Friday
Jan302009
Madelaine Albright: Americans “woefully ignorant” of Muslim world
Friday, January 30, 2009 at 5:04PM
By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and former Represenative Vin Weber (R-Minn) spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations conerning American relations with the Muslim world. Secretary Albright said that Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world, but that Afghanistan and Pakistan are closely tied in their turmoil. She continued that most Americans are “woefully ignorant” of the Muslim world, and that America’s approach should not be one of ‘tolerance’, but rather one of ‘respect’. Concurrent to that line of thought is the notion that the United States should be prepared to deal with Islamist democratic elections where the results are not favorable to American policy. Albright said people all over the world are ready for democracy, but that the United States should take the position of supporting popular democratic movements, not “imposing democracy”. Weber echoed that sentiment, but insisted that the U.S. could help build the “preconditions for democracy”, such as improving women’s rights or encouraging an open media.
Regarding America’s approach to fighting terrorism, Albright said that the U.S. must not fight terror in a way which creates new terrorists, and that every civilian death makes both the United States and our causes suffer. Regarding the policies of ‘targeted killings’ and assassinations, Weber highlighted that both the Bush and Obama administrations said that they would not ignore ‘actionable intelligence’ on the locations of terrorists. Albright also stated that it is important for America to distinguish those who were civilians and those who were “murders”.
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and former Represenative Vin Weber (R-Minn) spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations conerning American relations with the Muslim world. Secretary Albright said that Pakistan is the most dangerous country in the world, but that Afghanistan and Pakistan are closely tied in their turmoil. She continued that most Americans are “woefully ignorant” of the Muslim world, and that America’s approach should not be one of ‘tolerance’, but rather one of ‘respect’. Concurrent to that line of thought is the notion that the United States should be prepared to deal with Islamist democratic elections where the results are not favorable to American policy. Albright said people all over the world are ready for democracy, but that the United States should take the position of supporting popular democratic movements, not “imposing democracy”. Weber echoed that sentiment, but insisted that the U.S. could help build the “preconditions for democracy”, such as improving women’s rights or encouraging an open media.
Regarding America’s approach to fighting terrorism, Albright said that the U.S. must not fight terror in a way which creates new terrorists, and that every civilian death makes both the United States and our causes suffer. Regarding the policies of ‘targeted killings’ and assassinations, Weber highlighted that both the Bush and Obama administrations said that they would not ignore ‘actionable intelligence’ on the locations of terrorists. Albright also stated that it is important for America to distinguish those who were civilians and those who were “murders”.
Madeline Albright discusses American perceptions of the Muslim world
Former Secretary of State Madeline Albright says that most Americans are "woefully ignorant" of the Muslim world, and that the press holds a certain responsibility to educate people about their culture.