Obama’s Al Arabiya Interview Annotated

UPDATE. Feb 1. The Washington Times took a week, but finally puts the interview in perspective. Worth a read.

There are a lot of news reports on Obama’s first television interview since assuming office. It was with with Hisham Melhem of the Al-Arabiya television network (based in Dubai). It happened yesterday, January 26, 2009. Rather than spend time reviewing the opinions of others, let’s reproduce the interview in full, and add our commentary. Our comments are presented in italics. Thanks to reader Magdalena for suggesting this post!

The summary? Obama sells out President Bush countless times. He gives the Arabs and Russia a place at the table. Russia? And he sends the old diplomatic code for “safe passage” across Israel. All in all, a complete clusterf—-k.

Q Mr. President, thank you for this opportunity, we really appreciate it. (Stretches slightly to adjust knee pads provided by Office of POTUS-elect)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much. (Smooooth)

Q Sir, you just met with your personal envoy to the Middle East, Senator Mitchell. Obviously, his first task is to consolidate the cease-fire. (So much for consolidation. You see the reports on the Hamas IED and Israel’s re-entry? Updates 407-8) But beyond that you’ve been saying that you want to pursue actively and aggressively peacemaking between the Palestinians and the Israelis. Tell us a little bit about how do you see your personal role, because, you know, if the President of the United States is not involved, nothing happens — as the history of peacemaking shows. Will you be proposing ideas, pitching proposals, parameters, as one (One? Which “one”?) of your predecessors did? Or just urging the parties to come up with their own resolutions, as your immediate predecessor did? (Gratuitous slap at President Bush. OK. We see where this is going. Yo, Hisham, how’s them knee pads fit? You can start with this 2002 meeting with Jordan and work your own sorry ass forward. Interestingly, the link to the WH press release on this – whitehouse dot gov/news/releases/2002/08/20020801-2 dot html – has been scrubbed by Obama’s people.)

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think the most important thing is for the United States to get engaged right away (As opposed to our previous disengagement. Right). And George Mitchell is somebody of enormous stature. He is one of the few people who have international experience brokering peace deals. (Yes. Got the Irish to agree to continued English occupation. Failed in his last Mideast junket. 500 batting average. Better than Hillary (PBUH) who is batting a clean zero.)

And so what I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating (Yes, only you know how to negotiate. How’s that asbestos doing from your freelance Zoning Officer days? A trained “agitator” now presume to tell all of us that he “understands” like no one else. Oh, puh-lease.) — in the past on some of these issues — and we don’t always know all the factors that are involved. (“All the factors.” We don’t have perfect knowledge. We talked too much. This is going to be fun to watch. Dangerous, but fun.) So let’s listen. He’s going to be speaking to all the major parties involved. And he will then report back to me. (Remember when the news broke about Mitchell being approached? One of his people said it may hinge on who he reports to. Guess Hillary (PBUH) lost.) From there we will formulate a specific response.

Ultimately, we cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what’s best for them. They’re going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people. And that instead, it’s time to return to the negotiating table. (We, Barry, never left the table. Hamas declared an end to the ceasefire and promptly opened fire)

And it’s going to be difficult, it’s going to take time. I don’t want to prejudge many of these issues, and I want to make sure that expectations are not raised so that we think that this is going to be resolved in a few months. But if we start the steady progress on these issues, I’m absolutely confident that the United States — working in tandem with the European Union, with Russia, with all the Arab states in the region — I’m absolutely certain that we can make significant progress. (What a stump speech statement. Says absolutely nothing. Like putting the 3d spoon of sugar in the tea. But – wait! Who’s he going to work with to resolve this situation? Why isn’t Israel on the list? Didn’t he just say that no one can tell Israel and the Palestinians what to do? But he’s going to talk to everyone BUT them. Hunh?)

