"...AMY GOODMAN: Yesterday President Obama was questioned in Stockholm, Sweden—the Nobel Peace Prize winner. ERIKA BJERSTROM: Mr. President, you’ve given very eloquent talks about the moral force of nonviolence. I was wondering, could you describe the dilemma to be a Nobel Peace Prize winner and getting ready to attack Syria? PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I would refer you to the speech that I gave when I received the Nobel Prize. And I think I started the speech by saying that compared to previous recipients, I was certainly unworthy. But what I also described was the challenge that all of us face when we believe in peace, but we confront a world that is full of violence and occasional evil. And the question then becomes: What are our responsibilities? AMY GOODMAN: Congressmember Alan Grayson, can you respond to President Obama’s question? REP. ALAN GRAYSON: Well, let’s talk about what our responsibilities are not. Our responsibilities are not to ignore the United Nations. Our responsibilities are not to ignore NATO or the Arab League. Our responsibility is not to ignore the international court of The Hague. Our responsibility is not to make vague remarks about red lines and to follow them up with equally vague remarks about violating international norms, which is a cover for saying that they have—that the Syrians have not violated international laws. I’m very disturbed by this general idea, this notion, that every time we see something bad in the world, we should bomb it. And, in fact, the president himself has criticized that mindset, and now he’s adopted it. It’s simply not our responsibility to act alone and punish this. I’ll give you an example. There is substantial evidence right now, which the Russians have chosen to actually present to the United Nations, unlike the United States at this point, of the rebels using poison gas. Are we going to bomb both sides?" ...
Posted on: Fri, 06 Sep 2013 22:30:46 +0000
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