Slate
http://www.slate.com/id/2149995U.N.-Diplomatic
Bush goes to Turtle Bay—and says nothing.
By Fred Kaplan
Posted Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2006, at 3:26 PM ET
President Bush had nothing to say at the United Nations today. This was the clearest message of his 25-minute speech before the General Assembly—that he has no plans to change course, no desire to talk with his enemies, no proposals to put on the table, no initiatives of any sort, except to name an envoy to Sudan.
His address was full of stirring words, signifying nothing. At one point, he spoke "directly to the people across the broader Middle East." To Iraqis, he said, "We will not abandon you"—which many Iraqis must have taken as a mixed blessing at best. To Afghans, he said, "We will stand with you," to which they could be forgiven for blinking a skeptical eye. To the Lebanese, he expressed admiration for their courage but said surprisingly little else.
<<snip>>
In his closing, President Bush posed a challenge to the General Assembly: "The nations gathered in this chamber must make a choice. ... Will we support the moderates and reformers who are working for change across the Middle East, or will we yield the future to the terrorists and extremists?"
Which "moderates and reformers" is he talking about? What kind of "change across the Middle East"? What actions is he proposing the nations take? Or is he just reciting bromides, uninterested in the answers or in how "this chamber"—which, undeniably, has a dreadful record on such issues—might try to deal with them?
The sad fact is that, even among Middle Eastern countries governed by aspiring or actual democrats, the United States is less and less a moral model. Our beacon has dimmed not because of who we are but because of what we've done. And President Bush made clear today that he's not going to do anything differently.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