Q You’ve been saying essentially that we should not look at these issues — like the Palestinian-Israeli track and separation from the border region — you’ve been talking about a kind of holistic approach to the region. (Oooooh! Mmmmm. Feels sooo good! Yes, right there!! OOOHHHHH!!!!) Are we expecting a different paradigm in the sense that in the past one of the critiques — at least from the Arab side, the Muslim side (You mean, the people that either are or fund terrorists?) — is that everything the Americans always tested with the Israelis, if it works. Now there is an Arab peace plan, there is a regional aspect to it. And you’ve indicated that. Would there be any shift, a paradigm shift?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, here’s what I think is important. Look at the proposal that was put forth by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia –

Q Right.

THE PRESIDENT: I might not agree with every aspect of the proposal, but it took great courage –

Q Absolutely. (Off the floor, Hisham. The camera is rolling!)

THE PRESIDENT: — to put forward something that is as significant as that. I think that there are ideas across the region of how we might pursue peace. (Step 1: Stop funding and harboring terrorists. Step 2: Kill all terrorists. Step 3: Repeat Step 2 as often as necessary)

I do think (When Barry is nervous, he slips into passive voice. Ever notice that?) that it is impossible for us to think only in terms of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and not think in terms of what’s happening with Syria or Iran or Lebanon or Afghanistan and Pakistan. These things are interrelated. (OOHHH! I am still quivering from the last time! Whew! Focus. OK. “And for my next trick, I am going to pull a rabbit out of my hat! I am going to negotiate a peace agreement for every conflict in the world all at once!) And what I’ve said, and I think Hillary Clinton (PBUH) has expressed this in her confirmation, is that if we are looking at the region as a whole and communicating a message to the Arab world and the Muslim world, that we are ready to initiate a new partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interest, then I think that we can make significant progress. (Snicker! And Russian gas interests figure in where? And Russian arms and nuke tech figures in where? And “Israel will be pushed into the sea – so says the Quran” figures in where? Are you this naïve, Barry?)

Now, Israel is a strong ally of the United States. (But?) They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. (But?) And I will continue to believe that Israel’s security is paramount. (But?) But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side. There are people that believe in spontaneous explosion, spaceships hiding behind the moon, and that you, Barry, have even a vague clue of you are doing. So your implied point of swapping land for peace, of giving up Judea and Samaria, and giving even an inch of dirt in East Jerusalem is not going to fly. Take the Strip – never liked it anyway. End of “sacrifices.”)

And so what we want to do is to listen, set aside some of the preconceptions that have existed and have built up over the last several years. (Several years? Several? Listen, son, this war has been going on since long before Christ walked those streets. Can you say, “Hagar’s spawn”? “Several years”! You’re an idiot.) And I think if we do that, then there’s a possibility at least of achieving some breakthroughs. (Meaningless statement. So over-qualified, yet, yet …. OOHHHH!!!! MMMM!!!)

Q I want to ask you about the broader Muslim world, but let me — one final thing about the Palestinian-Israeli theater. There are many Palestinians and Israelis who are very frustrated now with the current conditions and they are losing hope, they are disillusioned, and they believe that time is running out on the two-state solution because — mainly because of the settlement activities in Palestinian-occupied territories. (LMAO! Just spilled my coffee! F—!!! OK, focus. You’re telling me, LapBoy, that there are many Israelis that are very frustrated because they think the two-state solution is endangered by Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria? You’re joking, right? Barry, straighten this boy out.) Will it still be possible to see a Palestinian state — and you know the contours of it (lap, lap, lap) — within the first Obama administration?
THE PRESIDENT: I think it is possible for us to see a Palestinian state — I’m not going to put a time frame on it — that is contiguous (Contiguous to what? They are two chunks here, Barry, divided by another country.), that allows freedom of movement for its people (Better not be code for “safe passage,” Barry. They can go through Lebanon. We ain’t allowing it through Israel. Been off the table forever. Oh, forgot, you don’t know diplomat code. Sorry.), that allows for trade with other countries, that allows the creation of businesses and commerce so that people have a better life.

