Monk

President Obama spoke at the UN. Recall that this comes fresh from the killing of Ambassador Stevens and in the midst of continuing riots in the Middle East over that anti-Islam film, in what can look like the turning of the Arab spring into the winter of our discontent, as problems with Iran and Syria also continue to boil over. Obama is trying to help to hold the pieces together, the but Middle East is not exactly a great source for optimism.

Let it be noted that the region is highly volatile and anything can happen on any given week, and we still have over a month before we have our elections. The Middle East continues to be a wild card.


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Now, I know that not all countries in this body share this particular understanding of the protection of free speech. We recognize that. But in 2012, at a time when anyone with a cell phone can spread offensive views around the world with the click of a button, the notion that we can control the flow of information is obsolete. The question, then, is how do we respond?

And on this we must agree: There is no speech that justifies mindless violence. There are no words that excuse the killing of innocents. There’s no video that justifies an attack on an embassy. There’s no slander that provides an excuse for people to burn a restaurant in Lebanon, or destroy a school in Tunis, or cause death and destruction in Pakistan.

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The future must not belong to those who target Coptic Christians in Egypt -- it must be claimed by those in Tahrir Square who chanted, “Muslims, Christians, we are one.” The future must not belong to those who bully women -- it must be shaped by girls who go to school, and those who stand for a world where our daughters can live their dreams just like our sons.

The future must not belong to those corrupt few who steal a country’s resources -- it must be won by the students and entrepreneurs, the workers and business owners who seek a broader prosperity for all people. Those are the women and men that America stands with; theirs is the vision we will support.

The future must not belong to those who slander the prophet of Islam. But to be credible, those who condemn that slander must also condemn the hate we see in the images of Jesus Christ that are desecrated, or churches that are destroyed, or the Holocaust that is denied.

Let us condemn incitement against Sufi Muslims and Shiite pilgrims. It’s time to heed the words of Gandhi: “Intolerance is itself a form of violence and an obstacle to the growth of a true democratic spirit.” Together, we must work towards a world where we are strengthened by our differences, and not defined by them. That is what America embodies, that’s the vision we will support.

Among Israelis and Palestinians, the future must not belong to those who turn their backs on a prospect of peace. Let us leave behind those who thrive on conflict, those who reject the right of Israel to exist. The road is hard, but the destination is clear -- a secure, Jewish state of Israel and an independent, prosperous Palestine. Understanding that such a peace must come through a just agreement between the parties, America will walk alongside all who are prepared to make that journey.

In Syria, the future must not belong to a dictator who massacres his people. If there is a cause that cries out for protest in the world today, peaceful protest, it is a regime that tortures children and shoots rockets at apartment buildings. And we must remain engaged to assure that what began with citizens demanding their rights does not end in a cycle of sectarian violence.

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In Iran, we see where the path of a violent and unaccountable ideology leads. The Iranian people have a remarkable and ancient history, and many Iranians wish to enjoy peace and prosperity alongside their neighbors. But just as it restricts the rights of its own people, the Iranian government continues to prop up a dictator in Damascus and supports terrorist groups abroad. Time and again, it has failed to take the opportunity to demonstrate that its nuclear program is peaceful, and to meet its obligations to the United Nations.

So let me be clear. America wants to resolve this issue through diplomacy, and we believe that there is still time and space to do so. But that time is not unlimited. We respect the right of nations to access peaceful nuclear power, but one of the purposes of the United Nations is to see that we harness that power for peace. And make no mistake, a nuclear-armed Iran is not a challenge that can be contained. It would threaten the elimination of Israel, the security of Gulf nations, and the stability of the global economy. It risks triggering a nuclear-arms race in the region, and the unraveling of the non-proliferation treaty. That’s why a coalition of countries is holding the Iranian government accountable. And that’s why the United States will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

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So much attention in our world turns to what divides us. That’s what we see on the news. That’s what consumes our political debates. But when you strip it all away, people everywhere long for the freedom to determine their destiny; the dignity that comes with work; the comfort that comes with faith; and the justice that exists when governments serve their people -- and not the other way around.

