Obama abroad

Props to the President when and where he deserves them. I am not a fan, of course, and have found less than I even hoped for over the last 5 months to commend. I am glad, however, that he reversed his earlier indecision and is now present in Germany for the ceremonies honoring the 65th anniversary of D-Day. He will also be visiting the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp, as he should. So here are two actions this President has taken that are good. We could naysay his motivations, but in the end, he has done the right thing.

I do have major problems with the President's speech at Cairo University. In fairness, I have not had a chance to listen to or watch the whole speech (I have looked at the transcript), but even a few choice clips here and there clearly demonstrate that a new day is here for American-Islamic relations. We should extend the hand of camaraderie to friendly Muslims everywhere, but that is the caveat: there must be mutual goodwill that is genuine, not just a front. To his credit, Obama did cite the presence of radicals in the world and the fact that more Muslims have been killed by proponents of radical Islam than by anyone else. But the words "terrorist" and "terrorism" were not mentioned once.

I wonder which speechwriter penned this speech. This section was way over the top and very possibly untrue, to a large extent:

It was innovation in Muslim communities that developed the order of algebra, our magnetic compass and tools of navigation, our mastery of pens and printing, our understanding of how disease spreads and how it can be healed. Islamic culture has given us majestic arches and soaring spires, timeless poetry and cherished music, elegant calligraphy and places of peaceful contemplation. And throughout history, Islam has demonstrated through words and deeds the possibilities of religious tolerance and racial equality.

The second sentence is unproblematic. The first and third, though, especially the last, defy credulity.