And, look (Look at what? You see something? I didn’t see it. Oh! Smooooooth. I get it.), I think anybody who has studied the region recognizes that the situation for the ordinary Palestinian in many cases has not improved. (Talk to the Arabs. Talk to Hamas. Gee, talk to the French – they stuck them there! Is this the result of your “studies”? At where, Occidental College?) And the bottom line in all these talks and all these conversations is, is a child in the Palestinian Territories going to be better off? Do they have a future for themselves? (Apparently as a Hamas terrorist. They train ‘em young.) And is the child in Israel going to feel confident about his or her safety and security? And if we can keep our focus on making their lives better and look forward, and not simply think about all the conflicts and tragedies of the past, then I think that we have an opportunity to make real progress. (So his negotiating tact is to “focus on the children.” O.M.G. That might work when your threat is to take a landlord to the front page of the Chicago Trib, Barry, but it won’t fly in the real world.

We interrupt this transcript to bring Barry up to speed on how children are actually viewed (forgive the lack of translation sometimes – the pictures are enough then):

But it is not going to be easy, and that’s why we’ve got George Mitchell going there. This is somebody with extraordinary patience as well as extraordinary skill, and that’s what’s going to be necessary.

Q Absolutely. Let me take a broader look at the whole region. You are planning to address the Muslim world in your first 100 days from a Muslim capital. And everybody is speculating about the capital. (Laughter.) If you have anything further, that would be great.

How concerned are you — because, let me tell you, honestly, when I see certain things about America — in some parts, I don’t want to exaggerate — there is a demonization of America.

THE PRESIDENT: Absolutely.

Q It’s become like a new religion, and like a new religion it has new converts — like a new religion has its own high priests. (No, LapBoy. Old religion – Judaism and Christianity.)

THE PRESIDENT: Right. (Wrong.)

Q It’s only a religious text.

THE PRESIDENT: Right.

Q And in the last — since 9/11 and because of Iraq, that alienation is wider between the Americans and — and in generations past, the United States was held high. It was the only Western power with no colonial legacy. (Oh – they LIKED us before 9/11? You people did that, you moron!)

THE PRESIDENT: Right. (Wrong.)

Q How concerned are you and — because people sense that you have a different political discourse. And I think, judging by (inaudible) and Zawahiri and Osama bin Laden and all these, you know — a chorus –

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, I noticed this. They seem nervous. (Get over yourself.)

Q They seem very nervous, exactly. Now, tell me why they should be more nervous?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that when you look at the rhetoric that they’ve been using against me before I even took office –

Q I know, I know. (Lap, lap, lap)

THE PRESIDENT: — what that tells me is that their ideas are bankrupt. There’s no actions that they’ve taken that say a child in the Muslim world is getting a better education because of them, or has better health care because of them. (The children. It’s all about the children. You are simplistically, Barry, assigning American values to a Muslim culture. Sounds good. Doesn’t work. See video above.)

In my inauguration speech, I spoke about: You will be judged on what you’ve built, not what you’ve destroyed. And what they’ve been doing is destroying things. And over time, I think the Muslim world has recognized that that path is leading no place, except more death and destruction.

Now, my job is to communicate the fact that the United States has a stake in the well-being of the Muslim world, that the language we use has to be a language of respect. I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries. (I am was Muslim.)

Q The largest one.

THE PRESIDENT: The largest one, Indonesia. And so what I want to communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I’ve come to understand is that regardless of your faith — and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers — regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams. (Are those violins I hear? Who brought the band? So cool.)

And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. (But the Muslims don’t make mistakes. They just want to live for the children. Cut me a break.) We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there’s no reason why we can’t restore that. And that I think is going to be an important task. (Lemme do some math. One sec. 2009 – 20 = 1989; – 30 – 1979. So Barry is referring to when Reagan came into office. Yeah, Reagan put up with their shit, Barry. You should read more history.)

