President Obama’s speech in Cairo elicited a whirlwind of accusations from my fellow conservatives, many of whom have labeled it an “apology tour.” Marc Thiessen, former George W. Bush speechwriter, said on Fox News that the president had thrown “our military under the bus in front of a Muslim audience.”
When it comes to opportunities for criticism, the agenda of the Obama Administration presents conservatives with a target-rich environment. But Obama’s Cairo speech should only be a target for praise.
Yes, the president did admit–as the U.S. government has done before–interference in the politics of Iran in the 1950s. Yes, the president represented his views on Iraq which, like them or not, were clearly presented to the American people in the last election. But he did not come, as Jimmy Carter might have done, on bended knee. He presented America as an imperfect country that is in a state of continual reform. In short, an example to follow.
The president said the “United States has been one of the greatest sources of progress that the world has ever known.” Sound like an apology to you?
For the sake of a little humility, President Obama won the right to gain the attention of the entire Muslim world and to utter truths that needed to be said.
To elites in Cairo, where the government-sanctioned press routinely publishes cartoons riddled with the crudest, vilest anti-Semitic images, the president linked anti-Semitism to the Holocaust.
To young Iranians, preparing to choose whether or not to re-elect the rancid Ahmadinejad, the president called Holocaust denial a sign of one who is “baseless,” “ignorant” and “hateful.”
To young people tempted by the rhetoric of Al-Qaida, the president (with the authority of one with Muslim roots) used a stirring quote from the Quran to drive a wedge between Al-Qaida and Islam.
To the governments of the region, the president spoke against rulers who “steal from the people.” He made it clear that true democracy has to be more than just elections.
To several kingdoms, he called for religious freedom, shaming their regimes by comparing them to the relative tolerance of Andalusia and Cordoba.
And he stood up for that half of the Muslim world that is often forced into silence. He spoke up for the education of girls and said that no one should dictate “what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.”
At home, these may sound like platitudes. Spoken by President Barack Obama in Cairo, these words, according to news reports, caused people in the audience to gasp.
When I think of this speech, I think back to President Reagan’s speech before the Berlin Wall. Some of President Reagan’s foreign policy advisors told him there were certain things he couldn’t say. Ronald Reagan went ahead and said them.
So did Barack Obama. This may be the most consequential speech since “tear down this wall.”
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending Melanne Verveer’s the swearing-in ceremony as our first-ever Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. It was a lovely occasion — full of both rejoicing and resolve, as Secretary Clinton and her newest ambassador reaffirmed their commitment to “make sure that the concerns of women and girls remain central to the American foreign policy agenda.”