Obama Chooses Al-Arabiya For First Interview As President And Panders To The Arab World

President Obama decided to give his first interview as President to the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya. He took this as an opportunity to pander to the Arab world and to give nothing more than propaganda fodder to the enemy. His rhetoric on Israel is more than disturbing and his naivete is extremely worrisome. I shall not analyze the interview in its entirety, but I shall provide analysis of some key quotes from this interview that should interest all those concerned about the future or curious about the course Obama intends to take.

In the interview Obama says that he told his new envoy to the Middle East, George Mitchell, to "start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating -- in the past on some of these issues -- and we don't always know all the factors that are involved." How nice of Obama to paint America as a world bully in our fight against Islamoterrorism and support for Israel. Perhaps George Mitchell should listen to the words of Hamas's leaders as they continue to openly declare their genocidal intention to destroy the Jewish State. Perhaps he could listen to the words of Hamas's charter which declares that "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." For some reason I do not think this is the type of listening that Obama had in mind.

Obama goes on to say that "I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides [Israelis and Palestinians] to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people." What Obama seems not realize, in his supreme naivete, is that the goal of the Palestinian Islamoterrorist is not "prosperity and security," but the annihilation of Israel. This painting of a moral equivalence between the Israelis and Palestinians is nothing short of disgusting.

The President describes the Saudi-proposed peace plan for the Israel-Palestinian conflict saying "it took great courage to put forward something that is as significant as that. I think that there are ideas across the region of how we might pursue peace." One of the elements of the the Saudi plan is the full "right of return" of all Palestinian "refugees" to Israel. Israel Government spokesperson Avi Pazner has explained that Israel "cannot afford any return of Palestinians refugees to Israel because this would alter the demographic balance that there is now and create, in effect, another Palestinian state." This plan took no "courage" from Saudi Arabia and is certainly not "significant," as it is a plan that would effectively eliminate Israel as a Jewish State.

The Arab world was also told by Obama that "I do think that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what's happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan. These things are interrelated." What's happening is indeed interrelated by the reach of the ideology of jihad across the Middle East. This, unfortunately, is not what Obama means. Instead, Obama immediately explains his comment by saying that "what I've said, and I think Hillary Clinton has expressed this in her confirmation, is that if we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress." Apparently he thinks they are all interrelated by a lack of "respect" on the American side. I personally think there should be no respect for jihadist organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah or Al-Qaeada or those who sponsor and support them.

"I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount. But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side," Obama says. He is already announcing his plans to dictate to Israel that they "will be willing to make sacrifices." Israel has already made enough sacrifices and has gotten no peace in return. The withdrawal of all settlements and soldiers from Gaza has proven that. What happened to the Obama that moments earlier said America should "start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating"? I guess that only applies to Arab dictatorships and not our ally Israel which he would rather force into further dangerous concessions.

He further states that he thinks "it is possible for us to see a Palestinian state...that is contiguous." It is not possible, unless the plan is for Israel to be bisected. Look at a map!

Obama further blames America while on Al-Arabiya saying his "job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that. And that I think is going to be an important task." It is not Obama's job to "communicate" to Arabs about how America makes "mistakes." Communicating that America is to blame will not bring an end to the jihad. Further, what "respect and partnership" as recently as 20 or 30 years ago is Obama talking about? Perhaps Obama longs for the good old days of the Arab oil embargo against the United States. As recently as 30 years ago the Iranian Islamic revolution took place and Americans were taken hostage by radical Islamists in Teheran for 444 days. In 1983 Hezbollah bombed U.S. Marines in Lebanon killing 241 Americans. Jihadists attacked the World Trade Center in 1993, the Khobar Tower in Saudi Arabia in 1996, two U.S. embassies in 1998, the USS Cole in 2000, and more, before George W. Bush ever launched any wars after the Islamoterrorist attack of September 2001. Does Obama want to restore the glory days leading up to 9-11?

Obama also says it "is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out our general framework and approach." Maybe Mahmoud Ahmadenijad and Barack Obama could sit down and debate whether the Holocaust ever happened, whether Israel has the right to exist, or whether Iran should really be funding and arming Islamoterrorist organizations around the Middle East and the world.

Obama did nothing but pander to the Arab world and provide propaganda for the enemy in his first interview as president. His words on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are frightening. His weak rhetoric and naivete only emboldens the Islamoterrorist foe and endangers America and her allies.

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