The United States of America will always stand up for these aspirations, for our own people and for people all across the world. That was our founding purpose. That is what our history shows. That is what Chris Stevens worked for throughout his life.

And I promise you this: Long after the killers are brought to justice, Chris Stevens’s legacy will live on in the lives that he touched -- in the tens of thousands who marched against violence through the streets of Benghazi; in the Libyans who changed their Facebook photo to one of Chris; in the signs that read, simply, “Chris Stevens was a friend to all Libyans.”

They should give us hope. They should remind us that so long as we work for it, justice will be done, that history is on our side, and that a rising tide of liberty will never be reversed.

Thank you very much.

-- President Barack H. Obama, speaking at the General Assembly of the United Nations

WASHINGTON (UPI) -- The round-the-clock killing of U.S. military advisers by Afghan soldiers they are training coupled with some $200 million worth of jet fighters and attack helicopters destroyed in a heavily fortified allied base in Afghanistan by Taliban guerrillas disguised in U.S. military uniforms are the latest reminders that 11 years of fighting have strengthened rather than weakened the Islamist enemy.

With more than 70 percent of the American people polled saying they are against the Afghan war as well as prolonging it to the end of 2014, the time to reassess the NATO commitment -- originally made to punish al-Qaida and chase it out of Afghanistan, not to wet-nurse a feudal society into democracy -- is past overdue.

-- Arnaud de Borchgrave for UPI

Yup, we should have declared victory a long time ago and left, when it looked like we were kind of on top. It's not going to look as good now to leave, but it is not likely to get better.

"The clash of civilizations exists, and it is within Islam, between those who want to burn American embassies and those who want to partner with us in building modern societies."

-- Fareed Zakaria at CNN's "GPS"

Well framed. We see several reports, for instance, that the Libyan people regret and denounce the murder of the American ambassaor who was instrumental in helping them bring down the Ghadaffi regime. The problem, though, is whether the modernizers stand a real chance. Even if they have numbers on their side with the people standing behind them, it can seem that the medieval fundamentalists always win their way, having intensity of resolve and the willingness to use terrorism on their side, which leads to a greater clash of civilizations against us.

Remember the Danish cartoons that were less than flattering to Muhammad? The cartoons that supposedly sparked violent riots across the Middle East. It was quite a few years ago. Almost ten years? That was actually just a more news-generating event, as there have been a number of instances in which Western art has provoked murderous anger from Mideast Muslims, with perhaps the most celebrated case being the fatwa to have Salman Rushdie killed.

There has been another round of this crazy mayhem. This time it was a movie, reputedly produced in America, that has incited another round of Mideast riots, this time killing an American envoy, along with a few other Americans. The only thing that can be said on behalf of the rioters is that, this time, the object of ‘art’ genuinely seems to be no more than an incitement, having no other real purpose, being so poor and flat, and could perhaps even be called hate speech. Though, I haven’t seen it myself, but so run all the reports that I have seen. Of course, even bad art is no excuse to kill anyone, leaving all jokes aside.

With respect to the killing of the envoy and the other Americans at the consulate in Libya, the Obama administration has expressed reservations over whether the killing was indeed part of a spontaneous riot, arguing that the attack looked much more prepared, so that it may be that it was already a planned operation that only took advantage of the uproar created by this anti-Islam film.

If the anti-American attack was opportunistic, the same can be said for the response from the Romney campaign. Before the riots even began, someone from the U.S. embassy in Cairo tweeted for greater religious understanding, and now Romney and the Republicans are seizing on this tweet to paint Obama as an anti-American apologist. I suppose they are even hoping that this might be the event that begins to turn the campaign around, because Romney/Ryan has been smelling like a loser lately. Of course, this only makes them stink more to the people who know some of the facts, but the problem is that most Americans will never bother to learn any of the facts, and too many of them are happy to jump on the idea that Obama is not a real American but is more like the dark enemy within.

