Can Admitting a Wrong Make It Right?

To address the future of the Middle East, Obama must look to the past.

By Christopher Dickey | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Jun 1, 2009 | Updated: 3:02  p.m. ET Jun 1, 2009

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  • Posted By: jbrown92 @ 06/10/2009 10:56:22 PM

    "...in the Middle East today, admitting the wrongs on all sides may be the only way left to start making things right."

    Bravo, I completely agree, but I think this is a bit of an old argument that simply hasn't been taken seriously.

  • Posted By: froy1100 @ 06/10/2009 10:49:14 AM

    Apologize? No need for that. It would suffice to clearly state that the new US administration will change once and for all its disastrous foreign policy toward the Middle East. That it will no longer treat Israel like a spoiled child that, despite being the bully of the neighborhood is still pampered and protected like if he suffered some terminal disease. That it will no longer support violent dictators just because they suit American geopolitics. That they will no longer plot against democratically elected leaders widely supported by their people just because they happen to be on the wrong side of the equation.

    That would be enough. No apologies. Just looking forward.

    Remember: they don't hate our freedoms. They just hate our foreign policy.

  • Posted By: taniashaina @ 06/04/2009 9:47:44 AM

    The author, Christopher Dickey, is obviously a card carrying anti-Semite. His article is a pack of lies designed only to smear Israel and the Jewish people. Would Newsweek pay a Ku Klux Klansman to write opinions about black-white relations? Would Newsweek pay a Nazi to write opionions about WW 2? Have you no integrity?

    • Posted By: froy1100 @ 06/10/2009 9:01:51 AM

      Wow, this is a truly sensitive zionist. Rule of thumb: if you don't kiss Israel's ***, you are an anti-semite.

  • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 06/08/2009 3:02:39 PM

    So being forthright with the muslim world is so important why not with his own constituents?

    Now we are being told that the people who have healthcare paid by their employer will have to pay a tax on that insurance so that he can give away free healthcare to the poor including, one would have to guess, the illegal immigrant!

    "No new taxes on those making less than $250,000.00"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As always the way to know a polititian is lying is to notice if he is speaking!

  • Posted By: Prem Nizar Kalindhi @ 06/07/2009 12:15:07 PM

    President Obama???s intention is good. And if the past offers some inspirations to move forward or some lessons to learn, we should take them with us for the present and for the future. Otherwise leave them behind forever. Obama might have gone through this. And he seems to be in the White House to remove some black spots from the minds of people at home and abroad. Optimism is the essence of his speech. But actions must gradually take over all the pleasing words he had delivered. Lincoln once told he had destroyed his enemies by making them friends. And his bold step helped eradicate slavery. Any outcome is not expected overnight. In politics, political opportunism is dangerous. Even if he and his like minded are sincerely on the move towards peace and tranquility, the hardliners from every part of the world await for chances of his wrong steps .Religious interferences some times deviate the process of a good proposal or come as stumbling blocks. President Obama has to brave and take up all such challenges, if he really wants to translate his vision. So, all the peace loving citizens of the world hope that the long standing conflicts will come one by one in the funeral queue with an epitaph.By Prem Nizar Hameed

  • Posted By: oldtymer1 @ 06/04/2009 4:53:17 PM

    higns, why dont you move to that perfect utopia that you dream about. This country was born in a violent revollution and if it keeps going the way that it is now it will probably die in a bloody revolution.

    • Posted By: hlgns763 @ 06/04/2009 5:21:36 PM

      im not "dreaming about a utopia", im smart enough to realize such an idea is impossible. but im also smart enough to try reason and diplomacy before reaching for my gun and shedding blood.

      you dont need to give me a history lesson on our countries origins. we have never had more than 15 years of peace/neutrality in the 200+ years of our existance, arguably less than 10 years.

      im also smart enough to at least hope for peace someday. if you dont strive for peace, you will never see it.

      i love my country, i dont agree with alot of our pseudo political/military tactics, but thats me. and thanks to our constitution i can have that freedom to think that way and voice it as loud as i please.

