OBAMA – Citizen of the World

Barack Obama is a candidate who wants a one-world government, it would appear from his comments and speeches. If we just look at his speech in Berlin, there are numerous examples that support his one-world view, and also many historical errors. I have enclosed the actual speech below.

The portions that support his one-world views are in red. My comments appear in blue.

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Thank you to the citizens of Berlin and to the people of Germany. Let me thank Chancellor Merkel and Foreign Minister Steinmeier for welcoming me earlier today. Thank you Mayor Wowereit, the Berlin Senate, the police, and most of all thank you for this welcome.

I come to Berlin as so many of my countrymen have come before. Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for President, but as a citizen — a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world.

I know that I don’t look like the Americans who’ve previously spoken in this great city. [An obvious attempt to point out the fact that he is black, and therefore you must be racist if you don’t support him. ]

The journey that led me here is improbable. My mother was born in the heartland of America, but my father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father — my grandfather — was a cook, a domestic servant to the British.[An attempt to show he comes from humble origins despite his being a wealthy intellectual academic elitist. Of course, no mention of the fact that his father was a communist who affected Kenya’s pull to the left.]

At the height of the Cold War, my father decided, like so many others in the forgotten corners of the world, that his yearning — his dream — required the freedom and opportunity promised by the West.[promised by the West, or promised by America? The “West” didn’t promise opportunity in the post-WWII era, only America did.] And so he wrote letter after letter to universities all across America until somebody, somewhere answered his prayer for a better life.

That is why I’m here. And you are here because you too know that yearning. This city, of all cities, knows the dream of freedom. And you know that the only reason we stand here tonight is because men and women from both of our nations came together to work, and struggle, and sacrifice for that better life.[Historical inaccuracy: The only reason is because both of our nations came together? I would say not. Most of East Germany supported the Russians during the Cold War. When Ronald Reagan came to Berlin, tens of thousands of Germans protested his presence]

Ours is a partnership that truly began sixty years ago this summer, on the day when the first American plane touched down at Tempelhof. [Actually, the relationship began several years earlier when the US and its then allies conquered the Nazis and liberated Germany.]

On that day, much of this continent still lay in ruin. The rubble of this city had yet to be built into a wall. The Soviet shadow had swept across Eastern Europe, while in the West, America, Britain, and France took stock of their losses, and pondered how the world might be remade.

This is where the two sides met. And on the twenty-fourth of June, 1948, the Communists chose to blockade the western part of the city. They cut off food and supplies to more than two million Germans in an effort to extinguish the last flame of freedom in Berlin.

The size of our forces was no match for the much larger Soviet Army. And yet retreat would have allowed Communism to march across Europe. Where the last war had ended, another World War could have easily begun. All that stood in the way was Berlin.[Isn’t that exactly true in Iraq? Wouldn’t retreat allow Islamic fascism to march across the Middle East? Also, what does he mean that all that stood in the way was Berlin? How? Since Berlin was ground zero of the Soviet-American conflict, it could easily have been the trigger for another world war.]

And that’s when the airlift began — when the largest and most unlikely rescue in history brought food and hope to the people of this city. [Notice there is no mention that it was the “American airlift”.]

The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. [Not true. See below.] The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.

But in the darkest hours, the people of Berlin kept the flame of hope burning. The people of Berlin refused to give up. And on one fall day, hundreds of thousands of Berliners came here, to the Tiergarten, and heard the city’s mayor implore the world not to give up on freedom. “There is only one possibility,” he said. “For us to stand together united until this battle is won. The people of Berlin have spoken. We have done our duty, and we will keep on doing our duty. People of the world: now do your duty. People of the world, look at Berlin!”

People of the world — look at Berlin!

Look at Berlin, where Germans and Americans learned to work together and trust each other less than three years after facing each other on the field of battle.[Uh, excuse me, Barack. The only reason that Germans agreed to work with Americans was that, as Dennis Prager says, “America and its allies vanquished Germany, overthrew its Nazi leadership, imposed democracy and freedom on Germans, and kept plenty of soldiers in Germany.”]

Look at Berlin, where the determination of a people met the generosity of the Marshall Plan and created a German miracle; where a victory over tyranny gave rise to NATO, the greatest alliance ever formed to defend our common security.[Really? How effective has NATO been in confronting evil- from communism to Islamic terrorism?]

