[Peace-discuss] Foreign press slightly more honest

[E. Wayne Johnson]

The NYT writers surely must have a bad taste in their mouths.

*
Was anyone supposed to believe this--?

/"I will promise you this, that if we have not gotten our troops out by 
the time I am president, it is the first thing I will do. I will get our 
troops home. We will bring an end to this war. You can take that to the 
bank. " - Barack Obama Campaign Promise - October 27, 2007/


On 12/2/2009 12:55 PM, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> [This is from the German news magazine Der Spiegel --  as much a 
> capitalist enterprise as the NYT & the WaPo, which praised the speech, 
> but not as sold out to the propaganda needs of the USG. --CGE]
>
>     Searching in Vain for the Obama Magic
>     By Gabor Steingart
>
> Never before has a speech by President Barack Obama felt as false as 
> his Tuesday address announcing America's new strategy for Afghanistan. 
> It seemed like a campaign speech combined with Bush rhetoric -- and 
> left both dreamers and realists feeling distraught.
>
> One can hardly blame the West Point leadership. The academy commanders 
> did their best to ensure that Commander-in-Chief Barack Obama's speech 
> would be well-received.
>
> Just minutes before the president took the stage inside Eisenhower 
> Hall, the gathered cadets were asked to respond "enthusiastically" to 
> the speech. But it didn't help: The soldiers' reception was cool.
>
> One didn't have to be a cadet on Tuesday to feel a bit of nausea upon 
> hearing Obama's speech. It was the least truthful address that he has 
> ever held. He spoke of responsibility, but almost every sentence 
> smelled of party tactics. He demanded sacrifice, but he was unable to 
> say what it was for exactly.
>
> An additional 30,000 US soldiers are to march into Afghanistan -- and 
> then they will march right back out again. America is going to war -- 
> and from there it will continue ahead to peace. It was the speech of a 
> Nobel War Prize laureate.
>
> Just in Time for the Campaign
>
> For each troop movement, Obama had a number to match. US strength in 
> Afghanistan will be tripled relative to the Bush years, a fact that is 
> sure to impress hawks in America. But just 18 months later, just in 
> time for Obama's re-election campaign, the horror of war is to end and 
> the draw down will begin. The doves of peace will be let free.
>
> The speech continued in that vein. It was as though Obama had taken 
> one of his old campaign speeches and merged it with a text from the 
> library of ex-President George W. Bush. Extremists kill in the name of 
> Islam, he said, before adding that it is one of the "world's great 
> religions." He promised that responsibility for the country's security 
> would soon be transferred to the government of President Hamid Karzai 
> -- a government which he said was "corrupt." The Taliban is dangerous 
> and growing stronger. But "America will have to show our strength in 
> the way that we end wars," he added.
>
> It was a dizzying combination of surge and withdrawal, of marching to 
> and fro. The fast pace was reminiscent of plays about the French 
> revolution: Troops enter from the right to loud cannon fire and then 
> they exit to the left. And at the end, the dead are left on stage.
>
> Obama's Magic No Longer Works
>
> But in this case, the public was more disturbed than entertained. 
> Indeed, one could see the phenomenon in a number of places in recent 
> weeks: Obama's magic no longer works. The allure of his words has 
> grown weaker.
>
> It is not he himself who has changed, but rather the benchmark used to 
> evaluate him. For a president, the unit of measurement is real life. A 
> leader is seen by citizens through the prism of their lives -- their 
> job, their household budget, where they live and suffer. And, in the 
> case of the war on terror, where they sometimes die.
>
> Political dreams and yearnings for the future belong elsewhere. That 
> was where the political charmer Obama was able to successfully capture 
> the imaginations of millions of voters. It is a place where 
> campaigners -- particularly those with a talent for oration -- are 
> fond of taking refuge. It is also where Obama set up his campaign 
> headquarters, in an enormous tent called "Hope."
>
> In his speech on America's new Afghanistan strategy, Obama tried to 
> speak to both places. It was two speeches in one. That is why it felt 
> so false. Both dreamers and realists were left feeling distraught.
>
> The American president doesn't need any opponents at the moment. He's 
> already got himself.
>
> 12/02/2009
> http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,664753,00.html
> Opinion
> President Barack Obama's Tuesday speech left a bad taste in many mouths.
>
>     ###
>
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