Today, I am reminded of the inauguration speech by Lincoln for his second term. The last part, especially, is so appropriate for today’s Bush Presidency as well. Read on
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Bush’s speech was long on rhetoric, but unfortunately his own track record belies his words. Bush’s transcript for those who are interested.
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This is what great nations are like. A country that brings peace to all corners of the world, and shines as a beacon of hope for the oppressed and the downtrodden. May Allah :swt: give Bush the courage to stand up to thugs wherever they are, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, AQ Khan Labs, and wherever. And may Allah :swt: help Bush, with the help of Israelis, to send the hateful morons to hell. Amen.
Proud to be an American! And even though I didn’t watch the speech, I have tears in my eyes just thinking about how the leader of this great nation must have brought hope to the oppressed and downtrodden who have access to CNN.
Thank you brother Faisal for sharing this.
I hope someday we have an Islami leader who gives his/her inagural viagural address and not his own funeral address. Amen. and I hope that it happens in my lifetime.
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^ what a load of crap.
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eat it.
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Madhanee… Bush reminded all of us today how US will help bring democracy and liberty to rest of the world. I bet he had his close friends in his mind, like
x2 x3The list goes on. These are just some current torch-bearers of liberty and justice. I am not even considering some past wonder-boys, like Shah of Iran etc.
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Faisal Bhaijan, you are implying that all Arabobs are impotent camel herders, and are not able to elect their own leaders. I think we have agreement on that. I don’t see any issue with that line of thinking.
In terms of showing respect to the rulers (however illegitimate they may be) is none of our business. It’s the American hospitality that we have good relations with them. But trust me, if Saudis or Kuwaitis or Bahrainis or Qadiyanis, or Omanis want to throw their morons, they can count on our support.
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Inaugrate this 
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Well, let's see. Afghans have elections. Palestinians have elections. Iraqis have elections. If you want to hold Qatar, Saudi and Kuwait out as examples, then you are not distinguishing between the passive and the aggressive. Kuwait never invaded anybody, Qatar never gassed it's people, and Kuwait did not harbor OBL. Somewhere in the shades of grey, you must learn to distinguish between the truely heinous, and passive oppression. To imagine that change is not afoot, is sort of ignoring the obvious however. Kuwait and Saudi and Qatar will feel the winds of change.
Ironicly we are here among Pakistanis who rather than looking inward throw rocks at anybody else. Don't look now, but you have a dictator running your country who came to power in a coup!
Now, who opposes elections? Remnants of the Taliban kill election workers. OBL and former Baathists will car bomb the Iraqi people. Iranians decertify 50 reform candidates so they cannot participate in elections. Security services try to poison pro-Western candidates in the Ukraine. Hamas tries to boycott elections, and then immediately tries to undermine the elected candidates. Arafat used the Israelis as an excuse not to have elctions while he lined his pockets. But electiosn were remarkably fast and easy once he was gone. Somehow elections create a very bright line between the good and the bad.
Beyond Iraq and Afghanistan, elections are infectious. Do you beleive that there is not a far bigger pressure on the Saudis to have elections given the upcoming elections in Iraq? Was the large turnout in the face of threats in Afghanistan a telling sign that people want a voice? Change has been bloody and far harder than expected. Those who want power through violence and intimidation will do anything to prevent a legitimate process. Remarkably Sistani has been a rock during this time in Iraq. He knows what his people want.
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Palestinian elections? What has US got to do with that… oh, unless you count Richard Gere’s support. Yup, gotta give you that one too.
And the question is support for democracy and liberty to the entire world. Lets not mix apples and oranges here.
What kinda democracy and liberty was handed to people of Kuwait, when after disposing off Saddam’s army, the US invited back the dictator to take over the country.
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Kuwait? If you remember correctly, the UN authorized US troops to remove Iraqi troops, not to implement regime change. Kuwaitis are scarcely complaining, having a fabulous standard of living. They are as fat and happy as those under the dictator of Monaco.
The Saudis are the same. They have bribed everyone in the Muslim world by opening a checkbook whenever asked.
The Palestinian elections happening a month after Arafats death is telling, in that it became very clear that the revered Mr. Arafat was standing in the way of an election. Sometimes Muslims shoot themselves in the foot by blindly following idiots. They demand perfect accountability from the West, but give crooks like Arafat a free pass. Worse yet they impose an iron discipline on other Muslims. It was blasphemy to blame anyone other than the Jews for the plight of the Palestinians. Any one not spouting the approved line of thinking, or speaking out against Arafat quickly had his devotion to Islam questioned.
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Ohioguy, US has an impressive record of obeying the UN authorized mandate. So, no surprise they invited back the dictator of Kuwait to resume his seat. Yup! :k:
And Kuwaitis are not complaining. No sir, they are not. They are so happy about their dictator. Were Iraqis complaining? Oh, yeah.. there was this Chalabi. And the shias of the South invited US to invade Iraq? Right?