Look at Berlin, where the bullet holes in the buildings and the somber stones and pillars near the Brandenburg Gate insist that we never forget our common humanity. [Perhaps, but there certainly was not “common humanity” from the early ’30’s to the end of WWII between Germany and the U.S.]

People of the world — look at Berlin, where a wall came down, a continent came together, and history proved that there is no challenge too great for a world that stands as one. [Historical inaccuracy: A continent did not come together. The world did not stand as one. The world (and Europe) was divided into Communist-controlled countries and the free world. The wall came down only because of the strength and resolve of the United States of America.]

Sixty years after the airlift, we are called upon again. History has led us to a new crossroad, with new promise and new peril. When you, the German people, tore down that wall — a wall that divided East and West; freedom and tyranny; fear and hope — walls came tumbling down around the world. [Thanks to Ronald Reagan]

From Kiev to Cape Town, prison camps were closed, and the doors of democracy were opened. Markets opened too, and the spread of information and technology reduced barriers to opportunity and prosperity. While the 20th century taught us that we share a common destiny, the 21st has revealed a world more intertwined than at any time in human history.[The 20th Century taught us that we share a common destiny? Did those living under Communism in the 20th Century have a common destiny with those living in the U.S.? How?]

The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope. But that very closeness has given rise to new dangers — dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean.

The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil. [Hmm. No mention that the terrorists were Islamic with a long-standing plan to destroy the West.]

As we speak, cars in Boston and factories in Beijing are melting the ice caps in the Arctic, shrinking coastlines in the Atlantic, and bringing drought to farms from Kansas to Kenya. [No conclusive scientific evidence exists that cars in Boston or factories in Beijing cause Global Warming]

Poorly secured nuclear material in the former Soviet Union, or secrets from a scientist in Pakistan could help build a bomb that detonates in Paris. The poppies in Afghanistan become the heroin in Berlin. The poverty and violence in Somalia breeds the terror of tomorrow.[History has shown that poverty has nothing to do with Islamic terrorism. What breeds the terror of tomorrow in Islamic countries is the teaching of radical Wahhabism to young Muslims.] The genocide in Darfur shames the conscience of us all. [That, at least, is true.]

In this new world, such dangerous currents have swept along faster than our efforts to contain them. That is why we cannot afford to be divided. No one nation, no matter how large or powerful, can defeat such challenges alone. None of us can deny these threats, or escape responsibility in meeting them. Yet, in the absence of Soviet tanks and a terrible wall, it has become easy to forget this truth. [I don’t think England or Spain will forget the truth, even in the absence of Soviet tanks.] And if we’re honest with each other, we know that sometimes, on both sides of the Atlantic, we have drifted apart, and forgotten our shared destiny.[Again, “our shared destiny.” What does he mean by that? That we are destined to both live in collectivist societies?]

In Europe, the view that America is part of what has gone wrong in our world, rather than a force to help make it right, has become all too common. [Only among the leftists in Europe] In America, there are voices that deride and deny the importance of Europe’s role in our security and our future. [Not many] Both views miss the truth — that Europeans today are bearing new burdens and taking more responsibility in critical parts of the world; and that just as American bases built in the last century still help to defend the security of this continent, so does our country still sacrifice greatly for freedom around the globe.

Yes, there have been differences between America and Europe. No doubt, there will be differences in the future. But the burdens of global citizenship continue to bind us together. A change of leadership in Washington will not lift this burden. In this new century, Americans and Europeans alike will be required to do more — not less. Partnership and cooperation among nations is not a choice; it is the one way, the only way, to protect our common security and advance our common humanity.[Scary. I wonder what he has in mind when he says we will be required to do more, not less? Nothing any loyal American will want to do, I am sure.]

That is why the greatest danger of all is to allow new walls to divide us from one another. The walls between old allies on either side of the Atlantic cannot stand. The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. [What in the world does he mean by that statement? What walls between the countries with the most and those with the least?] The walls between races and tribes; natives and immigrants; [Between natives and immigrants? Is that a reference to the fact that Americans are tired of carrying the financial burden of too many illegal immigrants, and he wants us to continue to accept that burden?] Christian and Muslim and Jew cannot stand. These now are the walls we must tear down.[It seems to me that the only walls between these three religions consist of Muslims wanting to kill both Christians and Jews. What other walls are there?]

