MidnightWatcher's Blogspot

Note to Obama: We’re seeing free speech and freedom of expression take root in the Middle East alright. After Egypt’s revolution, for example, the people are now free to openly express their desire to see the country ruled by Sharia Law, they are now free to express their hatred of Israel, their hatred of Jews, and their unquenchable desire to see an end to the 1979 peace treaty with their Jewish neighbors to the north.  We’re still waiting for the freedom of peaceful assembly.  Freedom of religion has taken a turn for the worse as the ‘religion of peace’ is emboldened to advance its influence and wage war against Coptic Christians.  Equality for women continues to be a pipe dream.  The Muslim Brotherhood — from which Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri began as activists — is now free to run for the Egyptian presidency.  And your rebel friends whom you are fighting with in Libya have questionable connections.  So tell us, Mr. Obama, whose vision of the ‘Arab Spring’ is coming to fruition, yours or Bin Laden’s?

Barack Obama Hails Mideast Revolutions – “For six months, we have witnessed an extraordinary change take place in the Middle East and North Africa. Square by square; town by town; country by country; the people have risen up to demand their basic human rights…

… The nations of the Middle East and North Africa won their independence long ago, but in too many places their people did not … the events of the past six months show us that strategies of repression and diversion won’t work anymore… The question before us is what role America will play as this story unfolds. … It is not America that put people into the streets of Tunis and Cairo – it was the people themselves who launched these movements, and must determine their outcome. Not every country will follow our particular form of representative democracy, and there will be times when our short term interests do not align perfectly with our long term vision of the region…

The United States opposes the use of violence and repression against the people of the region.

We support a set of universal rights. Those rights include free speech; the freedom of peaceful assembly; freedom of religion; equality for men and women under the rule of law; and the right to choose your own leaders – whether you live in Baghdad or Damascus; Sanaa or Tehran.”  Read more.

Bin Laden Hails Mideast Revolution in Recording Made Before His Death – “Al Qaeda has released a new message from Osama bin Laden, the first since the terror group’s leader was killed in a U.S. raid on his Pakistan compound almost three weeks ago.

The 13-minute audiotape, which references the revolts in Tunisia and Egypt, includes still images emblazoned with an old picture of bin Laden and dated with the Islamic month that begins in the last week of April. It seems to have been recorded after Feb. 17…

In the message, bin Laden addresses fellow Muslims across the Middle East, but does not issue threats and does not mention the U.S. or the West.

Instead, he celebrates their struggle with flowery language, and tells them it would be a ‘sin to lose this opportunity.’

‘The winds of change flew to the square of Tahrir,’ he says, referring to Cairo, ‘and a great revolution was begun. This wasn’t a revolution of starving and pain, but a revolution of giving and peace.'” Read more.