OBAMA HYPOCRISY BUSTED BY HEDGES, MASRI AND ROLAND

President Obama took to the airwaves Tuesday night with a major televised address regarding his plans for Syria but his hypocrisy was laid bare by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges  and human rights activist, environmental scientist Rania Masri on Real News Network while Navy aviator Veteran and a Veterans Today featured columnist Allen L Roland offered his equally blunt post speech assessment of Obama's hypocritical performance on Press TV.

A key paragraph from President Obama's speech on Tuesday night regarding Syria brought a similar impassioned response from all three of these TV interviewees and bears repeating ~ " Terrible things happen across the globe, and it is beyond our means to right every wrong. But when with modest effort and risk we can stop children from being gassed to death and thereby make our own children safer over the long run, I believe we should act. That's what makes America different. That's what makes us exceptional. With humility, but with resolve, let us never lose sight of that essential truth."

Here's some Real News response excerpts as well as the video link from a transcript of the Hedges and Masri interview as moderated by Jaisal Noor, TRNN producer. That's followed by my interview link with Press TV just after Obama's speech.

NOOR: So, Rania, let's start with you. As an activist that's been speaking out against this possible intervention, against U.S. involvement in Syria, what's your response to this speech?

MASRI: It really was what we had expected. I mean, those of us who've been spending time at the Hill and following the news, President Obama's speech was what we had expected. The postponement (of the attack) was expected. And the reason that he postponed it was not only because the Russians provided him with a really strong political way out, a political possibility for chemical weapons deterrence in Syria, but also because he simply didn't have the votes in Congress. Were this to go to the House, it would have failed. It might even have failed in the Senate."

NOOR: And, Chris, I want to pose that question to you. It seems like within the past few weeks and days, this war has become or this possible intervention in Syria has become increasingly unpopular. At least that's how it's been reported in the press. What's your response to his speech and the fact also that he had to delay this vote in Congress?

HEDGES: " Well, Rania is right. He didn't have the votes, so he had no choice. But I think this is really symptomatic of an exhaustion on the part of the American public after 12 years of war, 12 years in Afghanistan, ten years in Iraq. They have seen this scenario before. The clips of atrocities, the appealing to American exceptionalism, the high-blown rhetoric of patriotism. Kerry even trotted out once again World War II, calling this the Munich moment and referring to the graves, Normandy. And none of it worked. It didn't work because at this point people have been lied to so many times. The excuses and propaganda that is pushed forth and has been pushed forth year after year just fall flat. It doesn't work anymore. And I think people understand that when you drop Tomahawk missiles, each Tomahawk missile carries a 1,000-pound iron fragmentation bomb or 166 cluster bombs. And they're talking about dropping hundreds of them…. And let's not forget that internally, we are, like all dying empires, being hollowed out from the inside in terms of infrastructure. I live near Philly, I live in Princeton. The school system is shattered with closings and layoffs. Libraries are being shuttered. Head Start is being cut back. Unemployment benefits are not being extended. You know, we've reached a point of both physical and emotional exhaustion …  And I think what we're really watching is a kind of revulsion at this whole (war)process. And while it may be naïve ~ and I think Rania is correct in saying that it probably is ~ at the same time, it's very, very real. And I think Obama is going to have a very tough time pushing this through, and I think we've really reached a kind of endpoint where we just had enough."

NOOR: And, Rania, I wanted to ask you, as someone who's been speaking out against this, what do you think ~ and as someone who's from the region, what do you think the response will be in the Middle East to the Obama speech? And something you've pointed out is that many Syrians working with the U.S. or working with Saudi Arabia have been proponents of the strike. What's your response?

MASRI: " …. Now, for myself as an Arab American from the region, as somebody who's been working on peace and social justice issues both here in the United States and in Lebanon, I have to say that although President Obama's final conclusion was not surprising, his prelude to it was deeply, deeply offensive, deeply unethical, and a historic for him to sit there and to go on at length about these images of the children that have been gassed ~ and how images of children that have been gassed have moved him to action was just repulsive, because the level of hypocrisy in that statement cannot be tolerated ~ the fact that it is the United States government also under his leadership that have funded and supported the Israeli use of white phosphorus against Palestinians in Gaza, the fact that it is the U.S. government that has themselves directly used white phosphorus against the Iraqis in Fallujah. And it is the toxic legacy of the use of white phosphorus in Iraq that is actually greater than the toxic legacy of both the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as report that was published several years ago proved… And I think it's really critical that we poke holes in this. And there is an understanding of amongst a significant segment of the American public that recognizes the lack of credibility the United States has in complaining about chemical weapons when we have not only used chemical weapons, but we're the only country to have used nuclear weapons twice against civilian communities.

But nevertheless, there is this desire that is perpetuated by the mainstream media and accepted by too many Americans that we are exceptional in our morality and in our legitimacy and in our desire to do good. And, unfortunately, the words of Martin Luther King still hold true today. The United States does remain the greatest purveyor of violence in the world."

