And I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear. But that same principle must apply to Muslim perceptions of America. Just as Muslims do not fit a crude stereotype, America is not the crude stereotype of a self-interested empire.
It’s a start. I particularly like the “I love you, but…” nature of how it’s phrased. I think too often we hear about how we have to try to understand this or that or these people ot those people or whatever…and that’s true, but it’s nice to see someone mention that it’s a two way street. We (as Americans) are way too hard on ourselves sometimes.
Personally I think the perceived American arrogance and empire building is 100% justified, mostly because of the Iraq war. There was a brief period of time after 9/11 where the world really felt for us, and then the Iraq thing went down and lingered for way too long.
But still, Obama’s style is one of common sense so far when it comes to foreign policy. I loved that he will say in front of Netanyahu that a two-state solution is the only one that will work (and I don’t understand why the US has been so hesitant to support that).
I’ve gotta hand it to the guy, he’s been on the job five months and he just keeps attacking one thing after another. He’ll be more gray than Clinton by the time he’s done. Hopefully, he’ll keep his dick out of interns.