By Larry Jones 
Barack Obam’s speech in Cairo was billed as an attempt to reach out to the Muslim world. Watching online today as I read the transcript helped me see more clearly what he appeared to say, what he actually said, and what he did not say. He is such an eloquent speaker that is easy to just go with the flow of numerous platitudes and miss the heart of the matter.
In attempting to assure the Islamic world that America is not on an anti-Muslim Crusade, Obama passed lightly over the enormous horrors of U.S. foreign policy, such as the CIA overthrow in 1953 of the democratically elected Iranian government of Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddeq in order to assure Western access to Iranian oil, and the subsequent installation of the horrific dictator/torturer Shah Reza Pahlavi, who ruled Iran until 1979 when Grand Ayatollah Khomeini instituted a rigid theocratic government.
Of this appalling chapter in history of U.S intrusion in the affairs of other nations, Obama said simply that “the United States played a role in the overthrow” and immediately went on to say that modern “Iran has played a role in acts of hostage-taking and violence against U.S. troops and civilians.” On an Obama blame-scale of 1 to 10, the U.S. gets a 1 and Iran a 10.
Killing of Innocents
Obama, the “peace candidate” turned war president told his audience in Egypt that Americans “reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject: the killing of innocent men, women, and children.” Yet Obama is the one who has continually been increasing U.S. forces in Afghanistan where American air attacks have been responsible for a rising number of civilian deaths of men women and children. Obama’s words may sound reassuring, but reality tells another story.
Last month one of the worst slaughters of Afghan civilians took place as the result of a U.S. bombing raid. Obama barely had time to celebrate his first 100 days when 140 more innocents were killed in Afghanistan According to the New York Times: “The bombs were so powerful that people were ripped to shreds. Survivors said they collected only pieces of bodies. Several villagers said that they could not distinguish all of the dead and that they never found some of their relatives.” (“Afghan Villagers Describe Chaos of U.S. Strikes,” New York Times, May 14, 2009)
Under Obama, U.S. planes have continually struck any visible groupings of people, and claimed they were attacking Taliban fighters. On numerous occasions, they turned out to be Afghan wedding feasts. Any gathering of people in Afghanistan is regarded as a “threat” by the U.S. military.
“What angers Afghans are not just the bombings, but also the raids of homes, the shootings of civilians in the streets and at checkpoints, and the failure to address those issues over the five years of war,” reported the New York Times of May 13. “Afghan patience is wearing dangerously thin, officials warn.”
Israel and Palestine
Obama’s speech was peppered with applause throughout, but not when he talked about Israel. There was dead silence when he said, “America’s strong bonds with Israel are well known. That bond is unbreakable.” But the Cairo audience applauded when he said, “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. …
They endure the daily humiliations – large and small – that come with occupation.”
However, as is often the case with the president of late, his solutions are far too inadequate. More to the point, they are aimed at defending and reinforcing the interests of the U.S. empire in this strategic and turbulent region. While he calls for Israel to stop constructing new settlements in Palestinian areas, he does not call them illegal nor does he call for those already built to be torn down. He calls for a two-state solution, but he never mentions that the way Israel has chopped up Palestinian territories it would be impossible for them to create any kind of geographically viable state unless they returned to the pre 1967 borders.
Obama calls on both sides to forgo violence but does not mention that in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict overall, the death ratio is about 8 Palestinians to 1 Israeli, and in the recent Gaza war the ratio was 13 Israelis killed (five of them by friendly fire) to over 1200 Palestinians killed, 5300 wounded, and their towns brought to the ground.
Many well informed scholars now say that a viable peace will only come with a secular one state solution. But of course that is not even on the radar screen of the U.S. imperialists, which Obama heads.
Transparency, Religion, Women’s Rights and Economic Development
The president briefly touched on these issues as he jogged to the end of his 52 minute talk. He told his audience that he has “an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things.” Like transparency. Really? He had the nerve to say that after he has announced that he won’t release the 2000 photos of U.S. torture that would show the whole world just how sadistic America is in its drive for hegemony.
On religious freedom he said: “People in every country should be free to choose and live their faith based upon the persuasion of the mind, heart, and soul. This tolerance is essential for religion to thrive, but it is being challenged in many different ways.” In significant ways such a challenge is especially true in the U.S., where Obama regularly calls upon the religious right many of whom are off the chart when it comes to rationality, to the neglect of liberals. And he gives no quarter to ethical humanists, agnostics or atheists.
It’s certain that many of our readers are outraged at Obama’s all-too-brief treatment of women’s rights. As an economic pragmatist, he said that “countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous.” But in the wake of the recent horrific murder of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, he chose not to even mention the word abortion. Yes, women should be able to be educated, as they often are not even in this country, but if women cannot control their own bodies they cannot be truly free no matter how educated they may be. As Sunsara Taylor wrote on this site on June 2, seeking common ground with the anti-abortion crowd is a deadly illusion. And that is just what Obama called for in his recent speech at Notre Dame.
Finally, he had a few words on economic development partnerships in the Muslim world. But what stands out is his statement that “while America in the past has focused on oil and gas in this part of the world, we now seek a broader engagement.” He mentioned exchanges in the fields of education, science, energy, and health.
The real danger, however, is that because of the imperatives of imperialism, which Obama could not reign in if he wanted to – and he most definitely doesn’t – the “broader engagement” he seeks will not only fail to eliminate the drive for more oil and gas, but will also seek domination of the region for many other resources needed by the world’s only superpower, including military outposts from which to maintain that domination.