But Masri was not done with her scathing critique ~ "As for the quotes that you highlighted from President Obama, again, I mean, they're ahistoric. They're extraordinarily naive. And I long for the day when the vast majority of Americans will recognize the fallacies in those statements. We can only be exceptional as a country if we truly live according to the values of our constitution, all our constitution, inclusive of the amendments, of course, and recognize that exceptionalism can only be obtained through morality, through legality, through legitimacy, and not through hypocrisy and not through violence…. So in no way, shape, or form have we been a global anchor for security. I long for the day when we may be become that. But I believe we will only become that if, again, we remember the words of Martin Luther King, who recognized that this country continues to suffer from the vices of militarism, materialism, and racism."

Full video Real news interview of Hedges and Masri  ~ must see 18 minutes ~

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=10703

And here's my five minute late hour interview with Press TV, approximately one hour after Obama's speech, and like Hedges and Masri ~ I don't mince words regarding my feelings about Obama's words particularly on the eve of the hypocrisy surrounding the 12th anniversary of the fictitious 9/11 official story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv2wbvvvMng

"The idea of democracy has been stripped of its moral imperatives and has come to denote hollowness and hypocrisy."
Paul Wellstone

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2013/09/obama-hypocrisy-busted-by-hedges-masri.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and transformational counselor Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private Skype consultations allen@allenroland.com

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

WEST UNDERESTIMATES MORAL STRENGTH OF IRAN, AT ITS OWN PERIL

The west underestimates the true moral strength of Iran at its own peril for Iran’s character and ancient Persian roots will not cave in to demonization, fear and sanctions and are far more likely to follow the words of their greatest poet, Rumi ~ Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real Sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl: Allen L Roland

The more I interact with Iranians, especially in my capacity as an online columnist and frequent interviews with Press TV, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h1waKv8VBk
~ the more I realize how resilient Iranians are and unafraid of an obvious policy of forced Regime Change by the West in their quest for oil and natural gas to fuel their on going imperialistic agenda and war machine.

Obama’s own words during his recent State Of The Union pep rally demonstrate his on going efforts to demonize Iran for all the old and worn out political reasons ~ “ and we will safeguard America's own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends, and our interests. Look at Iran. Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran's nuclear program now stands as one. The regime is more isolated than ever before; its leaders are faced with crippling sanctions, and as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent. Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.”( We’re still in control, so don’t rock the boat )

This is simply hot air and empty threats for the politically gullible and then Obama goes on to justify American imperialism and exceptionalness with these self-righteous words of bluster and hypocrisy ~ “ From the coalitions we've built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we've led against hunger and disease; from the blows we've dealt to our enemies; to the enduring power of our moral example, America is back. Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what they're talking about….. Yes, the world is changing; no, we can't control every event. But America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs - and as long as I'm President, I intend to keep it that way.” ( In other words, it’s our way or the highway )

President Obama is now at the laughable stage of denial where he is drinking his own Kool-Aid and fails to see that the so called War on Terror has finally revealed the true culprit which is the West’s War of Terror, often operating under the guise of NATO, which is still committed to illegal preemptive regime change ~ and now has Iran in its sights.

Obama’s faux populism is brilliantly captured by Robert Scheer who wrote ~ “ l admit it: Listening to Barack Obama, I am ready to enlist in his campaign against the feed-the-rich Republicans ... until I recall that I once responded in the same way to Bill Clinton’s faux populism. And then I get angry because betrayal by the “good guys” for whom I have ended up voting has become the norm.” See article ~ http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/26

With the desire to better understand the 70 million Iranian people as well as their rich culture and heritage ~ I recently watched Rich Steve’s outstanding presentation on Iran after he spent a few weeks there in 2008.

It verified that not everything we hear about Iran is true, nor is everything we hear false, but even the truth out of context can be misleading.

If you ask a politician about Iran they're likely to tell you what you already think you know, Iran is bad, they're working on nuclear weapons, they did some horrible thing in 1979, and they're all religious fanatics. If you ask John McCain, in particular, he might sing "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" again and make us all laugh or gasp in horror.

Turn to the main stream media for answers on Iran and you'll hear pretty much hear the same thing.

But ask an objective travel writer, like the personable Rich Steve, about Iran and he'll tell you about the people of Iran. He'll tell you about their character and the culture and the things we've never thought about as well as their deep fundamentalist faith ~ where they proudly see themselves as Persians, not Arabs.

With the war drums beating again against Iran, let us get to know a little something about the PEOPLE who will bear the brunt of that war, should it ever come to pass and remember Steve’s words when he says ~ “ Don’t underestimate the strength and unity of the Iranian people, if invaded or attacked, they will fight until the last person dies”

58 minute Video:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/3692.html

People of the world don't look at themselves, and so they blame one another: Rumi

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/west-underestimates-moral-strength-of.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net