Barack Obama's Cairo Speech

I commend Barack Obama for giving the speech in Cairo, Egypt. You can watch it in full here and read the entire text here. I don't agree with everything he said but at least he has put his cards on the table. This clearly was a much more friendly speech than would have been given by George Bush. The question is, will Obama's approach actually do anything? Here are some reactions hand picked by the BBC.

Now that Obama has shown his cards, here are some questions I have:

• What will governments throughout the so-called Muslim world do in response?
• According to the Left, harmony with America on the "Arab street" should now result. Will it?
  
• Will the rights of Muslim women be greatly strengthened? Even one little bit?
  
• Will citizens be given similar human rights to those we in the West have?
  
• If none of these things occur can we then agree that Obama's approach was naive?

I'll also be most interested to see the reaction from Israel. As I've long said, I believe the Israel-Palestinian situation cannot be resolved because only one side wants peace. Furthermore, I firmly believe that certain dark forces throughout the Muslim world want the Palestinian people to keep on suffering in their squalid conditions because if that were ever to end, it would not suit their political objectives.

More than anyone, I do hope that things improve for the billions of Muslims around the world. But I think it has a lot more to do with them than anything any American President can hope to do.

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Update: Here's a humorous take on Obama's speeches of late.