A speech Obama should have given but didn't.

The following is taken from an article by Simon Tisdall which appeared in the 
guardian.co.uk, on tuesday 24 January 2012.




In his state of the union address, Barack Obama has the opportunity to promulgate a three-pronged 'axis of virtue'. 
The best-known, or most notorious, state of the union address of recent times was delivered 10 years ago by George Bush, in January 2002, when he (or rather his speechwriter, David Frum) coined a phrase that has resonated ever since: the "axis of evil". Bush was referring to three "rogue" states: Saddam Hussein's Iraq, which he had already privately earmarked for US-facilitated regime change, Iran and North Korea. "States like these, and their terrorist allies constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world," Bush declared.


Barack Obama's state of the union speech tonight is unlikely to throw up a catchy phrase or soundbite to compare with Bush's portentous effort, although White House aides doubtless toiled until the last minute to try to attract the headline writers. Nor is Obama's election-year address, with a strong emphasis on domestic woes, likely to set the international agenda the way Bush did. After all, much of the decade after 2002 was taken up with US efforts, overt and covert, successful and floundering, to eliminate perceived threats emanating from the terrible trio.


This is a missed opportunity. If Obama really wanted to set the nation and the world talking, and breathe vigorous life into his so far underwhelming bid for a second term, he might do well to try new approaches to old problems. Instead of attempting to manage issues such as Iran's suspect nuclear programme, or skip over difficult challenges such as repeat sub-Saharan food emergencies, he could take a chance and propose radical solutions. Instead of trying to make a media splash, he could try to make a difference. In short, he could promulgate a three-pronged "axis of virtue".


Here are key excerpts from the "axis of virtue" speech Obama probably won't deliver:


1. "My fellow Americans. War with Iran in 2012 is not inevitable. It is not desirable. It is not practicable. And it is not necessary. There is no evidence – not one shred – that Iran has built or acquired a usable nuclear weapon. Nor is there good reason to believe it would use such weapons, against Israel or anybody else, should it obtain them in the future. Iranians are no different from Americans and Europeans. They are not suicidal. They wish to defend themselves against attack. Our job is to assure them they are not under threat.


"So today I announce that my administration will prepare and ask Congress to sign into law a non-aggression pact with the Islamic Republic of Iran. This pact will form the springboard for immediate, unconditional, across-the-board bilateral negotiations on restoring diplomatic and political ties, trade, investment, and people and cultural exchanges between our two great countries. We want to welcome Iran back into the family of nations. It has been absent for too long. For good measure, we are also planning full diplomatic relations with the state of Palestine and with Cuba. The days of big countries bullying weaker ones are over."