Obama at the UN: Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations

Today, Barack Obama spoke to the United Nations General Assembly (you know, the part of the UN where we can’t veto Palestinian statehood).

JUST TWO? I THINK NOT. “I took office at a time of two wars for the United States. Moreover, the violent extremists who drew us into war in the first place -- Osama bin Laden, and his al Qaeda organization -- remained at large.” You’ll notice he had to specify who he meant by “the violent extremists who drew us into war,” lest people think he meant Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, etc. You will also have noticed that Obama buys into the claim that Al Qaida was somehow responsible for “drawing us into war” in Iraq.


SEVERAL THOUSAND TROOPS STATIONED THERE, LARGE MILITARY BASES, ARMS SALES, YOU KNOW, A NORMAL RELATIONSHIP: “At the end of this year, America’s military operation in Iraq will be over. We will have a normal relationship with a sovereign nation that is a member of the community of nations.”

OBAMA NEVER WANTS US TO BE IN DOUBT: “So let there be no doubt: The tide of war is receding.”

NOT ANTHONY WEINER DEGRADED, BUT, YOU KNOW, DEGRADED: “even as al Qaeda is under more pressure than ever before. Its leadership has been degraded.”

IT’S NOT A SPEECH BY A US PRESIDENT TO THE UN ABOUT PEACE UNLESS HE’S DANCING AROUND SOME CORPSE OR OTHER: “And Osama bin Laden, a man who murdered thousands of people from dozens of countries, will never endanger the peace of the world again.” Thousands of people – personally?

ER, RIGHT, BURIED WITH HIM: “Osama bin Laden is gone, and the idea that change could only come through violence has been buried with him.”

ALSO, COMEDY: “But let us remember: Peace is hard. Peace is hard.”


After mentioning various Middle Eastern countries violently oppressing their peoples – Syria, Yemen, etc – he says “In Bahrain, steps have been taken toward reform and accountability. We’re pleased with that, but more is required.” He neglects to mention that that government too has slaughtered its opponents. And Saudi Arabia slips his mind altogether, for some reason.

DESERVE: “One year ago, I stood at this podium and I called for an independent Palestine. I believed then, and I believe now, that the Palestinian people deserve a state of their own.” There’s a lot of arrogance packed into that word “deserve.”

I FEEL ASSURED. DON’T YOU FEEL ASSURED? “Now, I know that many are frustrated by the lack of progress. I assure you, so am I.”

SO SUCK IT, UNITED NATIONS: “Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the United Nations”.


THERE’S THAT WORD AGAIN: “Israel deserves recognition. It deserves normal relations with its neighbors.”

HOW THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN DEADLOCK WILL BE BROKEN: “And the deadlock will only be broken when each side learns to stand in the other’s shoes, each side can see the world through the other’s eyes.” Yeah, because the problem is that they don’t understand each other enough, not that they understand each other perfectly. This is the internationalization of Obama’s belief that he can convert Republicans to reasonableness if he only explains things logically to them one more time.

In the odds & bits section of the speech, he talked a bit about nuclear weapons (i.e., Iran), climate change, and said, “we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere,” although he fails to mention by name any country that might be infringing on those rights.