The NYT goes inside Obama’s War on Terrorism. It’s essential reading and effectively answers the leftist complaint that Obama has not differentiated himself enough from Bush/lived up to promises about change. I think the operative phrase people are using is “change we can make believe in” – one that the article does a lot to refute.
Latest Updates: Barack Obama RSS
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aziz
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buzz
Published: November 13 2009
Karl Eikenberry, the US ambassador to Kabul and a former army commander in Afghanistan, set the cat among the Washington pigeons this week when he warned against any further increase of American forces, essentially because Hamid Karzai is not a reliable partner.
These leaked (un)diplomatic cables give a picture of an Afghanistan strategy at sixes and sevens. They nevertheless go to the heart of the agonising debate inside the Obama administration on what sensibly to do about what is beginning to look like a quagmire.
Mr Eikenberry is basically right. The counterinsurgency strategy laid out by General Stanley McChrystal, President Obama’s hand-picked commander on the ground, while totally coherent, is far too ambitious. It requires a level of forces, and a length of time that the US political timetable and shrivelling public support for the war among all the allies is unlikely to sustain. Simply put, few ultimately believe the US and Nato have the stamina for it.
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buzz
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Your opinions are treasured. Thank you!
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buzz
In the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, Washington deployed money and rhetoric in a big push to bolster “moderate” Muslims against what Bush called the “real and profound ideology” of “Islamo-fascism.” Obama, promising a “new beginning between America and Muslims around the world,” has avoided dividing Muslims into competing theological camps. He has denounced “violent extremists” but, in a June speech in Cairo, stated that “Islam is not part of the problem.”
North, the USAID mission chief, said the best way to help “champions of an enlightened perspective win the day” is to avoid theology and help Indonesia “address some of the problems here, such as poverty and corruption.” Trying to groom Muslim leaders America likes, he said, won’t help.
Rethinking post-9/11 tack
This is a sharp retreat from the approach taken right after the Sept. 11 attacks, when a raft of U.S.-funded programs sought to amplify the voice of “moderates.” Hundreds of Indonesian clerics went through U.S.-sponsored courses that taught a reform-minded reading of the Koran. A handbook for preachers, published with U.S. money, offered tips on what to preach. One American-funded Muslim group even tried to script Friday prayer sermons.
Such initiatives mimicked a strategy adopted during the Cold War, when, to counter communist ideology, the United States funded a host of cultural, educational and other groups in tune with America’s goals. Even some of the key actors were the same. The Asia Foundation, founded with covert U.S. funding in the 1950s to combat communism, took the lead in battling noxious strands of Islam in Indonesia as part of a USAID-financed program called Islam and Civil Society. The program began before the Sept. 11 attacks but ramped up its activities after.
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thabet
I was surprised as anyone else at the ‘big news’ over the weekend, but I’ve found a lot of the bytes that were virtually spilt on Barack Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize to be quite odd, to say the least.
Now, as regular readers of Talk Islam are likely to know, I am unlikely to win any awards from the resident Obama fan club. But I don’t see why people are having a go at Obama for winning a peace prize decided by a panel appointed by the Norwegian parliament. Obama didn’t ask to be awarded the prize, let alone be nominated a mere 12 days into his presidency. If people want someone to blame for ‘devaluing the prize’ they should be venting their spleen at Thorbjørn Jagland, Kaci Kullmann Five, Sissel Rønbeck, Inger-Marie Ytterhorn and Ågot Valle.
While I can quite understand the scepticism that may have greeted this news from those in Baghdad, Kabul or Gaza (as I can equally see why many view it positively), what is perhaps more bizarre is the response from the following two groups:
1. American Right: I didn’t think this segment really cared about what ’socialist Europe’ thought about the US. Why then are they complaining about a prize which is and selected by a semi-secretive committee made up of elitist politicians from a country which promotes ‘ideologies’ like ‘equality’?
2. Stridently anti-Western (but nonetheless Western) Muslims: I’ve seen lots of stuff on mailing lists, Facebook, Twitter and various forums and what struck me was this group of people, who usually dismiss anything Western as ‘evil’, were complaining about a prize, which is funded by the interest accumulated on the assets of a dead Swede and given out by a bunch of disbelieving (pdf) Scandinavian feminists, to a man in charge of the US, the source of all evil in their worldview anyway. Why are they then complaining so loudly in my inbox?
There might be lots to criticise Obama about; but winning the Nobel Peace Prize isn’t one of them. If anything, I think it is a brilliant move on the part of the committee as noted by Philip Weiss:
Even those on the anti-war left should calm down and just move on to more important things. The prize in their view has long been tainted by awarding it to some extremely dubious pro-war characters. And if Obama is simply a continuation of Bush, then why do they care so much about the prize? I’ve just counted a dozen other news items which require more attention, and have been lost in the news cycle lunacy and frenzied response to the announcement.
And with that I’ll leave you with the words of Ali Eteraz:
On the Nobel prize controversy: if we can have pre-emptive war we can have pre-emptive peace.
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thabet
I’m taking this with the necessary amount of sodium chloride, but a report at a report at an unfriendly news outlet claims Nicolas Sarkozy thinks Barack Obama is ‘incredibly naive and egotistical’. (Sarkozy calling someone else egotistical is a bit of a joke.)