      so if your so enamoured with war and blood shed why dont you move to pakistan eh? or perhaps afghanistan or sudan or the congo or liberia where the fighting never stops and people are beginning to forget why the fighting started in the first place....

      is it wrong to hope for peace? when did this become taboo?

      is it wrong to want my friends back home where bullets arent whizzing by they're heads and they have to dodge road side bombs and fire fights?

      is it wrong to want to see a child reunited with his father?

      is it really so wrong in your mind to hope for an end to the pointless killing that you wish for me to leave the united states? this country needs more people like me in my opinion... and less people like you that are willing to idly sit back and allow, even support, war and bloodshed. what has war done for you that makes you despise a peace loving person like me enough for you to want me to move to another country?

      peace is patriotic, knowing when to fight and when to come home is wise.... to understand war and the consequences of it you must first experience peace.

      in the end, you will never understand me, and i will never understand you. leave it at that. agree to disagree. the next time a war is started i will sit back and basically watch overgrown childeren fight in the sand box with big expensive toys. what a waste of energy....

  • Posted By: True Amer. @ 06/04/2009 10:32:31 AM

    If Obama sweet talks and tells them we are sorry for what we did! WOW! This will open the doors for them to come back and blow up and kill all they want here in the U.S. He is NOT speeking for all those who lost love ones in 9/11 and Pearle Harbor. Yes we never told Japan we were sorry that they killed and wouded 4000 Amer.Is he our leader or the leader of the Muslim wourld trying to take the U.S.down. I WANT TO KNOW Harold Johnstown PA.

    • Posted By: hlgns763 @ 06/04/2009 11:24:09 AM

      and we dropped a couple nukes on them and wiped out entire generations of people...MILLIONS dead. MILLIONS. ponder that.... and we dropped nukes on them AFTER we had fire bombed, napalmed, and generally destroyed 75% of they're country. granted they wouldnt surrender.... but in a situation like that, the scale of justice was very one sided.

      we lost thousands on 9/11.

      they (iraqis, middle easterners) have lost hundreds of thousands and possibly millions, most of which are never even accounted for because most were civilians that werent important enough to warrant a tally on the spread sheet. we dont know how many we have killed, we know how many militants weve taken out, but the civilians? well, with a 50/50 approval/target confirmation to strike, how many innocents do you think have been lost needlessly? and all we say is "oops, better luck next time, maybe"... surgical strikes my white azz.

      • Posted By: True Amer. @ 06/04/2009 11:44:20 AM

        War is War and we lost civilians

        • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:46:14 AM

          Agreed. There is a reason why war is supposed to be a last resort, because it is so terrible. Any soldier who has served and watched his buddies sprayed all over the place will be the first to tell you that and are almost always the last to want us in one.

          • Posted By: concerned liberal @ 06/04/2009 3:27:33 PM

            Also true, this is why the type of war that is presently practiced allwos for people such as the so called palestinians to bear the "horrors-lite" and continue to reproduce in the squalid evironment they have. If war was practiced as a true knockout punch(no nuc's are necessarry) the true horrors of war would force immediate unconditional surrender and then those who initiated what they are not really prepared for could then rethink and maybe choose life instead of the just reward for attacking a much mightier foe, annialation!

          • Posted By: hlgns763 @ 06/04/2009 2:43:53 PM

            thats why its interesting that we are so quick to jump into conflict at the drop of a hat. we know whats going to happen, its always the same end result. blood, death, a "winner" and a "loser".

            but no one ever really wins anything, and the winnings are always temporary...

            what has changed since the first weapons have been used on another human? we are a "civilized, 21st century society"?

            when did that happen? from the looks of it, half the commentors on this board are ravenous meat eaters that grunt and want to kill the first thing that moves without remorse or a second thought.


            seeing my fellow country men and women rant about "muslims should apologize for being muslim!" and "muslims only want to cut off your childerens heads".... its like a damned free-for-all... are we back in the dark ages?!

            how about "christians only want to murder muslims because they are muslim and dont know or care enough to tell the difference between they're own fundamentalist views and another religion...." or, "americans think we are just swine and dog sh!t".

            and we wonder why we are hated...

            now im ranting about those that a ranting... ugggh!! its hard to not allow yourself to get caught up in the vitoral and attacks. i have to try to hold myself to a higher standard of discourse.