I am not disagreeing with US policies. They are, naturally, the policies of self-interest. Like they should be. But when the Prez rambles on and on about how US will bring liberty and democracy to the entire world, it just sounds like a joke. He should have said, we will do it all, but only if the dictator is not our friend. If he is, then, dudes… tough luck. We’re not interested. Do your own thingy.
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I am still drawn to an article that I have posted here a few time. The first paragraph I think may be part of a “movement” that Bushs’ innauguration speech may define:
The diplomats and decisionmakers of the United States believe, habitually and uncritically, that stability abroad is our most important strategic objective. They may insist, with fragile sincerity, that democracy and human rights are our international priorities–although our policymakers do not seem to understand the requirements of the first and refuse to meet the requirements of the second. The United States will go to war over economic threats, as in Desert Storm. At present, we are preoccupied with a crusade against terrorism, which is as worthy as it is difficult. But the consistent, pervasive goal of Washington’s foreign policy is stability. America’s finest values are sacrificed to keep bad governments in place, dysfunctional borders intact, and oppressed human beings well-behaved. In one of the greatest acts of self-betrayal in history, the nation that long was the catalyst of global change and which remains the beneficiary of international upheaval has made stability its diplomatic god.
Our insistence on stability above all stands against the tides of history, and that is always a losing proposition. Nonetheless, our efforts might be understandable were they in our national interest. But they are not. Historically, instability abroad has been to America’s advantage, bringing us enhanced prestige and influence, safe-haven-seeking investment, a peerless national currency, and flows of refugees that have proven to be rivers of diamonds (imagine how much poorer our lives would be, in virtually every regard, had our nation not been enriched by refugees from Europe’s disturbances in the last century).
Without the instability of the declining 18th century, as the old European order decayed, we would not have gained the French assistance decisive to our struggle for independence. Without the instability of the 20th century, protectionist imperial regimes might have lingered on to stymie our economic expansion. And without the turbulence that seeks to rebalance the world today, much of humanity would continue to rot under the corrupt, oppressive regimes that are falling everywhere, from the Balkans to Southeast Asia. A free world subject to popular decision is impossible without the dismantling of the obsolete governments we rush to defend. In one of history’s bitterest ironies, the United States finally became, in the 1990s, the reactionary power leftists painted us during the Cold War.
http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/01winter/peters.htm
Bush vows to spread freedom
During inaugration ceremony, GW Bush vowed to spread "freedom" around the world, may be he meant to say that more Oil wells will be freed from the hands of "tyrant", "evil", "dictator" countries, I'm not so sure right now, but watch out Iran/Syria, here comes US... DPRK (N Korea) you can sleep in peace as you don't have oil so no worries, be happy.
I didn't hear his "speech" (not interested), but in case anyone went thru that torture please let me know if he updated the members of "Axis of Evil".
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Yes Sir Captain, Let me update you. He said that you are “either with us or we are with you” and he issued 5 warning points to Iran and Syria.
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So you think, in his second term, Bush will be willing to destabilize the countries currently ruled by his pets in order to bring democracy? For some reason, I really doubt it.
The article produces a reasonable argument that stability and bringing democracy are usually mutually exclusive and that US should focus on the latter, while it had traditionally focussed on the former. IMV, this is again a bit of a hogwash.
IMV, a better explanation is that the US looks at circles of influence. A dictator who is loyal to US is palatable (stability is deemed supreme) compared to a democracy that is critical of US. If a dictator is willing to jump on US orders, then there is no need to bring democracy to that country (i.e. the people of that country don’t want it), but if a dictator is not friendly towards US, then he is bad and his country DEMANDS democracy. Ofcourse, the over-riding factor is how important that country is for US economic/political interests. If its not important, then it can GTH. Democracy or dictatorship doesn’t matter. Thats basically it.
Thats why I said, Bush’s speech is rich in rhetoric, but belies the actual policies that are consistently followed by Bush administration.
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No I think Musharaff is pretty safe.
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I watched on the news. His speech is one of those America’s Funniest Videos.
Talk about liberty. 
He, the American Administration and liberty?!!
Log marr rahein or khud kaisee aasheeyan kar rahain hain. Kaisee inauguration thee.
I won’t forget…
“I do agree that the tsunami was a wonderful opportunity to show not just the US government, but the heart of the American people, and I think it has paid great dividends for us,” Rice said.
Matlab parast log.
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Just read the speech, its nice pep talk. Condi Rice has a lot of work cut out for her already, trying to explain portions of the speech to the rest of the worlds dictators that we cant seem to part company with. I dont mean to sound like a skeptic but overall an idealistic speech that cant really be implemented 'wholly'.
The following two quotes may have sent the signal as U.S being expansionist and colonist.
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We are led, by events and common sense, to one conclusion: The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands. The best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
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[QUOTE]
America, in this young century, proclaims liberty throughout all the world and to all the inhabitants thereof. Renewed in our strength -- tested, but not weary -- we are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom
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Chup bay Mirjaaiee!! salay narowal se uth kar aajtay hain!!! Proud to be Amercian
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Give this man an Oscar!
Great stuff Madhanee, I’ll be emailing this around.