Well, not really. What Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood president actually expounded upon are reasons Arabs hate the United States and what we can do to make them love us.
Yep…We’ll get on this right away, sir.
On the eve of his first trip to the United States as Egypt’s new Islamist president, Mohamed Morsi said the United States needed to fundamentally change its approach to the Arab world, showing greater respect for its values and helping build a Palestinian state, if it hoped to overcome decades of pent-up anger.
A former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt’s first democratically elected president, Mr. Morsi sought in a 90-minute interview with The New York Times to introduce himself to the American public and to revise the terms of relations between his country and the United States after the ouster of Hosni Mubarak, an autocratic but reliable ally.
He said it was up to Washington to repair relations with the Arab world and to revitalize the alliance with Egypt, long a cornerstone of regional stability.
If Washington is asking Egypt to honor its treaty with Israel, he said, Washington should also live up to its own Camp David commitment to Palestinian self-rule. He said the United States must respect the Arab world’s history and culture, even when that conflicts with Western values. (emphasis added).
This will be music to the ears of our president who never misses an occasion to downplay US interests so that foreigners will like us again — at least that’s the theory. How’s that working out for us, President Obama? Let’s ask Ambassador Stevens. Oh, wait…
Sure. We’d like nothing better than to join President Morsi and the rest of the Arab world in re-living the 14th century by abandoning our closely held, hard fought, and cherished values and adopting those values embraced by the Arabs.
But um…does that include covering women from head to toe in burlap sacks? Damn, I am so going to miss the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Issue.
Anything else we can do for you, Mr. President?
And he dismissed criticism from the White House that he did not move fast enough to condemn protesters who recently climbed over the United States Embassy wall and burned the American flag in anger over a video that mocked the Prophet Muhammad.
“We took our time” in responding to avoid an explosive backlash, he said, but then dealt “decisively” with the small, violent element among the demonstrators.
“We can never condone this kind of violence, but we need to deal with the situation wisely,” he said, noting that the embassy employees were never in danger.
Shorter Morsi: We didn’t condemn the violation of your sovereignty right away because we found it politically advantageous to appear in agreement with the extremists. Besides, it’s a useful fiction to pretend the violence was initiated by a “small, violent element” among the protestors.
Ok — you had your say. Now here are our “terms” for you:
1. How dare you try and dictate what our values should be — much less demand that they mirror your values. I would rather have us adopt the values of a tribe of New Guinea cannibals than your anti-liberty, anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-human worldview.
2. Stop acting so crazy.
3. Stop stealing your own people blind.
4. Stop hating on the Jews.
5. Stop killing people who disagree with you politically.
6. Stop throwing people in jail for the same reason.
7. Stop trying to recreate a worldwide caliphate. You’re not going to do it anyway, and the effort will probably kill a lot of innocent people.
8. Stop embracing terrorists who kill babies.
9. Stop treating women as if they are property.
10. Did I mention that you must stop acting so crazy?
That’s a start. I’ll get back to you when I think of a couple of dozen others.
“He said it was up to Washington to repair relations with the Arab world and to revitalize the alliance with Egypt…”
Why? Just because he feels entilted? No, thanks. We have better things to do.
Yes, we should change our relationship to the Arab world.
1. Fully develop domestic energy resources to eliminate economic dependence on the Arab world.
2. No more money, favorable trade terms, or other inducements to civilized behavior: let them develop themselves or rot.
3. No more immigration of Muslims from Muslim-majority nations. Let them develop themselves or rot.
4. Full support for Israel, essentially unconditional.
5. No more nation building: level the places that attack us.
That should reset our relations with the Arab world quite notably.
Bush II tried (1), but the Democrats stopped it.
Above all: No student visas except for persecuted religious minorities (including some small Muslim sects).
This might be more reasonable if if the Arab world had done anything in the last half-Millenium to warrant respect, but it hasn’t. Nuke ‘em if they get out of line.
As an add-on—-A modest hypothesis:
The entire Arab race could disappear overnight and the world would not be appreciably the poorer for it, either today or a century from now.
For if you want to see a natural distilled essence of one kind of aurhoritarian state, where average men become nothing but ants leading lives of no great dignity or meaning, then please look at the Arab world. I don’t want to hear it from them about “respect”.
I may one day think of a better contender for the title, but for right now, in the annals of human history, rarely has there been a breed that combines greater arrogance and expectations of deference with lesser actual achievements than those of the Arab world.
