THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S MIDDLE EAST LEGACY
As a result of Obama’s weakness, Russia has become the “Strong Horse” in the region.
January 24, 2017
Joseph Puder
By the time this article will be read, a new resident will occupy the White House. Donald Trump will be the 45th president of the United States. For former President Barack Obama, the main effort in the years to come will be to secure his legacy. In domestic affairs, Obamacare will remain the overriding achievement of the administration. Whether the Republicans will replace it, alter it, or keep most of it in tact, remains to be seen. What is clearly visible however, is the mess and mayhem that is today’s Middle East. It is in the Middle East that the legacy of the Obama administration can be judged to be an abysmal failure.
The Obama administration’s signature “achievement” in the Middle East has been the Iran nuclear deal. Its future, much like the future of Obamacare, is questionable. It too might be altered, or replaced. It certainly won’t have the concessionary elements the Obama administration threw into the deal. The Trump administration will not have any “love lost” for the Iranians, nor tolerance for Tehran’s cheating or its arrogant terroristic behavior.
From the very start of his administration, Obama appeased the Muslim world, and refused to call Islamic terror by its name. Making his first official foreign trip to the Muslim state of Turkey, Obama delivered a speech at the Turkish parliament on April 6, 2009, where he said, “I also want to be clear that America's relationship with the Muslim community, the Muslim world, cannot, and will not, just be based upon opposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. We will convey our
deep appreciation for the Islamic faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world -- including in my own country. The United States has been enriched by Muslim Americans. Many other Americans have Muslims in their families or have lived in a Muslim-majority country -- I know, because I am one of them.”
Next, in Cairo, Egypt, on June 4, 2009, Obama apologized for the West’s misdeeds in the Muslim world in a speech at Al-Azhar and Cairo University. He said: “More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that
denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations. Moreover, the sweeping change brought by modernity and globalization led many Muslims to view the West as hostile to the traditions of Islam.” Obama continued “I have known Islam on three continents before coming to the region where it was first revealed. That experience guides my conviction that partnership between America and Islam must be based on what Islam is, not what it isn't. And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear.”
Obama then set moral equivalency between the sufferings of the Jews during the Holocaust to Palestinian suffering today. “Around the world, the Jewish people were persecuted for centuries, and anti-Semitism in Europe culminated in an unprecedented Holocaust…On the other hand, it is also undeniable that the Palestinian people – Muslims and Christians – have suffered in pursuit of a homeland. For more than sixty years they have endured the pain of dislocation. Many wait in refugee camps in the West Bank, Gaza, and neighboring lands for a life of peace and security that they have never been able to lead. They endure the
daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation. So let there be no doubt: the situation for the Palestinian people is intolerable. America will not turn our backs on the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.”
President Obama visited Turkey and Egypt but snubbed Israel on this trip. Moreover, he did not speak of the Jews in the Arab world that were expelled from their ancient homes in Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, etc. Nor did he admonish the Arab world, including Egypt for not absorbing as equal citizens the Palestinian refugees as Israel has done with Jewish refugees from Arab countries. He neglected to mention that Israeli checkpoints and security barriers exist, to prevent the killing of innocent Israeli civilians by Palestinian terrorists.
Less than two years following the Cairo speech, the Obama administration threw Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s moderately pro-western strongman, “under the bus.” The administration encouraged the protesters that were hijacked by the Muslim Brotherhood, and when Mohammad Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood choice for president was elected in June, 2012, the Obama administration backed him. The
Washington Times reported on June 3, 2015 that “President Obama and his administration continue to
support the global Islamist group known as the Muslim Brotherhood. A White House strategy document regards the group as a moderate alternative to more violent Islamist groups like Al Qaeda and IS.”
...
President Obama will be remembered for pandering to America’s enemies, and abandoning its friends in the Middle East. This was vividly exemplified last December when the U.S. abstained from the infamous anti-Israel UN Security Council Resolution 2334.
THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S MIDDLE EAST LEGACY
the exact same accusation could be more accurately levelled at the Zionists. Every Israeli is liable for military service and is brought in in preparation for that, to kill or oppress Palestinians, that makes all Israelis valid military targets, they are either soldiers, future soldiers or ex-soldiers...