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New York Times

Andrew Sullivan's Dish

Andrew Sullivan's Dish

Fox News like to sell themselves as the patriotic news channel - America's news channel. Well, they just revealed the name of a member of the Navy SEAL team that conducted the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, and now al-Qaida knows too! Al-Qaida has posted the picture and the name on its websites and is effectively announcing a super-fatwa on the man's life. One of Fox's executives, John Moody, has only this to say, "“Once you write a book, anonymously or not, you have no reasonable expectation of privacy.” The SEAL member has written a book under a pseudonym detailing the raid. It's true that fiction can not match the craziness of fact.

(Source: News-LJ)

I suppose it is only fair to say that Canada is considered to be one of the happier cases when it comes to integrating minorities into their society, but even the Canadians are having to deal with the international phenomenon of radicalized Muslim youth. I only wonder if this is still a growing phenomenon, or is it outdated reporting?

Is it too happy to think that Islamism has been flatlining? Is one getting carried away that there has not been any significant attacks in our country? Though, there is the new scare report about credible intelligence that Islamists are considering surgically implanted bombs to get around our heightened airport security. And lord knows that the Middle East is still boiling over and the developing tendencies do not look very promising.

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And herein lies a common misconception amongst “mainstream” Canadians: They’re convinced that, in the average Muslim household, it’s the parent who represents conservatism and tradition, and the Canadian-born children who are modern and fighting against this oppression. This is a falsehood.

Many of our parents, who immigrated here from Muslim countries in South Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, did so specifically out of their respect for Western values. Elder Muslims may be modest and socially conservative in their personal lives. But, by and large, the parents in Muslim-Canadian households believe in the core values of this society. Their values systems were not based on religion but on political freedom and the desire to separate religion and state.

It’s their children – in desperate need for identity – who have turned to conservative, hard-line and politicized Islam for the answers. This trend to embrace a politicized Islam has led to bloodshed in many parts of the world and is growing rapidly – and going unchecked – in Canada.

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Muslim youth have fooled themselves into believing there was a golden age of Islam they’d like to bring back to Canada, a golden age that could bring us all into the Dark Ages. And their parents don’t know what to do.

-- NATASHA FATAH for The Globe and Mail

( Boob Bombs )

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It has been a while since this blog has had some of that muscular Mark Steyn vinegar. Although he goes rather far afield for Monk's taste, I find him nicely bracing - like a cold shower with humor.

( Steyn column )

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I heard this interesting scrap of rumor, watching cable news tonight. Bush has been in the Middle East, and the Saudis supposedly told him that if the American troops are pulled out of Iraq, the Saudis will go in to take care of business against the rising Shia. Well, I could not help thinking that this might not be such a bad deal, after all. With the Sunnis and Shia fighting and killing each other, they may be too busy to worry about carrying out jihadic terrorism against the West. And then, years later, we can see where we are. But this does sound a wee bit optimistic.

What is really painful, though, is that even if this could be true, Bush would still mess it up, going by his statements that he has no intention to leave Iraq. Which means that the Sunnis and Shia get a real sweet deal, carrying out their civil war while killing Americans caught in the middle for a nice bonus.

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Watching "Scarborough Country" over dinner, I am reminded of today's news that al-Qaida and Iran are cheering the Democratic victories and the dismissal of Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld, like it is a victory for them as well. I just wanted to say that I think they are laboring under a misunderstanding. Not all Democrats are like Michael Moore. If they insist on carrying out jihadic terrorism against America and the West, I think they will learn that killing terrorists is a bipartisan policy. Rumsfeld just wasn't doing it efficiently enough.

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The Republicans are playing the only hand they have, the fear card:



When the stakes are this high, we need more honesty, competence, and accountability in leadership, and we can ill afford another term of unchecked Republican rule. We have already had too many years of that, and it has helped to make this nightmare our reality.

(source: Andrew Sullivan)

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