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thabet
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thabet
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buzz
President Obama is actually changing the face of America:
Administration Dumps ‘Jihadist’ Term
Friday, August 07, 2009
By Patrick Goodenough, International Editor(CNSNews.com) – President Obama does not see the terrorism challenge as a fight against “jihadists” because that conveys an undeserved religious legitimacy and risks reinforcing the view that the U.S. is at war with Islam, his counterterrorism adviser said Thursday.
“Describing terrorists in this way, using the legitimate term ‘jihad’ – which means to purify oneself or to wage a holy struggle for a moral goal – risks giving these murderers the religious legitimacy they desperately seek but in no way deserve,” John Brennan said in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
In a broad address on the administration’s counterterrorism vision, Brennan also noted that Obama does not describe the battle as a “war on terrorism.”
And in another swipe at the Bush administration, Brennan said, “Rather than looking at allies and other nations through the narrow prism of terrorism – whether they are with us or against us – the administration is now engaging other countries and peoples across a broader range of areas.”
In a challenge to governments around the world, President Bush famously said during a press conference with his French counterpart two months after 9/11, “You’re either with us or you’re against us in the fight against terror.”
and:
CAIR urges Muslims to join ‘United We Serve’ by planning, reporting volunteer efforts
WASHINGTON, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A prominent national Islamic civil rights and advocacy organization is asking American Muslims and their institutions to support President Obama’s recently-announced “United We Serve” initiative, which is designed to “meet community needs and make service a way of life for all Americans.”
The Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is encouraging Muslim support for the president’s summer-long initiative focusing on service projects that address issues such as clean energy, education and literacy, health care access and awareness, economic recovery, disaster preparedness, and support for veterans and military families.
”United We Serve” will conclude on September 11, 2009, which has been designated a “National Day of Service and Remembrance.” The National Day of Service and Remembrance will both recognize the summer’s accomplishments and honor those who were killed in the 9/11 attacks.
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thabet
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thabet
Stephen Walt has a lesson for Barack Obama:
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thabet
Ayaan Hirsi WhatsHerFaceName complains that Barack Obama ‘let down moderate Muslims’… on a website for and by American conservatives (i.e. not ‘moderate Muslims’).
The website, New Majority, describes her as an ‘Islamic reformer’. Stupid.
(Via Kawthar.)
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thabet
The ‘jihadosphere’ reacts (offers alternative narratives?) to Barack Obama’s Cairo speech.
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thabet
According to this idiot, Barack Obama practices ‘taqiyya’.
(Via an emailer.)
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plimfix
US President Barack Obama has used his visit to Turkey to emphasise that the US is not and will never be involved in a ‘war on Islam’. No doubt, there will be a few right-wing schmuck jocks telling their losers listeners, ‘That’s because Obama is a Muslim himself’. Wrong! It’s because there are already enough Turkish “secularists” involved in the war on the USA’s behalf!
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plimfix
Barack Obama delivers a rousing speech in Strasbourg – I was impressed by his declared aim to rid the world of nukes, but switched off when he started to crow on about “casual” anti-Americanism in Europe. Most ‘anti-American’ people I know are critical of US foreign policy, which I believe – along with many others – is driven by imperialism. Obama might be painting himself as a benign Caesar, but as Chomsky recently pointed out, if his economic rescue plan stalls, 2016 might see Nero returned as his successor.
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thabet
Even for a pessimist (or cynic…) like me, Barack Obama’s message to Iran has to be seen as a positive step up from the Shrub-era.
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thabet
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thabet
Change we can make believe in: Barack Obama refuses to answer questions about Israel’s nuclear weapons.
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thabet
The CEO of Strafor (not a raving leftist) argues that Barack Obama has a ‘Bush-like’ foreign policy.
Is it ‘Bush-like’ or just the outcome of the need for any American president to be faithful and committed to US global dominance?
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kaitlin
Today on Inside Islam Dialogues and Debates: President Obama on Al-Arabiya. Also, the related radio show “Reaching out to the Muslim World” is available for download.
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thabet
The transcript for Barack Obama’s interview on Al-Arabiya is now available.
Scott MacLeod is optimistic about the future in his commentary on Obama’s interview.
Arabic Media Shack questions the use of Obama appearing on a channel that is seen as ‘pro-American’ in the region.
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thabet
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thabet
Change we can make believe in: I watched Barack Obama’s speech last night; he said nothing about the violence carried out by the Israeli state against Palestinians recently, but made a clear comment on civilians living in southern Israel who have faced home made rockets.
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thabet
New proof emerges of Barack Obama’s secret Muslimness.
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thabet
The myth of American addiction to ‘Middle East oil’.
But it seems ‘Middle East oil’ (which is a problem for other reasons) is an easy punching bag for Barack Obama.
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kaitlin
Coming up on the next Inside Islam radio show: Reaching out to the Muslim World.
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kaitlin
Next week we’re doing a show on Obama’s Inaugural address on Here on Earth: Radio Without Borders for Inside Islam. A couple Muslim American academics will be on the air for the live show. Just wanted to give everyone a heads up. It’ll be live at 3:00 pm (central) on January 22, 2009.
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thabet
‘Insiders’ claim an Obama administration would be prepared to talk to Hamas, days after Obama finally said something about Gaza.
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thabet
Good: Barack Obama says Guantanamo will close within two years of his presidency.