But ultimately, people are going to judge me not by my words but by my actions and my administration’s actions. (Got that right.) And I think that what you will see over the next several years (Little less than 4 years, Barry.) is that I’m not going to agree with everything that some Muslim leader may say, or what’s on a television station in the Arab world — but I think that what you’ll see is somebody who is listening, who is respectful, and who is trying to promote the interests not just of the United States, but also ordinary people who right now are suffering from poverty and a lack of opportunity. I want to make sure that I’m speaking to them, as well. (Sniffle! Sniffle! Oh, I’m crying! That was beautiful! Sniffle!)

Q Tell me, time is running out, any decision on from where you will be visiting the Muslim world?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m not going to break the news right here.

Q Afghanistan?

THE PRESIDENT: But maybe next time. But it is something that is going to be important. I want people to recognize, though, that we are going to be making a series of initiatives. Sending George Mitchell to the Middle East is fulfilling my campaign promise (Me, me, me. This is boring.) that we’re not going to wait until the end of my administration to deal with Palestinian and Israeli peace (as W did? You POS.), we’re going to start now. It may take a long time to do, but we’re going to do it now. We’re going to follow through on our commitment for me to address the Muslim world from a Muslim capital. We are going to follow through on many of my commitments to do a more effective job of reaching out, listening, as well as speaking to the Muslim world.

And you’re going to see me following through with dealing with a drawdown of troops in Iraq, so that Iraqis can start taking more responsibility. (Already negotiated under W, son) And finally, I think you’ve already seen a commitment, in terms of closing Guantanamo, and making clear that even as we are decisive in going after terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians, that we’re going to do so on our terms, and we’re going to do so respecting the rule of law that I think makes America great.

Q President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, “war on terror,” and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people — Islamic fascism. You’ve always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators. And is this one way of –

THE PRESIDENT: I think that you’re making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters. And what we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations — whether Muslim or any other faith in the past — that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith’s name. (These two are disgusting. One frames W and the other goes along. This is worse than a college newspaper article.)

And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda — that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it — and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop. We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down. (And then we’ll send our evidence to a Grand Jury to seek an indictment. We’ll give them legal counsel, discovery, motions, and a speedy trial. We’ll let have direct appeals and habeas appeals. In short, we’ll afford these people many of which have never set foot on American soil and were apprehended in the act of shooting at our Armed Forces, the full force and effect of the United States Constitution. Now, please stand with me as we sing our National Anthem: O Canada! Our home and native land! No wait. My country, ’tis of thee, Sweet land of liberty, Damn. Almost got it. What the fuck “’tis of thee” anyway? Don’t know what that mean. Well, screw it, you know what I wanted to sing. Hey, we gotta wrap this up. I need a smoke real bad. We on? Damn.) But to the broader Muslim world what we are going to be offering is a hand of friendship.

Q Can I end with a question on Iran and Iraq then quickly?

THE PRESIDENT: It’s up to the team –

MR. GIBBS: You have 30 seconds. (Laughter.)

Q Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?

THE PRESIDENT: You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran.

Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that’s not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past — none of these things have been helpful. (That’s a funny way to word it – “helpful.” Let’s see if it works for him. Sounds like what my grammar-school teacher used to say, but OK.)

But I do think that it is important for us to be willing to talk to Iran, to express very clearly where our differences are, but where there are potential avenues for progress. And we will over the next several months be laying out our general framework and approach. (Time enough to bury and obfuscate. Thanks for letting Iran know how long they have.) And as I said during my inauguration speech, if countries like Iran are willing to unclench their fist, they will find an extended hand from us.

Q Shall we leave Iraq next interview, or just –

MR. GIBBS: Yes, let’s — we’re past, and I got to get him back to dinner with his wife. (And we all know we don’t want the little lady getting cranky!)

Q Sir, I really appreciate it.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much.

Q Thanks a lot.

THE PRESIDENT: I appreciate it.

Q Thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

(Whew, enough hugs at the end?)

OVERALL: At least Jimmy Carter had the decency to leave office before he turned against his country.

If you can stomach it, here’s the video:

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