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Reader comment on item: Obama's Foreign Fiasco

Submitted by Sentinel (Saudi Arabia), Aug 22, 2013 at 02:26

The true interests of the US are no longer centered on what happens in the Middle East but on the Pacific rim countries.

This is because the West has now concluded that basically, there is no hope for the Middle East. The "Palestinian question", for example, is never going to be solved because there are too many powerful interests that don't want it to be solved. Lemme repeat myself here: the Palestinian issue will never be solved because most people don't want it solved. There will always be a "Palestinian question".

Egypt, like England, is basically a museum for the rest of the world to come and visit. Trying to be something else is just not going to work. They've been trying for over 5000 years and it's gotten them no placeā€¦..the typical Egyptian laborer is still pushing his fruit cart around the streets of Cairo trying to snatch a sale. 1000 years from now, his descendants will be doing the same thing.

It's important to remember that the "Arab world" was brought kicking and screaming into the 20th century. The vast majority of its people still want no part of it. They would have to change too much and give up too many of their "traditions".

The "Muslim Brotherhood", as an example, is really no more than a desperate reaction to modernity. Its founder, Hassan al-Banna, was "traumatized" by the loose morals he saw in the US as a student. To my mind, this is a clear "cause and effect" reaction. So, if you can establish a state whose principles go back to the 6th century, what need is there for the modern world and all its troubles?

Therefore, given these realities, the Arab world can only hold a minor and unimportant place in the modern world. Since this is the case, Obama apparent "waffling" is only a public stance. He really is, like most leaders in the contemporary scene, totally uninterested in what happens in the Middle East. The Middle East really has nothing to offer and has nothing to contribute. Why bother?

Submitting....

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Reader comments (26) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1The biggest enemy of Islamists? It is turning out to be cameras of smart phones! [290 words]dhimmi no moreSep 10, 2013 14:09209564
2Doomed if you do, doomed , if you don't [1016 words]Stonewall JacksonAug 31, 2013 10:18209343
1Doubling down on my first comment [1181 words]Stonewall JacksonSep 1, 2013 12:39209343
4More disaster in US diplomacy in Egypt [153 words]dhimmi no moreAug 30, 2013 13:22209326
2What do Egyptians think about the link between the MB and the US? [126 words]dhimmi no moreAug 27, 2013 07:43209236
2Why the US can't respond [166 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Stephen PraibinAug 25, 2013 21:49209214
1Response to Praibin [161 words]Bryan SchmickAug 27, 2013 02:10209214
4Obama uses common sense [133 words]Lars NielsenAug 25, 2013 04:23209203
1oil [18 words]Bryan SchmickAug 27, 2013 02:12209203
2Exposing terrorists in Egypt [113 words]dhimmi no moreAug 24, 2013 10:38209196
4I disagree: he courts Muslim... [79 words]JuliaAug 23, 2013 17:16209186
Anther View [154 words]Gunther SchiffAug 22, 2013 15:56209172
1Looking Behind the Facade of the Current American Foreign Policy [510 words]M. ToveyAug 22, 2013 15:35209171
Repeating mistakes [98 words]David W. LincolnAug 22, 2013 12:19209166
4Do we have to ask why? [57 words]Arnold A. PutnamAug 22, 2013 10:42209163
2I DISAGREE [102 words]Joseph MamelakAug 22, 2013 10:41209162
misperception and vanity [237 words]mythAug 22, 2013 05:54209158
Stop - No Admittance [345 words]SentinelAug 22, 2013 02:26209156
4The United States of America is a Republic NOT a democracy, more specifically, a constitutional federal republic [482 words]NuritGAug 22, 2013 01:29209155
greater credence given to previous poster because they assume incompetence instead of unpatriotic ill will [21 words]Richard AAug 24, 2013 01:59209155
Minority report [46 words]JFKARAug 26, 2013 11:15209155
2The Emperor Has No Clothes [117 words]Mark LevickAug 21, 2013 23:50209152
Government Cheese Trumps Foreign Affairs [96 words]DaveAug 21, 2013 21:13209151
6Is Obama inept? [997 words]ReliapunditAug 21, 2013 20:30209149
8More disasters for our foreign policy [244 words]dhimmi no moreAug 21, 2013 18:43209145
2The US lost its prestige in Egypt and therefore the Middle East [198 words]dhimmi no moreAug 21, 2013 15:46209139

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