        • Posted By: hlgns763 @ 06/04/2009 2:24:04 PM

          that doesnt give us the authority to go ballistic and kill 5 times as many of they're people as we lost.... just because we have the ability doesnt give us the authority....

          2 wrongs make 2 more wrongs and so on....

        • Posted By: hlgns763 @ 06/04/2009 12:15:29 PM

          agreed, very much so. but can we agree that we should be doing our best to be fighting the right people? killing the right people if we are to kill in the first place?

          if this war was on a scale, one side would be broken from the dead bodies piled up on it. which side do you think that is? and how many on that pile of dead bodies do you think or "know" are confirmed practicing islamic extremist terrorists? and how many are not?

          50% confirmed target strike approval... you dont see anything wrong with that? lets flip a coin and see what happens... oops, there goes another innocent family that happened to be in the right place at the wrong time. hmm, wonder how pissed off the relatives are going to be at america...i wonder how long it will take them to become militants after that.... hmmmm.

          all im saying is that we have the ability, technology, and hopefully the decency to be absolutely sure that we are taking out only those that need to be taken out.

      • Posted By: Vigilance @ 06/04/2009 12:56:43 PM

        Goddamn straight. Thanks for not buying into the jingoist hostility.

      • Posted By: fsmith99999 @ 06/04/2009 12:49:01 PM

        I concur.

  • Posted By: Still Free in the USA @ 06/04/2009 12:35:31 PM

    Well, in that regard; on a smaller scale; if I knew with certainty that someone were deliberately trying to hurt/kill my husband; any of my animals; family. Yup, my hair would be on fire; I would lock and load and protect like a lioness with her cubs. So, if you put that in a broad perspective, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm is right.

    • Posted By: hlgns763 @ 06/04/2009 2:04:23 PM

      right, i get where your coming from, i would do the same.

      BUT, i wouldnt go around killing and hating everyone that resembled those that went after my family.

      theres a difference between exacting revenge on those that wronged you, and exacting revenge on a general area hoping that the right people get hit.

      you have to know when enough is enough and some fights just have no victors, everyone loses. whether is life, limb, respect, dignity or poise. like our current situation perhaps?


      hmmmm.... 5,000 of ours dead, a few thousand militants, and more civilians dead than both of those put together. i see a problem with that.

      and i think a big part of the problem is that lock and load, then unleash mentality. spraying in any given direction is only going to piss people off.

      50% strike approval. i disagree with that 100%.

      are we to beleive that we dont have special forces, satelite monitoring, the ability to cram a bunker buster up the anus of some militant 2,000 miles away? laser guided missles, air drones, recon forces ect... we have the most technologically advanced military on earth, yet we cant seem to find somebody in a cave?

      why all the civilian casualties?

      i wonder what the tally sheet would look like if we put all the dead civilians that died from suicide bombers in one column, and in the other how many civilians died due to "miscalculations" and "bad information" on our part. and you wonder why they only report those killed by militants and extremists...


      and i love how we equate the loss of innocent life as "collateral damage". mmmmm, makes me all fuzzy to think that life is reduced to statistics on a graph in the war room with a few guys in uniforms and stars on they're shoulders justifying the actions theyve taken by saying "well, we thought we had good intel, apparently not"

      like i said, "oops, better luck next time, MAYBE".


      "there has never been a good war, or a bad peace"-benjamin franklin

  • Posted By: Lee S. @ 06/04/2009 12:55:46 PM

    If Obama wanted to give a speech to the "Islamic World", then he should have given it from Mecca...oh wait, Muslims don't allow filthy infidels into their sacred city. So much for tolerance and good will.