We know they have fallen before. After centuries of strife, the people of Europe have formed a Union of promise and prosperity. [Well, not all the people of Europe.] Here, at the base of a column built to mark victory in war, we meet in the center of a Europe at peace. Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, [Not true. See below] where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together; in the Balkans, where our Atlantic alliance ended wars and brought savage war criminals to justice; and in South Africa, where the struggle of a courageous people defeated apartheid. So history reminds us that walls can be torn down. But the task is never easy. True partnership and true progress requires constant work and sustained sacrifice. They require sharing the burdens of development and diplomacy; of progress and peace. They require allies who will listen to each other, learn from each other and, most of all, trust each other.

That is why America cannot turn inward. That is why Europe cannot turn inward. America has no better partner than Europe. Now is the time to build new bridges across the globe as strong as the one that bound us across the Atlantic. Now is the time to join together, through constant cooperation, strong institutions, shared sacrifice, and a global commitment to progress, to meet the challenges of the 21st century. It was this spirit that led airlift planes to appear in the sky above our heads, and people to assemble where we stand today. And this is the moment when our nations — and all nations — must summon that spirit anew.

This is the moment when we must defeat terror and dry up the well of extremism that supports it. [Again, no mention that terrorism and extremism is Islamic.]

This threat is real and we cannot shrink from our responsibility to combat it. If we could create NATO to face down the Soviet Union, we can join in a new and global partnership to dismantle the networks that have struck in Madrid and Amman; in London and Bali; in Washington and New York. If we could win a battle of ideas against the communists, we can stand with the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope. [“The vast majority of Muslims?” Has Obama seen the actual numbers that show that the vast majority of Muslims around the world think terrorist acts against Israel and the U.S. are justified? Where are these “moderate Muslims” who “reject” the “extremism” of which Obama speaks?]

This is the moment when we must renew our resolve to rout the terrorists who threaten our security in Afghanistan, and the traffickers who sell drugs on your streets. No one welcomes war. I recognize the enormous difficulties in Afghanistan. But my country and yours have a stake in seeing that NATO’s first mission beyond Europe’s borders is a success. For the people of Afghanistan, and for our shared security, the work must be done. America cannot do this alone. The Afghan people need our troops and your troops; our support and your support to defeat the Taliban and al Qaeda, to develop their economy, and to help them rebuild their nation. We have too much at stake to turn back now. [Notice how Obama is essentially diverting attention away from his opposition to the War in Iraq and the “surge” and calling for essentially what amounts to a “surge” in Afghanistan.]

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. [If the United States gave up our nuclear weapons we would essentially be defenseless. Not that we would use them, necessarily, but the fact that we have them is clearly a deterrent to those who would like to destroy us. ]

The two superpowers that faced each other across the wall of this city came too close too often to destroying all we have built and all that we love. With that wall gone, we need not stand idly by and watch the further spread of the deadly atom. It is time to secure all loose nuclear materials; to stop the spread of nuclear weapons; and to reduce the arsenals from another era. This is the moment to begin the work of seeking the peace of a world without nuclear weapons. [I am curious as to how he proposes that would happen.]

This is the moment when every nation in Europe must have the chance to choose its own tomorrow free from the shadows of yesterday. In this century, we need a strong European Union that deepens the security and prosperity of this continent, while extending a hand abroad. In this century — in this city of all cities — we must reject the Cold War mind-set of the past, and resolve to work with Russia when we can, to stand up for our values when we must, and to seek a partnership that extends across this entire continent. [Is Obama suggesting that we should actually work more closely with former KGB Communist Putin and his kleptocracy in Russia? The same Putin and virtual dictatorship that is helping Iran with its nuclear arms program?]

This is the moment when we must build on the wealth that open markets have created, and share its benefits more equitably. [Does he mean share the benefits through wealth re-distribution? Just exactly what does “more equitably” mean?]

Trade has been a cornerstone of our growth and global development. But we will not be able to sustain this growth if it favors the few, and not the many. [Growth and development does not favor the few. All boats rise with a rising tide. I detect a desire to redistribute wealth is behind this. That is what “more equitably” means to the Left”]

Together, we must forge trade that truly rewards the work that creates wealth, with meaningful protections for our people and our planet. This is the moment for trade that is free and fair for all. [If this isn’t a prelude to the “global poverty tax”–that he has already proposed in the Senate– and the “global warming tax” that would essentially redistribute our wealth “more equitably” to the rest of the world, I don’t know what is. This is his mindset, and one we need to be very concerned about.]

