In the New Statesman’s ’50 people who matter today’ feature (NS, 27/9/10) there is speculation that Barack Obama might ‘secure his place as a great president’ and no mention of the war crimes that he’s involved in right now. [1] On the adjacent page Hugo Chavéz is said to have ‘a wavering commitment to human rights’ and it is speculated that he might ‘one day live up to his firebrand rhetoric’. Let’s judge both on their actions not their rhetoric. Obama has sanctioned, escalated and repeatedly justified war crimes in countries he has no right to interfere in, yet apparently he is a man of peace and might turn out to be great.
Here’s Obama, man of peace, being quoted in The Guardian recently:
‘Obama conspicuously did not talk of a military option. “I don’t take war lightly…I was opposed to the war in Iraq. I am somebody who’s interested in resolving issues diplomatically.”’ [2]
How does he get away with such blatant lies?! He goes on…
“Understandably, Israel is very concerned when the president of a country, a large country near them, states that they should be wiped off the face of the earth.”
Hasn’t this one been cleared up enough times? According to Professor Juan Cole, ‘Ahmadinejad did not use that phrase in Persian. He quoted an old saying of Ayatollah Khomeini calling for “this occupation regime over Jerusalem” to “vanish from the page of time.”’ [3]
Obama says:
“We have no interest in meddling, in the rights of people that choose their own government, but we will speak out forcefully when we see governments abusing and oppressing their own people.”
No interest in meddling?!? What, as in no meddling in other countries thousands of miles away from your own? Of course not, Mr Obama, there’s absolutely no evidence that the US is meddling in other countries…
[1] http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2010/09/laurie-penny-progress-harman
[2] http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/sep/24/barack-obama-mahmoud-ahmadinejad-un
[3] http://www.juancole.com/2007/06/ahmadinejad-i-am-not-anti-semitic.html