And let that be a warning to the Arab world–you guys have something of a poor track record when it comes to actially winning or achievement. We don’t. Don’t confuse our politicians and media with the still-beating heart of America, because you guys just are not the varsity team. We are.
Speaking of Caliphates–what was the last major ground war the Arab world actually *won*? It’s done nothing against Israel, did nothing against the European colonialists, Bonaparte did as he would (it took the British to win), you had to have T.E. Lawrence against the Turks, the Spanish kicked you out of Andalusia, and so on.
You guys might think guerrilla action might get you somewhere, as in Algiers–and it would, if we didn’t decide to just unleash a steamroller on your home territories.
Which is exactly what we would do, and have done. My advice is thus learn how to respect the rest of the world, not demand respect from it, because not all of us are Progressive Democrats. We do have limits.
“Mohamed Morsi said the United States needed to fundamentally change its approach to the Arab world, showing greater respect for its values and helping build a Palestinian state, if it hoped to overcome decades of pent-up anger.”
Nah, I think I prefer driving Arab Muslim colonialists/imperialists out of Egypt and Palestine and back into Arabia where they belong. That seems like a better plan to me.
Thanks for giving us your input, though.
I was being driven to work here in Israel today, and I heard about this on the news. I turned to my friend and said, “why is anybody quoting the New York Times”?
I love how all these discussions always revolve around what WE have to do to accommodate THEM. And most of the things they want us to do, are aggressive things that violate our morality or culture… but the things we ask them to do are passive things, that result in them NOT DOING something – like kill people. Knock that off.
Dealing with Islam is like trying to negotiate with armed children.
I disagree with the “list” concept. People like Morsi will find something equally bad, that is not on the list. For example, “Those people(terrorists) didn’t kill babies. They were toddlers.”
It’s better to just tell Morsi, “You KNOW what we expect as far as security and human rights. Make it HIS responsibility to do what is acceptable. DON’T tell him what the consequences will be. MAKE HIM GUESS.
Wasn’t the issue of Palestinian self-rule already addressed with the one exception they demand which is the obliteration of another race and country and that they will not come to the table unless this is on the ‘List’?
Morsi, what if the condition the palestines demand is the total obliteration of your country?
When it comes to their countries, the leadership is quick to absolve themselves of anything. They are quick to say that a ‘few individuals’ burned down the church, killed people, slaughtered christians, beheaded women, blew up schools, killed an embassador. When it comes to ‘outrage’ over an unknown video, they hold the entire west hostage for it as an excuse.
This is nothing more than power hungrey third rate bullies threatening their own people in order to gain control and money. The rest of the Middle East wishes them gone. The obama admin needs to grow some but its far too late.
Mr. Morsi:
Thanks for being so concerned about the Palestinians! We are loading them on buses as we speak; and they will be arriving in Alexandria tomorrow. Please note: This includes all members of Hamas. Watch your back.
Good Luck
Israel
Thread Winner….right here! Good one
Whenever I see people rioting in the streets or people shooting at each other
wearing sneakers and jeans, I always wonder whose cooking what for dinner tonight
Morsi has a real problem. Without an army Egypt is basically a big empty hyper impoverished Third World nation with few if any natural resources, antiquated infrastructure, no new and innovative industries and a couple of interesting tourist attractions. The one thing Egypt owns that is of any strategic importance is the Suez Canal – and in the past they couldnt even defend that when they had a huge army. So, who runs the Egyotian army? We do. Their planes, tanks and other significant assets are US made and depend on US spare parts and US ammunition. Need to lubricate that tank turret? US supplies. So Morsi can make noise but if he strays too far from the path we dictate his militray will feel the pinch. And if we pinch his militray where it hurts Morsi will be out in a coup within a week.
Would that our president had two gray cells, a spine and a pair of working gonads. If he did, he’d invite Morsi into a small, obscure room with 2 hard chairs and one huge mock up of a check, labeled US Aid to Egypt.
The first time Morsi demanded something (anything), the president would get up, walk over to the check, rip off a substantial chunk and toss it in the corner. Second demand, same response. Repeat the process, until Morsi shuts up, owns up and steps up. Or until the check – and all the US financial aid it represents – is totally shredded.
Leave us the F alone and we will leave you the F alone. By the way kiss that charity check that Ahole gave you, we voided it out. I am so tired of the middle east and all it troubles, decades of shit, these are backward people that like living in a backward world, LET THEM.