Obama misses the problems behind the problems

James

Don't democratically elected politicians also blame external forces for their failures?

Surely a better argument in favour of democracy is that autocratic corruption breeds extremism - either as self-serving justification from God for the autocratic style of government or as a means of revolution against the autocratic government.

logdon

"Missing from the speech was a clear appreciation that violent extremism comes out of an extremist ideology. Violent extremism cannot be defeated until the ideology that lies behind it is tackled."

Absolutely right. The islamic bull in civilisation's china shop.

All stems from this premise and all the excuses are canards designed to deflect from that basic truth.

And that includes the biggest and most tragic canard of all, namely the use of Israel as scapegoat for all the worlds ills.

Ivan D

Isn't it fun watching America Firsters like James get awfully confused when they no longer know who to suck up to?

Austin Barry

A litany of commonplace homilies to make us all feel warm and inclusive - until the next Islamist outrage pours cold water and shredded flesh on his Small World pieties.

Tom

Isn't one concern that a democratically elected govt in many muslim countries woudl eb much more extreme than the autocratic regimes they replace? The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is a good example.

adrian drummond

Why should people in the West laud the great benefits of Democracy over other systems of Government when the last ten years of New Labour (for example) have displayed many of its short comings. Voters no longer vote because they no longer believe in it. And even when the Palistianians voted, the West did not like the result and ignored it. The European Union also ignored the democratic will of France, Holland and Ireland. I respectfully suggest that we get democracy working here first, before trying to preach its supposed benefits to others.

Verity

What did Obama think Muslim leaders were going to do? Nod sagely and think, "Gosh, he's right!"?

It was a moonbat speech and James Forsyth's post didn't address the issues.

It is imperialist to force a form of governance down the throats of people who did not seek it. There are other forms of governance. Democracy doesn't suit everyone. Ask the Chinese, who are thriving without it.

Just now, the Muslim theocracies have the whip hand because we need their oil to power our own countries. Alternative forms of energy and self-sufficiency in petroleum and gas are the answer, not the magic fairy wand of unwanted "democracy".

The violent Islamics want to convert the West to their belief system by the sword. Their adherence to a strong man, as we have seen in "postal voting" blocs that have developed in the ghettoes in Britain, is deep, ingrained and goes back for centuries, perhaps millennia, before anyone thought up Islam. They're not going to change for us. Therefore, the sooner we take the weapon of oil out of their hands, the happier we will all be.

We in the Anglosphere and the rest of the West can go our own way (under our own power) and the sons of the prophet can go theirs. If they aggressed against us, with no dependency on their oil, we could take whatever steps were necessary to stop them without fear of giving offence and sacrificing an energy source.

Obama entirely misses this critical point ... or (and I give him credit for being more knowing than that), he was talking in empty platitudes just to keep the pot boiling along.

As James notes, it was weak speech and I believe it was intentionally so.

Suki

"The prose in this speech did not reach the heights of some of Obama’s others." - you're joking, right?

Since when has this man reached heights with his words?

It's never been what he says but how he looks that has you lot grovelling so shamelessly. Is it really that difficult to look beyond Obama's colour and notice all he does is talk twaddle?

TomTom

So what would Obama have done on 11th September 2001 and the day after ?

Clive

Ideology is too easily manipulated by those in power to be the ultimate 'problem behind the problems'. Autocracy is a style of government rather than a framework of ideas that determines how it is executed. There is no single view that defines the positions of ME nations and it is more helpful to look at personalities and motives. It is only then that the US can offer incentives and inducements for countries such as Syria to engage in serious talks. Anything more abstract or generalised would play into the hands of the most reactionary factions.

Verity

Well said, Adrian Drummond!

Iian C

" Missing from the speech was a clear appreciation that violent extremism comes out of an extremist ideology "

It is not just violent extremism that comes from extremist ideology. As some would argue, in the long run the greater danger is from non-violent extremist ideology that slowly make itself accepted and legitimate because of their non-violence. This is missed by Obama in his speech - at all of our perils.

In all this speech has displayed his naivity some more. The greater the hope the deeper will be the disappointment.

porkbelly

Another instance of Obama acting as though he were some celestial being hovering over the turbulent world, dispensing empty platitudes that will somehow magically cause all differences to melt away and bitter enemies to burst into tears and hug one another. Does he really believe his own hype? How much better it would have been if he stood up for the values he swore to uphold - things like freedom and democracy. But no - too much like (gasp) Bush: we must instead have the chilly, distant moralizer who is studiously as critical of his own country as he is of its enemies. In the US and Europe he may be The One; I have a feeling that in the Middle East he's just another Messiah among many.

Augustus

One normally associates a lame duck president with a politician who is about to leave office, and therefore hasn't the influence to say very much, because the one that follows him can always reverse course. But Barack Obama has created a new style of such a breed. In his first year of office he is proving a lame duck with everyone peeing on his shoes.

The Chineze are still waiting to test the President. In Iran they feel safer than ever, and nuclear bombs can safely be made in double-quick tempo. North Korea is even more chuffed. Already two atom bombs tested, as if war had actually started. In Pakistan and Indonesia and in the Arab world generally, Islamists are only getting stronger. Turkey is openly in league with Syria, which only a few months ago was on the verge of war with America and Iraq.

The 11th September, 2001 wasn't
a coincidence. The Muslims thought of President Bush, after the muddled election, as weakened. It's highly improbable that al-Qaida would have dared the attacks against a president in a much stronger position. Obama may have received a legitimate majority mandate, but he behaves as if he
could be expecting a scolding. His leadership motto seems to be
'don't do anything nasty to me,
or else I'm going to shout'.

The World may seem quieter since he was elected. Not because he made it so, but because the enemies of the West
are keeping there powder dry.