For decades there has been a stalemate purposely created by Israel and the US. This “stalemate” as in fact being anything but one. Israel has grabbed more land, more resources, and more hilltops and has destructed a whole society. This is nothing but a stalemate. You cannot have fair negotiations between the 4th largest army in the world supported by the only world superpower on one side and a people living in third world conditions on the other. It has also been proven that it is Israel that has constantly attacked its neighbors throughout history, not the opposite. Israel is already a state. Palestine is everything but one.
Obama says, “Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.”
As every US president before him, Obama starts with what the Palestinians have to do. For Obama, the ball is in their yard. But is it really? Palestinian resistance has been overwhelmingly non-violent. This is a fact. It has been reprimanded with terrible force and violence by Israel. Obama knows this. Secondly, you cannot compare black people in America and the Palestinians. This is a completely different situation. Black people were never faced by tanks, F16s, and Apache helicopters, Mr. Obama. If violence is a dead end, Israel should stop it. If it is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, go tell the Israeli army. This is exactly what it did in Gaza.
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.
What can the Palestinians build while Israel controls everything in their lives and does not let cement in? Then Obama makes a mistake. Hamas does have support among the majority of Palestinians (at least of those who vote). That's how you get elected. Obama follows by getting hypocritical. Hamas and Fatah had formed a unity government, which was never recognized by the USA, and if Hamas needs to recognize Israel (since when does a political party need to recognize a country anyway?) you need to tell Hamas which Israel it should recognize. How can a party recognize a country that has no official borders?
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
Note that Obama talks about settlement construction. It is time to stop it. Very different from saying, “It is time to dismantle all settlements”, the main obstacle to peace for the majority of the experts on the subject.
Obama concludes this subject by saying, “Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.”
A quick reminder for Mr. Obama. The Arab Peace Initiative has never been accepted by Israel. How can it be an important beginning if Israel rejects it straight away? The Arab peace initiative states that all Arab countries will start diplomatic relations with Israel when Israel goes back to its pre-1967 borders.
On nuclear weapons, Obama says, “I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation – including Iran – should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.”
Israel nuclear weapon stockpile could apparently be higher than the one of the United Kingdom. Israel has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel is going to receive 2.7 billion dollars in aid from the US next year.
“The fourth issue that I will address is democracy,” say Obama.
This is truly risible. Obama talks about democracy just after having visited Saudi Arabia and welcoming the efforts of King Abdullah, while Mubarak sits in the background. Two fantastic examples of what democracy is.
To end, Obama says, “Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity.
“I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information, but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence. Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities, but also huge disruptions and changing communities. In all nations – including my own – this change can bring fear. Fear that because of modernity we will lose of control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly our identities – those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith.”
Obama talks down to us. Does he really think that the first thing that comes to mind to people, when the word globalization is mentioned, are internet and television? Or do they think about corporations enslaving them, banning their rights to unionize, destroying small businesses, stealing and privatizing their natural resources and maximizing their profits while giving nothing back to the local community?
Obama says, “Palestinians must abandon violence. Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding. This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: that violence is a dead end. It is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, or to blow up old women on a bus. That is not how moral authority is claimed; that is how it is surrendered.”
As every US president before him, Obama starts with what the Palestinians have to do. For Obama, the ball is in their yard. But is it really? Palestinian resistance has been overwhelmingly non-violent. This is a fact. It has been reprimanded with terrible force and violence by Israel. Obama knows this. Secondly, you cannot compare black people in America and the Palestinians. This is a completely different situation. Black people were never faced by tanks, F16s, and Apache helicopters, Mr. Obama. If violence is a dead end, Israel should stop it. If it is a sign of neither courage nor power to shoot rockets at sleeping children, go tell the Israeli army. This is exactly what it did in Gaza.
Now is the time for Palestinians to focus on what they can build. The Palestinian Authority must develop its capacity to govern, with institutions that serve the needs of its people. Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.
At the same time, Israelis must acknowledge that just as Israel's right to exist cannot be denied, neither can Palestine's. The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements. This construction violates previous agreements and undermines efforts to achieve peace. It is time for these settlements to stop.
Note that Obama talks about settlement construction. It is time to stop it. Very different from saying, “It is time to dismantle all settlements”, the main obstacle to peace for the majority of the experts on the subject.
Obama concludes this subject by saying, “Finally, the Arab States must recognize that the Arab Peace Initiative was an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities. The Arab-Israeli conflict should no longer be used to distract the people of Arab nations from other problems. Instead, it must be a cause for action to help the Palestinian people develop the institutions that will sustain their state; to recognize Israel's legitimacy; and to choose progress over a self-defeating focus on the past.”
A quick reminder for Mr. Obama. The Arab Peace Initiative has never been accepted by Israel. How can it be an important beginning if Israel rejects it straight away? The Arab peace initiative states that all Arab countries will start diplomatic relations with Israel when Israel goes back to its pre-1967 borders.
On nuclear weapons, Obama says, “I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons. That is why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons. And any nation – including Iran – should have the right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its responsibilities under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That commitment is at the core of the Treaty, and it must be kept for all who fully abide by it. And I am hopeful that all countries in the region can share in this goal.”
Israel nuclear weapon stockpile could apparently be higher than the one of the United Kingdom. Israel has not signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel is going to receive 2.7 billion dollars in aid from the US next year.
“The fourth issue that I will address is democracy,” say Obama.
This is truly risible. Obama talks about democracy just after having visited Saudi Arabia and welcoming the efforts of King Abdullah, while Mubarak sits in the background. Two fantastic examples of what democracy is.
To end, Obama says, “Finally, I want to discuss economic development and opportunity.
“I know that for many, the face of globalization is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information, but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence. Trade can bring new wealth and opportunities, but also huge disruptions and changing communities. In all nations – including my own – this change can bring fear. Fear that because of modernity we will lose of control over our economic choices, our politics, and most importantly our identities – those things we most cherish about our communities, our families, our traditions, and our faith.”
Obama talks down to us. Does he really think that the first thing that comes to mind to people, when the word globalization is mentioned, are internet and television? Or do they think about corporations enslaving them, banning their rights to unionize, destroying small businesses, stealing and privatizing their natural resources and maximizing their profits while giving nothing back to the local community?
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