policies that many Muslims around the world would like to see the United States pursue, [so] we're going to have to agree to disagree."
Except that the policies that make up our imperial hubris are not something those on the receiveing end can "agree to disagree" on. If my policy and interests means your suffering then it is horribly and perversely misantrhopic to dismiss your concerns and say you just need to learn to accept it.
And notice that Alterman, a Bushite, also admits that what Obama's "task" is, is "to frame U.S. policy in a way that takes some of the passion out of the widespread hostility for the United States."
We are not going to change anything. We will just do a remix of the same old song and dance and cross our fingers that the audience is too stupid to notice.
You got that right, our policies and interests "may change moderately from administration to administration,[but] the underlying interests [that will not change] are simply not allied with the policies that many Muslims around the world would like to see the United States pursue, [so] we're going to have to agree to disagree."
Except that the policies that make up our imperial hubris are not something those on the receiveing end can "agree to disagree" on. If my policy and interests means your suffering then it is horribly and perversely misantrhopic to dismiss your concerns and say you just need to learn to accept it.
And notice that Alterman, a Bushite, also admits that what Obama's "task" is, is "to frame U.S. policy in a way that takes some of the passion out of the widespread hostility for the United States."
We are not going to change anything. We will just do a remix of the same old song and dance and cross our fingers that the audience is too stupid to notice.
and thats what happened
By McGehee, Michael at Jun 04, 2009 08:11 AM
Obama justified US aggression in Afghanistan while saying Palestinians dont have any, yet the very clause of the UN Charter that makes our invasion illegal also legalizes Palestinian resistance.
Routinely Obama glossed over US foreign policies and just as routinely threw in some rhetorical tributes to Islam as if that should compensate - and the same could be said for his comments on polio, science and economic development. He offered these things to placate the anger and hostility towards US and Israeli belligerence in the region.
Obama mentioned the settlement freeze but didnt mention international law, the green line or the right of return; he mentioned al nakba but didnt make the connection to that, the continued occupation and settlement growth to Palestinian violence towards Israel.
Alterman called this one and to a degree - and maybe a large one - Obama was effective. Already I am seeing American liberals on facebook cry "YES!" as if anything profound was stated. Obama released his remix of American Imperialism and suckers bobbed their heads to the beat as if it was something new, fresh and different.
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