The apparent miscarriage of democratic justice now taking place in Iran may more prove, rather than disprove, columnist Michael Thumann’s thesis – that President Obama has presented a face of America that’s much harder to demonize.
For Germany’s Die Zeit, Michael Thumann writes in part:
“Is the electoral defeat of Islamist Hezbullah in Lebanon the earliest sign of success for Obama’s speech in Cairo? … Last week during his epochal speech in Cairo, he set a new tone for American policy in the Middle East. Arabic newspaper al-Hayat wrote self-mockingly of the, ‘confusing guest, who revealed the attractiveness of the Great Satan to us.’ Many Muslims were genuinely enthralled. That was also to do with Obama’s attitude. The usual history lesson delivered from the pedestal of Western infallibility was cancelled.
Examples? Obama avoided the word ‘terror,’ which his predecessor used so hyperactively and which is misused so gleefully by so many governments as a pretext for suppression. He praised the attitude of Muslim women who choose to wear a veil. He altered the view of modernity by acknowledging that progress doesn’t have to be made the Western way.”
Some will ask: doesn’t the Iranian nuclear program require decisive action? Shouldn’t we fight Holocaust denier Ahmadinejad? Isn’t the advance of radical Islamic parties like Hamas and Hezbullah cause for alarm? Of course. But an effective counter-strategy must begin with the following insight. The West has lost the so-called ‘war on terror.’ Al-Qaeda lives. … Blockading Hamas in Gaza, bombing Hezbullah in Lebanon, isolating Ahmadinejad’s Iran and shutting out Assad’s Syria have made this four-way axis stronger than ever. … It can’t go on like this.”
By Michael Thumann
Translated By Alexandra Griffiths
June 11, 2009
Germany – Die Zeit – Original Article (German)
ISTANBUL: Is the electoral defeat of Islamist Hezbullah in Lebanon the earliest sign of success for Obama’s speech in Cairo? That’s the speculation in Beirut’s cafés, where supporters of the pro-Western government have been celebrating their success for days. Weaken the radicals with soft words – that appears to be the new formula for the Near East [Middle East for Americans].
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