These are only my first impressions. I have only just concluded reading the text of his speech. It will take some time to digest. But, there some things that jumped out at me. Here they are.
First: I don't understand the purpose of this speech to begin with. He is not President of the World. I can only assume he is trying to, as we used to say in VietNam, "win the hearts and minds of" Muslims in order to turn them against the extreme elements. I don't believe he has a prayer here as Islam is not monolithic. There are many subdivisions and, not to mention the obvious gap between Shia and Sunni. More on this in another later post.
Second: He dismisses the Israeli/Palestinian situation almost off-handedly. It is mentioned in 12 sentences. He says little more than that the Jews suffered in the Holocaust and deserve better. This leads him into condemning the proliferation of nuclear weopens.
Third: He devotes much of the end of his speech talking about how he wants to partner with Muslim majority countries to develop economic opportunity in those countries. To Wit: "On economic development, we will create a new core of business volunteers to partner with counterparts in Muslim majority countries. And I will host a summit on entrepreneurship this year to identify how we can deepen ties between business leaders, foundations, and social entrepreneurs in the United States and Muslim communities around the world."
And, "All these things must be done in partnership. Americans are ready to join with citizens and governments, community organizations, religious leaders, and businesses in Muslim communities around the world to help our people pursue a better life."
I mean, what is this all about? Is America going to now become the Saviour of the Islamic World? Does he hope to morph in to Muhammad Jr.?
I am at a loss to understand where he is coming from. I hope you fare better than I.
I have put a pdf file up on my web site so you can read for your own edification. Go to http://www.jspencerdirect.com/obama.pdf and see for yourself.
Have a great day!
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