As an ardent Obama supporter during the presidential campaign, I committed myself to be critical of him as I would any other person who holds the public trust. By the same token, I will give credit where credit is due. For the record, I did give kudos to George Bush for what he tried to do in Africa.
With that said, I must applaud the Obama administration for its relatively seamless transition and its recent pronouncements. The Middle East has been a concern of mine for as long as I can remember because it is a lightening rod for those that see the inhabitants of that region as disenfranchised and neglected.
The Middle East is equivalent to a vial of nitroglycerin traveling down an unpaved road on the mountain-side of the Andes. Yes, it doesn’t take much to set that part of the world off. I truly believe that if this volatile region is not given balanced attention, it will continue to be the bane of our existence. The Jewish lobby has done an outstanding job of keeping the State of Israel’s interest on the front burner of every western politician’s agenda to the point that they are literally afraid to criticize Israel’s actions.
It was so refreshing to hear former President Jimmy Carter, not be afraid of backlash and “ostracization”, in speaking the truth about the reality of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. We can no longer sweep these realities under the rug and pretend that they don’t exist. I believe the Obama administration is embarking on the right path to address these and like issues throughout the world through ambassadors such as George Mitchell and Susan Rice.
No longer should the world’s perception of our foreign policy be, “our way or the highway”. No longer should a Palestinian mother-to-be commit her unborn baby to a tit-for-tat armed struggle in order to be recognized and respected. No longer should young Israelis divide their conscience and Palestinian apartheid. No longer should a nation state feel the need to develop nuclear capability to get respect in the “hood”. No longer should children in so-called under-developed nations fear for their lives because of ethnic differences. No longer should we continue to alienate our neighbors because their “ism” is not our “ism”.
I welcome this administration’s attempt to bring some civility and fairness to the problems at hand. It has been said that this president has unprecedented goodwill throughout the world and with that kind of support, all good things are possible.
With that said, I must applaud the Obama administration for its relatively seamless transition and its recent pronouncements. The Middle East has been a concern of mine for as long as I can remember because it is a lightening rod for those that see the inhabitants of that region as disenfranchised and neglected.
The Middle East is equivalent to a vial of nitroglycerin traveling down an unpaved road on the mountain-side of the Andes. Yes, it doesn’t take much to set that part of the world off. I truly believe that if this volatile region is not given balanced attention, it will continue to be the bane of our existence. The Jewish lobby has done an outstanding job of keeping the State of Israel’s interest on the front burner of every western politician’s agenda to the point that they are literally afraid to criticize Israel’s actions.
It was so refreshing to hear former President Jimmy Carter, not be afraid of backlash and “ostracization”, in speaking the truth about the reality of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. We can no longer sweep these realities under the rug and pretend that they don’t exist. I believe the Obama administration is embarking on the right path to address these and like issues throughout the world through ambassadors such as George Mitchell and Susan Rice.
No longer should the world’s perception of our foreign policy be, “our way or the highway”. No longer should a Palestinian mother-to-be commit her unborn baby to a tit-for-tat armed struggle in order to be recognized and respected. No longer should young Israelis divide their conscience and Palestinian apartheid. No longer should a nation state feel the need to develop nuclear capability to get respect in the “hood”. No longer should children in so-called under-developed nations fear for their lives because of ethnic differences. No longer should we continue to alienate our neighbors because their “ism” is not our “ism”.
I welcome this administration’s attempt to bring some civility and fairness to the problems at hand. It has been said that this president has unprecedented goodwill throughout the world and with that kind of support, all good things are possible.
