Obama and the Middle East.

• Author: Jones, David T.
• Position: Brief article

Obama and the Middle East

By President Barack Obama

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/05/19/obamas_speech_on_the_middle_east_109920.html

Reviewed by David T. Jones

President Obama's much anticipated and long-delayed speech on the Middle East produced more of a mouse than a mountain. Indeed, for a 45 minute speech, it was dominated by what one previously called "BOMFOG" (Brotherhood of Man; Fatherhood of God) language, that is boiler plate commentary on trusted verities. In this instance, the president walked through recent Middle East/North Africa developments touting the virtues of democracy and the traditional freedoms we review in annual Human Rights Reports. He tossed some brickbats at bad guys in Libya, Syria, and Iran; some heavy cautionary rhetoric toward friends such as Bahrain; and offered some carrots in economic support/debt relief for Egypt.

But there was a "where's the beef?" aspect to examination of the Israel-Palestine conundrum. His mention of the 1967 border as a "starting point" with land swaps to accommodate the...