LETTER: OBAMA APOLOGIES DAMAGE NATION
The Advocate
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April 27 2009
There has recently been a striking and widespread use of apologies by
President Barack Hussein Obama to atone for the so-called injustices
cause by the United States.
Do apologies by the chief executive deserve a more important role
in our diplomatic toolbox? I think not. As the American president,
he holds an office that only 43 other American citizens have ever
experienced, and it is a sacred honor that was bestowed upon him by
his fellow American citizens.
Because of his apologies, I believe he is marginalizing our nation. I
am especially embarrassed and offended that my president would choose
to apologize to a country such as Turkey. The Turkish Republic has been
repeatedly called upon to acknowledge and express regret for the forced
deportation and massacre of millions of Christian Armenians carried out
by the Ottoman Empire during the closing stages of the First World War.
The Turkish state is not willing to apologize for these acts of
violence perpetrated on its territory (although not, technically,
by the Turkish Republic itself).
Does the president think his apologies set about repairing a fractured
relationship between two parties or restoring the relationship
between a transgressor and the international society whose norms of
right conduct he thinks we are violating? If he does, he is truly
misguided. The United States is a beacon of hope and justice in the
world. We stand ready to defend the world against naked aggression.
If the president wants to apologize about something, he can apologize
about his thoughtless and inconsiderate treatment of British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown.
His boorish behavior during Mr. Brown’s recent visit to the United
States was uncalled for. He should also apologize for the tasteless
gifts given to Mr. Brown by the president and the first lady. Gifts
presented to heads of state in honor of their first visit to the
White House are an important part of good international relations.
Prime Minister Brown was gracious and thoughtful in presenting gifts
that symbolize hallmarks of diplomacy. The carved penholder from an
anti-slave ship, the commissioning paper from a rescued vessel and
the first edition biography of Winston Churchill all represent the
freedom, commitment and the leadership between our nations that paved
the way for the liberty of millions of world citizens.
Barack Hussein Obama gave Mr. Brown compact discs of American movies —
something you can get at Wal-Mart. If the president truly feels the
need to exercise the diplomatic tool of apology, perhaps he should
do it in private, and perhaps he should use it merely to apologize
for his own faux pas.