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:12:20 AM

    Not reply? That's what happens when propaganda runs into things you weren't conditiond for. Hopefully you will start believing only the things you look up and study for yourself instead of having people with hidden agendas tell you what you should think. I got tired of them using my natural aggression and patriotism to manipulate me. I refuse to be lied to and have "spin" and "slant" and partisonship be used against me. Sorry if you think that makes me a "liberal"

    • Posted By: hlgns763 @ 06/04/2009 12:18:04 PM

      amen....aaaamen....

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 12:07:38 PM

    Can't we all just get along! LOL!

  • Posted By: Still Free in the USA @ 06/04/2009 11:58:23 AM

    Hey, too bad this isnt a global thing to do! that would be a good thing!

  • Posted By: Still Free in the USA @ 06/04/2009 11:48:22 AM

    OK OK, does this sound alright to you:

    Dear jstepp590, I am with heartfelt thanks for the insight you brought to me on the day June 4, 2009. However, I beg of you; can we agree to disagree. I apologize for calling you "kid". At times, terms of endearment, and/or current slang, buzz words can be misinterpreted. I apologize for my typo. I apologize if I have angered or offended you. I apologize if you "viewed" the word kid as having some sort of motive. And since you seem to be very caring and thoughtful. My ego isnt hurt. Im ok. I hope you're doing good, as well. Again, thank you for you insight.

    • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:55:07 AM

      Agreed, I apologize too. I also don't want to end this on a bad note. I can be a little passionate, (i.e. a pain in the ***) and like I mentioned I'm sometimes a little too aggressive for my own good. I respect your gesture to finish this like civil adults and wish I had thought to do so first. Take care and I wish you all the best.

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:40:07 AM

    Not a kid, and you have still failed to bring up any relevant facts to support your position. If calling me a "kid" is how you assuage your hurt ego then feel free. I'm very much old enough to take it as a complement.

  • Posted By: Still Free in the USA @ 06/04/2009 11:37:48 AM

    You know; just go with the "typo" I made and chalk me up for lost. WOW! just WOW
    As for O's busy schedule; you mean flying AF One with his wife to a broadway show.
    Too big to fail
    Does that mean families with hungry children arent.
    Bye, kid. Let agree to disagree

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:36:51 AM

    Back to you.

    http://www.counterpunch.org/ketcham09272008.html

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:36:15 AM

    "With President Obama set to deliver a high-profile speech to the Muslim world in Cairo, Egypt, tensions are flaring in neighboring Israel over the U.S. president's latest demands on the Jewish state.
    Top Israeli officials continue to rebuff Obama's call for the country to freeze all settlement construction in the West Bank. Obama's demand, was reiterated strongly in an interview with National Public Radio ahead of his trip. "

    True, and I agree with president Obama 100%. Israel is not our friend, they are using us as suckers in their pursuit of a Greater Israel". They also are rated at the top of countries that commit espionage against us, both governmental and commercial. Those settlements are against the law. Do you think Israel, unlike you me and the rest of the world, are above the law?

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:33:35 AM

    "A government audit found that the Pentagon may have allowed top-secret clearances for applicants with "significant derogatory information" on their records in 2008, the Washington Times reported."

    What does this have to do with anything? Do you think PRESIDENT Obama took all the time out of his busy presidential campaign to falsify Pentagon documents? Where is this going?

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:31:28 AM

    "Charges brought against three members of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense under the Bush administration have been dropped by the Obama Justice Department, FOX News has learned."

    Go back to civics class and study the seperation of powers. The "Obama" justice department? The laws is controlled by jundges, not the president. As for racial slurs? If that was illegal most of the very very white people in my family would be in prison at one time or another.

  • Posted By: jstepp590 @ 06/04/2009 11:18:40 AM

    So richie755, you think these actions made us safer? Even Madeline Albright said that overthrowing the Iranian democracy was a disaster! Treating people with disrespect is always going to cause conflicts that will make you less safe. If I deal with you fairly, tell the truth and show respect do you think that is going to keep you safer or less safe than the alternative? If so you must get in a lot of fights with people you don't even know.

    We need to do what one of my favorite presidents always said "walk softly but carry a big stick". I'll take that wisdom over Cheney and Bush's "wisdom" any day.

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