May 22, 2017
Dear Mr. President,
I guess what they say is true; travel really does broaden
the mind, because this trip seems to be awakening you to all sorts of new and
exciting possibilities (like a small child discovering that he has a backyard
with a swing set).
I heard your speech in Saudi Arabia and it was good for the
most part. There were just two points,
however, that I can't let slip by without comment.
You said, "A new spirit of optimism is
sweeping our country: in just a few months we have created almost a million new
jobs, added over 3 trillion dollars of value, lifted the burdens on American
industry, and made record investments in our military that will protect the
safety of our people and enhance the security of our wonderful friends and
allies - many of whom are here today."
Literally the only part of
that statement that is true is that many of your friends and allies "are
here today." That's it. There's no
sweeping optimism, no new jobs, what the hell is "added value" and
how did we get 3 trillion dollars of it, no resurgence of industry, and the military
budget has not passed (and probably won't).
The second point at which my ears perked up was when you
said, "Bolstered by Iran, Assad has committed unspeakable crimes and the
US has taken firm action in response to the use of banned
chemicals....." I won't type the
rest because it doesn't matter. The part that matters is where you call out
Iran for bolstering the Assad regime in Syria.
What about Russia? Why no condemnation
for Russia who is by far doing more
harm in Syria than Iran.
Last year when Russia greatly increased their involvement in
Syria with air strikes aimed, ostensibly, at ISIS targets the British Foreign
Minister Phillip Hammond said, "The Russians have given the regime another
gasp at life and that is bad news for everyone, and they will hold
responsibility for prolonging this conflict.
It is a constant source of grief to me that everything we are doing is
being undermined by the Russians."
And these feelings were echoed by most of the world (including us). It's easy and popular to call out Iran when
you're in a room full of Arabs. But it's
hypocritical and cowardly to not call out Russia as well when
their involvement has caused far more death and destruction.
Good luck in Israel.
Don't mess it up.
Shalom,
Amy Beaton
No comments:
Post a Comment