“We Are Not Your Enemy” President Obama offered friendship to the Islamic world in a televised interview on Al-Arabiya this week saying, “We are not your enemy.” This came on the heels of two other important actions by President Obama: using his middle name “Hussein” when he took the oath of office, and calling for a “new way forward” directly to the Muslim world in his inaugural speech.Is there any such thing as the Muslim world? Probably not. There are however, a billion or more people who practice the Islamic faith in the world, and the fact that the western world lumps them together and blames them for terrorism is a huge problem. Developing a New Relationship with the Islamic World Actions like the President’s interview,  even when accompanied by critical steps like the closing of Guantanamo and the renunciation of torture by the U.S., still will not win the hearts  of the Islamic world over to the U.S. These acts are but a drop in the bucket where it really counts: ending the scourge of terrorism. What needs to happen here is not a reconciliation with the Muslim world but a new kind of relationship that has never existed before—a partnership based upon respect.

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Political Campaign Miasma One month left to go in the American Presidential race and I wish it were over. I am not a happy camper.  I inquired into my unhappiness and this is what I saw: I had decided that something is wrong with the candidates, wrong with the way we do politics, and hell, something is wrong with us in the U.S. period. I saw that I was frightened, anxious and miserable.   I am worried that McCain and Palin will be elected and that together they will replay the Bush years –or worse. I fear Sarah Palin is unprepared for the job of Vice-President.

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