OBAMA THE INEXPERIENCED

Obama's bow to the Saudi king continues to make more headlines, with The Bulletin providing the latest commentary on just what's wrong with it:

Though the White House has vehemently denied Barack Obama bowed to Saudi King Abdullah during the recent Summit of the G-20 nations in London earlier this month, video footage of the president dipping his upper torso toward the Saudi monarch undercut the administration’s take on the events.

“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah,” an anonymous Obama aide told Politico last week.

The bow caps off a rough start for the Obama administration during its first overseas jaunt. First lady Michelle Obama goofed when she placed her arm around Queen Elizabeth II and the White House blundered when it let Mr. Obama give the Queen an iPod. The Queen received an iPod last year from her grandson.

[...]

And while a handful of protocol violations to a friendly nation can be written off as the president adjusting to his new role, a bow to a royal leader in a hostile part of the world could potentially undermine U.S. foreign policy efforts in curbing the growth of terrorism.

During the campaign Republican John McCain and Democrat Hillary Clinton warned Mr. Obama’s lack of foreign policy experience would undermine his effectiveness as a world leader. Now that Mr. Obama is president, he is facing a world determined to break U.S. hegemony and protocol violations could further embolden their cause.

[...]

And while the bow could be viewed as an isolated incident of inexperience, it could have long reaching effects in how U.S. leadership is perceived. Already Islamic newspapers are recognizing the gesture as a bow and signaling the bow marks a change in U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

“Obama wished to demonstrate his respect and appreciation of the personality of King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, who has made one of the most important calls in the modern era, namely the call for inter-faith and inter-cultural dialogue to defuse the hatred, conflict and wars,” wrote Saudi columnist Muhammah Diyab.

Though Islamic papers heralded the bow, Critics in the U.S. drove home the point the gesture would be far-reaching.

“Saudi Arabia is the single greatest financier of terrorism and through its madrassahs or ‘academies,’ as it calls them here in America, it seeks to raise the next generation of young Muslims to wage violent ‘jihad’ against our children and grandchildren. Every free person who tucks a child into bed each night should fear their success,” conservative activist Andrea Lafferty posted on her blog.

“I understand that diplomacy sometimes requires that we choose our words carefully as we seek to restore world peace. But we cannot and should not bow to tyrants.”

The bow the president took could and should raise eyebrows among the black community, as many do not approve of bowing to those who would oppress them. As the subject is discussed more among various press sources, it will hopefully be brought more to their attention.

And on a related note, Obama shook with just one hand. For many Islamists, it's considered an insult to touch with the left hand.

NEW GAME FOR SAUDI WOMEN: AWESOMELY PEPPER SPRAY SAUDI VIRTUE AND VICE THUGS

This kind of stuff gives us hope that the global war against political Islam can - to borrow a line from the not-exactly-conservative West Wing - be resolved by something short of an American flag flying over Mecca. Not much hope, but hope. This is just sublime:

Members of Khobar's Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice were the victims of an attack by two Saudi females, Asharq Al-Awsat can reveal. According to the head of the commission in Khobar, two girls pepper sprayed members of the commission after they had tried to offer them advice.... two of the Commission's employees were verbally insulted and attacked by two inappropriately-dressed females, in the old market in Prince Bandar street... Consequently, the two girls started verbally abusing the commission members, which then lead to one of the girls pepper-spraying them in the face as the other girl filmed the incident on her mobile phone, while continuing to hurl insults at them.

A couple of thugs approached a couple of relatively modern women. These women were in absolutely no mood to be groped by the kind of pathological pervs who run the V&V street teams, enforcing political Islam's obsession with controlling every minute aspect of female clothing, food, and hygiene. Hilarity ensued.

On the other hand, there's this. And this too. Still, baby steps (via Instapundit)

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

STATE DEPARTMENT GETS BRIGHT IDEA: LET'S SCREW ISRAEL EVEN MORE BY BUNDLING SYRIA INTO THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE PROCESS

Sure why not? If we're already all sitting down to pressure Israel to make concessions that endanger its existence - why not go the whole distance:

Syria could attend an upcoming Middle East peace conference in Washington as part of an Arab League committee, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Sunday. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice attends a Middle East "Quartet" briefing at the U.N. Sunday. Speaking after a meeting of the Mideast Quartet -- which includes the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia -- Rice said Arab League members charged with following up on a Saudi-backed peace proposal were likely to be invited to the November conference. Syria is a member of that follow-up committee.

When we were taught Israeli-Arab Peace Process 101, it was an ironclad principle that Israel pushes for bilateral talks with each individual Arab enemy and the Arabs push for multilateral talks with Israel. Why? Because when the Arab states combine their "negotiating strength", they can make demands in unison: "hey Israel, you want this concession from the Palestinians? Well then you're also going to have to give back the Golan to Syria." Israel has to give something to every Arab state in order to get anything that it wants.

That's why the Saudis are already setting preconditions for their participation (nice to see major media outlets helping them out with that - teamwork). They understand that the State Department has maneuvered Olmert into an impossible situation, and they're ready to exploit it after three decades of Israel successfully resisting multilateral talks. Even Bush I and Baker, when they convened the multinational Madrid Conference, didn't successfully force Israel into large-scale multilateral peace negotiations.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

HAMAS: ARAB AND MUSLIM WORLD RESPONSIBLE FOR GAZA STRIP DETERIORATION

Guess it's not Israel's fault after all. Not that it will stop human rights groups, academics, and the UN from blaming Israel. But if we're still pretending that the truth matters to somebody somewhere, this should probably get some play:

Both the Saudi Arabian and Egyptian governments have refused a proposed visit by Khaled Mashaal, head of Hamas' political bureau in Damascus, stating that the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip must be reversed before they would allow him to enter the countries, Al-Jareeda reported. A Hamas leader, who wished to remain anonymous, told the newspaper that Hamas refused to accept these conditions. He said that under such pressure from the Arab states and other international countries, Mashaal's efforts to improve the situation in Gaza has been made virtually impossible. According to the anonymous Hamas leader, Saudi Arabia and Egypt are also demanding that Hamas accept the government of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas as the legitimate government in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It's getting tough to be an Iranian proxy in the Middle East these days. Syria tried to get the Arab world to support it last week and failed spectacularly. Now Hamas can't get a hearing in any of the Sunni capitals of the Arab world. Think it has anything to do with the prospect of a Shia bomb? We think it might have something to do with the prospect of a Shia bomb. If you click through, make sure you check out the part of the article where the Saudis accuse Hamas of committing humanitarian crimes against Palestinians in Gaza? Sound familiar? It should.

[Cross-posted to Mere Rhetoric]

WOMEN JUST TOO DIRTY TO WALK ON HOLY SAUDI SIDEWALKS

The Saudis are now segregating sidewalks so their men don't get icky girl cooties:

Saudi Arabia's religious police are insisting that authorities of Medina, one of Islam's holiest cities, should build separate sidewalks for women, the Kuwaiti Al-Qabas newspaper said Friday. The country's Committee for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (CPVPV), tasked with enforcing Sharia law, believes men and women should not be allowed to mix on the streets of the Islam's second holiest place, where the Prophet Muhammad is buried.

We're tempted to ask something like "what's next - having to sit in the back of a bus?" But we all know Saudi women aren't allowed on buses without male relatives, so no go. And that's before we even get to the Saudis' nuanced views on women in cars. They really do just hate women, don't they?

[Read an extended version of this post at Mere Rhetoric]