Obama chooses Arab Network for first TV Interview

I'm all for trying to make peace and I do believe that is the job of the President. But I have a real problem with the Blame America approach. "What I told him {Obama to Mitchell} is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating." WHAT??? Excuse me, the article itself alludes to the fact the "partnership with the Muslim world" has been more or less dead for the past 20-30 years. Yeah, it sort of went to hell in a hand basket when the world watched 444 days of terror.

To say there was a massive backlash against the US because of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is a touch naive. Don't think we were on their card list before that. 9/11, first bombing at the World Trade Center, the USS Cole, US Embassy bombings -we were not winning the popularity contest with the Middle East then. And chances are the cultural differences will always trump any real peace. Will there ever be a time when we all live in peace? Who knows. Honestly I think the US is better at the live and let live attitude. We believe in freedom of religion, that seems to be a big hang-up in the middle east. We believe in women's rights. Don't recall the last time someone was stoned in the streets of America for a sin. Fighting for freedom is quite a bit different than ethnic cleansing. Freeing people from oppression goes to the core of American beliefs. But for our President to go on an Arab network and say the US was "dictating", well that is just disgraceful. All along I have felt that this administration would end up either being as impotent as the Carter administration or just useful idiots http://www.americanthinker.com/2006/08/islams_useful_idiots_1.html

For the sake of all of us, I hope I am wrong.