Back in 2004, an Al Arabiya journalist covering the streets of Bagdahd was killed by US helicopter fire. In an interview with Democracy Now, the journalist's colleague described the harrowing scene:
Sunday marked on the bloodiest days of the US occupation of Iraq where over 100 people were killed. One of the most terrifying incidents came when a US helicopter opened fire on a crowd milling around an abandoned Bradley armored vehicle that the Pentagon says had been attacked.
At least 13 people were killed, including children, in the US helicopter attack on the crowd. Reuters footage showed the crowd was of unarmed boys and men, two of whom were standing on top of the Bradley. The US strikes also killed a journalist from the Arab TV network al Arabiya. The network broadcast harrowing footage of its correspondent, Mazen al-Tumeisi, reporting from the scene when he is hit by shrapnel.
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After being hit by shrapnel, Mazen al-Tumeisi doubles over and his blood splatters on the camera lens as he screams, "I’m a journalist. I’m dying, I’m dying." Moments later, he was pronounced dead. He was 26 years old.
Yesterday, our new President took a markedly different approach to dealing with Arab journalists: he spoke with them.
In the interview, which covered topics salient to both Americans and the Arab world, President Obama expressed another dramatic shift in the US’s role in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. Specifically, he expressed a willingness to listen to all sides rather than dictate American policy for the warring parties. Although he expressed optimism, he emphasized an appropriate and pragmatic realism given the volatility in the region. Towards this end, he highlighted a departure from the traditional, unilateral approach to the conflict:
Ultimately, we cannot tell either the Israelis or the Palestinians what's best for them. They're going to have to make some decisions. But I do believe that the moment is ripe for both sides to realize that the path that they are on is one that is not going to result in prosperity and security for their people. And that instead, it's time to return to the negotiating table.
And it's going to be difficult, it's going to take time. I don't want to prejudge many of these issues, and I want to make sure that expectations are not raised so that we think that this is going to be resolved in a few months. But if we start the steady progress on these issues, I'm absolutely confident that the United States -- working in tandem with the European Union, with Russia, with all the Arab states in the region -- I'm absolutely certain that we can make significant progress.
President Obama went on to express his desire to develop a partnership with the Arab and Muslim world based on "mutual respect and mutual interest." With the following words, which are the highlight of the interview, Obama sparked the immolation of the catastrophic Bush Doctrine and all the ignorant, bankrupt ideas that spawned it:
And so what I want to communicate is the fact that in all my travels throughout the Muslim world, what I've come to understand is that regardless of your faith -- and America is a country of Muslims, Jews, Christians, non-believers -- regardless of your faith, people all have certain common hopes and common dreams.
And my job is to communicate to the American people that the Muslim world is filled with extraordinary people who simply want to live their lives and see their children live better lives. My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that. And that I think is going to be an important task.
But ultimately, people are going to judge me not by my words but by my actions and my administration's actions. And I think that what you will see over the next several years is that I'm not going to agree with everything that some Muslim leader may say, or what's on a television station in the Arab world -- but I think that what you'll see is somebody who is listening, who is respectful, and who is trying to promote the interests not just of the United States, but also ordinary people who right now are suffering from poverty and a lack of opportunity. I want to make sure that I'm speaking to them, as well.
(click here for transcript via Huffingtonpost)