tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336863312463993865.post2388124672834557970..comments2023-06-23T02:22:10.004-07:00Comments on SHAKEELSREFLECTIONS: Shakeel Syedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17777583419151854487noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336863312463993865.post-80381780059219027652013-03-13T11:51:05.435-07:002013-03-13T11:51:05.435-07:00" Excellent.
And i have some thoughts to add..." Excellent.<br /><br />And i have some thoughts to add. I am not making excuses for Obama, his drone policy, and others, are heartbreaking. But i am expanding the circle of responsibility. Obama has, on several occasions, spoken out for cessation of Jewish Israeli settlement expansion and for some Palestinian rights, only to be slammed by members of Congress. I think every American who hasn't countered the voices that scream for special aid and uncritical acceptance of everything that every Israeli government does, shares responsibility for the allegiance to those Israeli policies that ignore the rights of non-Jewish residents in Israel and Palestine.<br /><br />Obama and every US president before him has attempted to set limits on Israeli government's transgressions and every president gets smashed down by Congress. When, in spring of 2011, Obama called for renewed discussions for the future of Jerusalem and future boundaries of a Palestinian state that he hoped would emerge in September 2011, members of Congress invited PM Bibi Netanyahu to speak to them. When Netanyahu, in defiance of Obama, declared all of Jerusalem as Israel's capital and that the green line would be an indefensible border and then, in an extraordinary display of bipartisanship, nearly every Democrat and Republican united, as they gave Netanyahu standing ovation after ovation as he ripped up any hope for negotiations for a future Palestinian state - anyone of us who didn't "have Obama's back" and called to reprimand his/her Representative, shares responsibility for the injustices our government continues to support. I don't see how Obama could have possibly moved forward against that tide. US support for a Palestinian state in September 2011, was killed that evening - and for that i don't blame Obama, i blame us. "<br /><br />Pat WestwaterShakeel Syedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17777583419151854487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336863312463993865.post-28131039665072037112013-03-13T10:19:37.545-07:002013-03-13T10:19:37.545-07:00A badly needed reality check...A badly needed reality check...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08258071912208712265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336863312463993865.post-17585868970925416542013-03-12T21:12:24.986-07:002013-03-12T21:12:24.986-07:00Anyone with a good irony detector would have reali...Anyone with a good irony detector would have realized that when President Obama accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 that he was a narcissist of the highest order, a believer in his own press releases and publicity campaign. (We should have remembered that he was named Marketer of the Year in 2008 by Advertising Age.)<br /><br />And then of course, irony piled up: he used his speech to advance the Just War Theory, in a moment of blatant collective narcissism: if the US does it/ if the President of the US does it, it must be legal even under International law. Where did we hear that one before?<br /><br />And then the third irony is that the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, with all the TRUE candidates for Peace, should award the prize two out of four years to hegemonic powers: the US presidency and the European Union. A consummate instance of suck-up to the powers that be. They could have chosen to do what they did in 1939-1943 (WWII); 1948 (NAKBA); 1956; 1966-67 (Vietnam); 1972: award no prize at all.<br /><br />Years from now we will look back on this fiasco of 2009 and scratch our heads. Maybe they can retrieve the award in 2017 after President Obama leaves office. He will really have earned it by then, won't he?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792360895254683381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336863312463993865.post-18670986979346218192013-03-12T21:10:09.756-07:002013-03-12T21:10:09.756-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01792360895254683381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1336863312463993865.post-78407327177732091392013-03-12T19:28:10.359-07:002013-03-12T19:28:10.359-07:00Where is the person we voted for in 2008 and again...Where is the person we voted for in 2008 and again in 2012? What is the worth of the Nobel Peace Prize with this kind of performance. Thanks for reminding us of things we should be most mindful of. Blessings, BiLLBillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12845129241615864614noreply@blogger.com