I think it is a whole lotta nothing that Obama gave his first interview to an international media outlet, though I understand why he did. First of all, he has given dozens of interviews to Fox News, CNN, MSNBC and others to this point. The fact that he is now the President does not change the interview all that much. Second, reaching out to an international audience shows that he is not some American hick and understands there is a whole world out there. Third, and most importantly, he sees that there is a need for us to have a conversation with the Muslim and Arab world, for it is this type of outreach that will go a long way toward breaking stereotypes of Americans. Especially when it is an American with the middle name of Hussein who says that Israel has a right to self-defense.
Some highlights (all quotations are of President Obama):
"I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues --and we don't always know all the factors that are involved. So let's listen. "
"..what I want to communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I've come to understand is that regardless of your faith -- and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers -- regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams."
Full interview transcript here.
2 comments:
I like what Barack had to say about the threat of Iran and Hamas and that Israel has the right to defend itself. I just have a problem with him talking with Hamas/Hezbollah and working out an agreement. They won't listen and Obama would be wasting his time. If he wants to go, fine but it really is a waste. By the way, do you agree that Israel has the right to exist? Also, how have you been doing?
Israel has the right to exist as much as the United States, Japan, Iran, Iraq, etc. The whole "right to exist" argument doesn't really mean much to me. People have a right to exist, countries don't. So, I would not specifically say that Israel has the right to exist, but I don't have a problem with it being there. To me, it is like asking "does the river have a right to exist?"
If a country does exist, it has the ability to defend itself; obviously that is in the best interests of the country. But that statement would again apply to other countries, such as Iran. So what really matters is how far a country can go in defending itself.
Post a Comment