THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 188, September 11, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
EFRAIM KARSH ON PRESIDENT OBAMA'S
FAILED MIDDLE EAST POLICY
By Sean Alexander
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA & U.S. MIDDLE EAST POLICY: OBAMA EQUIVOCATES, AS REGARDS THE THREAT
ISLAMISTS POSE TO AMERICA'S NATIONAL SECURITY. THE PRESIDENT MISUNDERSTANDS THE RELIGION OF ISLAM
& ITS INTRINSIC WARLIKE & IMPERIALISTIC TENDENCIES. HE REFUSES TO RECOGNIZE THE JIHADIST IDEOLOGY
THAT DRIVES ISLAMIST TERRORISM. THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION'S COURTING OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD HAS FAILED
ON ALL KEY COUNTS BECAUSE ISLAMISTS ARE NOT INTERESTED IN ACHIEVING PEACE BY ANY MEANS OTHER THAN
ISLAMIC CONQUEST & SUBJUGATION OF ALL NON-MUSLIM SOCIETIES.
FULL STORY:
Dr. Efraim Karsh is editor of the Middle East Quarterly and Professor of Middle East and Mediterranean Studies
at King's College, University of London, U.K. The author of fifteen books, he has held various academic posts at
Harvard and Columbia Universities, the Sorbonne, the London School of Economics, the International Institute for
Strategic Studies in London, the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies in Washington, D.C., and the Jaffee
Center for Strategic Studies at Tel-Aviv University. On August 24, 2010, he addressed the Middle East Forum via
conference call on the subject of U.S. President Barack Obama's Middle East policy.
Dr. Karsh began his talk on the Obama administration's policy in the Middle East by examining the President's famous
remarks about reconstructing America's relationship with the Muslim world. Dr. Karsh argued that, despite Obama's
personal connections to Islam, by speaking ambiguously about the threat Islamists pose to America's national security,
he demonstrated that he misunderstands the religion of Islam and its intrinsic imperialistic tendencies. For example, while
the administration rightly argues that America is not at war with terrorism because terrorism is simply a tactic, it also
refuses to look at the Islamist ideology that drives that tactic: the administration winces at the use of the word "jihadist"
because jihad is a fundamental tenet of Islam. Dr. Karsh pointed out, however, that calls for jihad throughout history
have been an act of war, rather than a call to purify oneself or one's community.
In essence, the Obama administration's courting of the Muslim world has failed on all key counts. Tehran, with its fist
still unclenched, continues to pursue its nuclear program and to crack down on those who speak out against it. Dr.
Karsh argued that a more constructive policy would recognize that Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology is not defensive
in nature and therefore cannot be settled diplomatically — perhaps not even with sanctions. Secondly, Obama's remarks
about democracy and European Union membership for Turkey come at a time when neo-Ottoman policies are on the rise
in Turkey, which should only make Turkey's true intentions all the more questionable. Finally, the administration's
approach to the Arab-Israeli conflict has been to seek Israeli concessions, even as the Palestinians demonstrate that
they are not interested in peace. The administration needs to realize that there will be no peace until the Palestinians, as
well as Hamas and Hezbollah, recognize Israel's right to exist and cease calling for its destruction.
Dr. Karsh concluded his remarks by observing that the Obama administration has its head in the sand with respect to
engagement with the Muslim world. At the same time, however, the Republican Party is currently not in a position to
pose a serious challenge to the President in 2012, leaving America with a failed policy in the Middle East.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
Middle East -- Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
Counterterrorism & U.S. National Security
U.S. National Security Strategy
Sean Alexander's foregoing summary of the briefing by Dr. Karsh can be found on the Internet website maintained by
the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which seeks to define and promote American interests in the Middle
East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical Islam, working for Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of
Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote constitutional democracy in the Middle East, reducing
America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia, and
countering the Iranian threat.
(URL: http://www.meforum.org/ 2744/obama-failed-middle-east-policy)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
September 11, 2010
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