Those Wild Muslim Conspiracy

President Obama has stated that he wanted to renew relations with the Muslim world and reach out to the 1.5billion Muslims as allies. But as the Palestinian-American academic and writer Ali Abunimah recently Tweeted: 'Can anyone name an Obama outreach to Muslims that does not include drones?'

Obama has escalated a war in Afghanistan that in his tenure has killed hundreds of innocent Muslims (and he distastefully finds drone attacks to be useful for comic folder), the United States will probably not withdrawal all its troops from Iraq and establish more military basis in the region as Obama recently stated he wants to end the "combat mission" leaving leeway for 50,000 U.S. troops to remain on-base, and after a initially admirable start Obama has backed down to Israel's right-wing government and is now pandering to the Likud foregoing his early calls to cease illegal settlements while giving Israel more military aid and now engaging in petty attacks against Palestinians.

But Obama - impressed with his oratory that he is - thinks that if he makes a few good speeches in Ankara and Istanbul he will win Muslim "hearts and minds" all the while taking action that offends said Muslims. Of course this is absurd and no different that Bush's stand of speaking nicely about Islam while dropping bombs on Muslims.

Be that as it may, Obama has taken another token and insignificant decision: an envoy. Let's remember that Bush also had an envoy - Karen Hughes - whose mission was to convince Arabs and Muslims that America is not hostile to their interests even though much evidence (support for Israel, wars and occupation, and support for authoritarian Arab regimes) is contrary. But Obama thinks he is special and will actually have an influence because instead of a public diplomacy diplomat, Obama's find is specially an envoy to the Muslim world who is Muslim himself: Rashid Hussain.

And he is intended to go out and speak honestly with Muslims and listen to their grievances and show regard for them. After all, he's one of them. Let's see how he fares:

Rashad Hussain, the Obama administration's envoy to the Muslim world, was angered and "shocked" yesterday when -- as part of a tour of India to promote better relations with Muslims -- "the head of a city-based Muslim institution [Akhtar Hasan Rizvi] slammed the US' policies, not just in the Middle East, but towards Muslims everywhere":

Rizvi held America responsible for many woes in the Muslim world. "You supplied arms to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war, then invaded Iraq in the name of searching for weapons of mass destruction. You created the Taliban with the help of Pakistan. You have been backing Israel ever since its creation. First, right the wrongs that you have created if you want to establish peace in the world,'' said Rizvi to applause from the students.

Shocked, Hussain who had earlier talked about the Obama administration's resolve to partner with the Muslim world for winning hearts and minds, shot back: "I reject the conspiracy theories that are being floated" . . . . Hussain appeared so upset with Rizvi's trenchant comments that he almost left the dais and wanted to walk out but the meeting's conductor, Akhtar Chauhan, also director of the institute, requested him to stay back.

As you can see those are wild Muslim conspiracies. I mean, no one would ever be so cruel and conspiracy minded as to accuse the United States of supporting both sides of the Iraq-Iran war. I mean, the United States never aided Saddam during the war. Who could fabricate such photos:

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And no one could ever be so deceitful as to put words in the mouth of America's esteemed secretary of state Henry Kissinger in stating that the longer the Iran-Iraq war continued the better it is for American interest.

And what about those horrific Taliban? I mean, it is well-known that throughout the Cold War the United States never naively and short-sighted funded Islamic fundamentalist groups in an effort to then undercut the present threat of left-wing, Arab nationalism or Pan-Arabism. The United States (in league with its ally Saudi Arabia) never ever had an unholy alliance with fanatical Islamist movements during the Cold War. O' no. The consequences of such funding which have blown-back on the United States (and Saudi Arabia) are simply the stuff of fiction thrillers.

As token, sell-out, inferiority complex to the 'White Man' Muslim Rashid Hussain will have it: The United States is simply an innocent victim of anger in the Middle East and terrorism and has never done anything to merit the hostility, albeit sometimes extreme and ignoble in its indiscriminate attack against civilians, which today emanate from many Arabs and Muslims who resent past conduct and which for a few takes the extreme form of terrorism attacks. The United States has never done anything wrong. It is all innocent. Okay? And Hussain will simply and literally not stand to hear anything else short of 'America, America, you're so perfect and everything and if anyone ever has a problem with you it is because they are a freedom-hating, conspiracy nut.' He will not stand for an criticism! But short of that he wants an open dialog.

And, finally, for the record on a separate but somewhat related note: A lot is often made about how Arabs are supposedly conspiracy minded. Many Arabs are conspiracy minded, indeed. But so are many in all people: The United States had more books, movies, "documentary, and other material produced on the Kennedy assassination, the RFK assassination, Roswell, UFOs, Area 51 and the 9/11 conspiracy movement more than anything written about any conspiracy theory in the Arab world.

America's are no novice when it comes to attaching themselves to silly conspiracies.

H/T: Glenn Greenwald.