OBAMA: "Iraq shows us that democracy cannot simply be imposed by force" --- Take that neo-cons!

[kpete]

Barack Obama uses UN speech to extend olive branch to Iran
President says secretary of state John Kerry will lead nuclear negotiations and acknowledges US role in 1953 Iran coup

• Obama dismissed the notion of a chess match between the US and Russia playing out over Syria. "We're no longer in a Cold War. There's no great game to be won," he says.


• Obama delivered an apologia for the US role in the Middle East. "The US is chastised for meddling... at the same time blamed for failing to do enough to address the region's problems," he said. He said the US had won a "hard-earned humility" in Iraq, which "shows us that democracy cannot simply be imposed by force." But "we reject the notion that these principles are western exports incompatible with Islam or the Arab world."

THE REST:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/24/obama-iran-un-general-assembly-speech
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/transcript-president-obamas-speech-at-the-un-general-assembly/2013/09/24/64d5b386-2522-11e3-ad0d-b7c8d2a594b9_story_4.html

[NOLALady]

1. "democracy cannot simply be imposed by force"

Gee! What took them so long to figure that out?

[tridim]

2. Can you give one example of Obama "imposing democracy by force"?

Hint: He hasn't and he has known it his entire life.

Obama is a real human being with a record, he is not made of straw.

[NOLALady]

6. Actually,

I wasn't referring to President Obama.

I was referring to our excuses over the years for invading other countries.

[mindwalker_i]

4. Can you imagine Bush saying this?

If he did, I'd pretty much lose faith that gravity and other essential parts of the universe were in good working order.

[Rex]

12. Did he bomb Syria?

I think he already knew.

[EgyptianDentist]

3. but the war in iraq wasnt for democracy to

to use it as an example to question if democracy could be done with force or not.
and what we need most in the middle east is progress that will be aut. followed by democracy. wout progress wout giving all people all rights democracy would be a trip to elections. how can you talk about democracy when you consider islamists who dont kill americans 'moderate' ? what about the millions of people they terrorize with their backward and hateful agenda and with complete disrespect towards women and minorities?
we all know what US cares about in the middle east, US doesnt care about democracy here, and its time to stop saying what you dont actually do.

[Ash_F]

5. The US never tried to impose Democracy. That's the big lie.

From day one, and for years on, they banned political parties and candidates at whim. Anyone that didn't step to the oil companies' tune was banned.

That is not how democracy works and the conversation should not be framed like this.

[Junkdrawer]

7. [phone]

Are you saying My Little Pony is make believe?

[Ash_F]

8. I hate this "you can't impose democracy"/"let's spread freedom" argument.

It's based on an completely false premise. You can't have a logical argument when starting with a false premise.

The US has never tried to build democracy in any country. It's barely a democracy itself with the two party system and how badly money has corrupted it.

[Uncle Joe]

13. Every nation wants to save face, the main point is that Obama stated what mass Republicans need

to hear to counter at least *some of the B.S. corporate media propaganda leading up to the war with Iraq.

Furthermore if this leads to peace and good/diplomatic relations with Iran, isn't that a good thing?

He also acknowledged the U.S. transgression in overthrowing Iran's democracy in 1953, that's a good thing as well.



*Not all but at least some of it.

[Ash_F]

14. It just annoys me how, during those years, it was mostly ignored.

It would always be buried in the 4th paragraph of an article, a cursory mention of a candidate or party being banned. Merely having political reading materials could lead to arrest by US forces. This was exactly what initially shook Bradley Manning, by the way. He was working against an outlawed Iraqi group who was merely protesting corruption themselves. When he questioned his superiors about it, he was told to drop it.

I thought that stuff should have been at the forefront of discussion during that sad decade.

Now we have this ridiculous and completely false narrative in the public mind to work with.

[Uncle Joe]

15. I totally agree with you but perception being in the eye of the beholder made the narrative

very real with millions of Americans and this false narrative needed to be countered.

Obama is going to have a tough enough fight against the Republicans and the corporate media propaganda machine in pursuing diplomatic relations with Iran, putting Manning out there as well can only serve to undermine any serious attempt at diplomacy and peace.

http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT20ATLKrli5bAR8r-cwhmj4LeHea09joeXL1cEc9sM1-5DzDBGq7yMOOSU

Of course the answer is one bite at a time.

[Ash_F]

16. My comments were not so much directed at Obama, or his strategies, but at the narrative

It annoys me every time I see it. I feel compelled to call it out.

[Uncle Joe]

17. That's cool as well, it should be called out, lest the people think, that's all there is.

Peace to you, Ash F.

[malaise]

9. Oil, bananas, copper

you name it and it's not just the US - Western imperialism is nothing more than looting resources and ensuring that the working class of the world remain poor.

[RedCappedBandit]

10. Now we just need the stubborn right-wingers to listen.

This is something the rest of us have known all along.

[Rex]

11. I love it when he says stuff like that!