Here's how the Obama government is handling the appointment of a Special Envoy to the Muslim world. A snip from the article (from a German paper, in English, NOT American...please read it) which caught my eye .. "Asked why the State Department had not formally announced Pandith’s appointment, Kelly noted it had been disclosed in an internal memo."Is that a reason why Americans haven't been formally told of the announcement of a brand new position like this?...."Oh, that's okay..it was disclosed....sure, it was....in an internal memo!" REALLY? It's been disclosed but not to the public? What's 'disclosed' MEAN, anyway?
Then there's this! "Kelly said he could not say whether (the new special envoy) Pandith was a Muslim, although two U.S. officials said privately that they believed she was."
Isn't that a rather pertinent thing to know? They don't KNOW?
17 comments:
I'm waiting to see who the special envoy to the Falun Gong community is.
That use of "disclosed" reminds me of my brother's use of "showed" when he was about six years old. He had told us that Grandma had shown him her dentures. When questioned on his story, he explained that the bathroom door was partially open when she was putting them in, and he happened to see them.
Oh...that kind of showed.
Oh...that kind of disclosed.
tio b
Z, what would we do without the German press?
Why would the Obama administration tell us about this? They aren't truthful about anything anyway.
So far their heralded transparency seems to only concern the Bush administration!
Pris
perhaps it's more the media's fault than the state department
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2009/06a/125443.htm
from the state dept website
Bureau of Public Affairs
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
June 26, 2009
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has asked Farah Pandith to head the new Office of the United States Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Special Representative Farah Pandith and her staff (S/SRMC) will be responsible for executing the Administration’s efforts to engage with Muslims around the world on a people-to-people and organizational level.
“I am pleased to announce the appointment of Farah Pandith to serve as Special Representative to Muslim Communities. Farah brings years of experience to the job, and she will play a leading role in our efforts to engage Muslims around the world,” Secretary Clinton said.
Pandith was the senior adviser on Muslim engagement in the European and Eurasian region at the State Department. The position was created for the first time in the US history. Prior to the State Department, she served on the National Security Council at the White House where she worked on Muslim engagement and combating extremism. She worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development in the early 1990s and again in 2003. She also served in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2004.
Pandith, a Muslim, immigrated to the United States with her parents from Srinagar, India. She has said that she sees her personal experience as an illustration of how Muslim immigrants to the US can successfully integrate themselves into American society. She grew up in Massachusetts with a diversity of faiths, ethnicities and perspectives.
beamish, exactly.
Tio, isn't it cunning? SO clever.
Pris...you're right, and announced on a weekend...typical.
Elbro, the media deserves part of the blame. Did you read the guy actually admit it was in an 'internal memo'!? How's about "we don't know if she's a muslim?"!
That the media isn't telling us is typical..that the State Department answered in these ways is even more worrisome.:-(
Boy, color me confused. What was all that crap about transparency in government that Obama campaigned about? Beware of a government that operates in secret, huh? But my question is this: since the Muslim world has as much respect for women as I do Osama bin-Laden, how effective is this envoy likely to be?
I know, I know … considering the entire Obama cabinet, that was a stupid question.
[Grinding teeth]
Well, Mustang, YOU made the comment of the night....Yes, A WOMAN.
Indeed....how could a WOMAN be effective and may some of the muslim arab countries take this as a sign of disrespect? OY. (oops..not oy) :-)..they don't like THAT much, either!!
The whole thing doesn't make sense - but what else is new with this administration?
We are having an avalanche of Czars and Special Envoys in important positions - and the people (through Congress) have no influence on that. Since this is all done in a secretive manner, the impression lends itself that this is all a big pay-off scheme on the basis of paid-in bribery. Since we are not getting a detailed view of the qualifications in this covered-up process, we can only suggest that there is something to hide.
Now, as said above, if such post needs to be occupied (which I doubt), a woman will have absolutely no effect at all. This leaves severe doubts about the usefulness.
Mr.Z
Oh, now really...you're surprised at this point?
I'm not surprised at these things anymore. It does deepen my 'disregard' for this administration, though.
Mr B
There probably is a Falun Gong contact. I wish you would hear their stories. Torturing people for spiritual beliefs is just inhuman, but it is what communists do.
All
I do not see anything wrong with a liaison to a community. It would be nicer if it were all above board but this is DC and the press is negligent.
Was it a religious appointment...perhaps made in violation of the establishment clause of the US Constitution?
I wonder if the Islamic clerics she would be dealing with have conditions about the "religion" of the appointee... the Vatican does NOT (although it does have other conditions)
“The Holy See has always set a very simple standard: the person should not be in opposition to fundamental teachings of the Church that belong to our common shared humanity. He or she may not believe in Catholic dogma if he or she is not a Catholic, but we could not accept someone who is in favor of abortion, or (human) cloning or same-sex unions equated to marriage,” the official said.
I personally believe that an American envoy to the Muslim world should NEVER be a Muslim... else they'll never learn to deal with US (which is the real purpose of appointing an envoy).
Why HIDE it? Why put 300 extra pages into cap & trade HR 2454 at 3 am? WHY?
BECAUSE OBAMA DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW.
KNOWLEDGE is POWER. And the LESS you know the BETTER Mr Obama and his administration like it, knowing it's the LESS you'll be able to INTERFERE with his plans.
BZ
Funny, it's posted on the Dept. of State site.
Oh well, the problem remains. Something was done that doesn't fit with the far right's paranoia concerning Muslims.
How do we determine who to send this "envoy to the Muslim community" to meet with, much less who we send?
Obama missed the bulk of the Muslim community skipping India and Indonesia in his mission to the "Islamic world," and "foreign policy expert" Joe Biden doesn't know the difference between Persians and Arabs, much less the difference between a well-rationalized diplomatic effort and a beer fart.
It's a bad idea implemented in the worst possible way by the most incompetent people.
Epic fail.
FJ makes an excellent point.
IMagine if Bush had appointed a CHRISTIAN ENVOY to ANYWHERE OR ANYTHING?
WHY THIS????
I see BEAMISH's point..so what? Karen Hughes was in a kind of appointment like this...was COMPLETELY ineffective... But, this just smacks of something odd..
More the way it was 'announced' than anything.
Ducky..READ THE COMMENTS, please.
WE KNOW it was in the State Dept release!
Answer us this, DUCKY: WHY DID THE MEDIA NOT PICK IT UP? Oh, I'm sure you'll find some outlet got it and post it here..FINE. I'd have thought the bigger papers just MIGHT? :-)
And did you read my post? The State Departments saying it was released..'disclosed' in an 'internal memo' !! Love that. I guess we just weren't privvy,..fancy THAT!?
This whole admin is an EPIC FAIL, Beamish..for us all. And for the world, truth be told.
"Kelly said he could not say whether (the new special envoy) Pandith was a Muslim, although two U.S. officials said privately that they believed she was."
In all fairness i think the muslim world would like to know as well, according to their past & present behavior, they don't like dealing with infidels much, especially if they consider themselves equal. They must be seated and the infidel must be standing with the whip over his/her head. Alternatively it's also good to be bent over in front of them, like hussein o.
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