This is the moment we must help answer the call for a new dawn in the Middle East. [Who, exactly, is calling for that new dawn in the Middle East that we must help answer?] My country must stand with yours and with Europe in sending a direct message to Iran that it must abandon its nuclear ambitions. We must support the Lebanese who have marched and bled for democracy, and the Israelis and Palestinians who seek a secure and lasting peace. [Funny how Obama doesn’t say: “and the Israelis who “marched and bled for democracy.” He ascribes a certain moral equivalence to the Palestinians and Israelis. This despite the fact that the only terrorism in that conflict has come from the Palestinians, while the Israelis continue to sue for peace by giving up land and prisoners to those who do not acknowledge their right to exist and who would destroy Israel, if they could. This is a reflection of how Obama would treat Israel in the future. Are you paying attention, Jews who are Democrats? Further, exactly what evidence does he have that the Palestinians seek a secure and lasting peace? Answer: None. The truth is that they do not seek a secure and lasting peace. They seek the destruction of Israel.]

And despite past differences, this is the moment when the world should support the millions of Iraqis who seek to rebuild their lives, even as we pass responsibility to the Iraqi government and finally bring this war to a close. [Those “millions of Iraqis” would never have had that opportunity to “rebuild” and start their lives anew had Obama been President in 2001. Those “millions of Iraqis” would still be subject to the terrorism, lack of freedom, domination and genocide of Saddam Hussein]

This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands. Let us resolve that all nations — including my own — will act with the same seriousness of purpose as has your nation, and reduce the carbon we send into our atmosphere. [Again, Another chiding of the US. Obama has bought into the fiction that carbon emissions cause global warming. Doesn’t he sound almost divine? He is going to conquer famine and turn back the tides. I though there was only one divine figure who could do that.]

This is the moment to give our children back their future. This is the moment to stand as one.

And this is the moment when we must give hope to those left behind in a globalized world. [Who are those left behind in a globalized world, and just how do we give them hope? Hope for what?]

We must remember that the Cold War born in this city was not a battle for land or treasure. Sixty years ago, the planes that flew over Berlin did not drop bombs; instead they delivered food, and coal, and candy to grateful children. And in that show of solidarity, those pilots won more than a military victory. [Again an historical inaccuracy. Those American pilots who airlifted food did not win a military victory. There was no military conflict at that time. What they did do was keep the people of West Berlin from starving because of the lines of supply being cut by the East German communists.]

They won hearts and minds; love and loyalty and trust — not just from the people in this city, but from all those who heard the story of what they did here.

Now the world will watch and remember what we do here — what we do with this moment. [Really?? Do you really think you are that important at this point in time, Barack? You really think that what you do in this moment where you are speaking to Germans as a probable candidate for elected office in the US the world will watch and remember what you do or say in a campaign speech. I think not. I think the world will wonder why this guy, who has not yet been elected to office, is acting as if he had.]

Will we extend our hand to the people in the forgotten corners of this world who yearn for lives marked by dignity and opportunity; by security and justice? Will we lift the child in Bangladesh from poverty, shelter the refugee in Chad, and banish the scourge of AIDS in our time? [Is this an implication that the US does not help others in the world and that it does not already provide millions for AIDS research and prevention. And, wasn’t he the one who advocated that we forget about rescuing the millions of Iraqis who were under the scourge of Saddam?]

Will we stand for the human rights of the dissident in Burma, the blogger in Iran, or the voter in Zimbabwe? Will we give meaning to the words “never again” in Darfur?

Will we acknowledge that there is no more powerful example than the one each of our nations projects to the world? Will we reject torture and stand for the rule of law? Will we welcome immigrants from different lands, and shun discrimination against those who don’t look like us or worship like we do, and keep the promise of equality and opportunity for all of our people? [Here again he is chiding the US. He accuses us not only of torture, but of xenophobia. He is also inferring that the US doesn’t “welcome immigrants from different lands?” Is there any country who does more to welcome immigrants from around the globe?]

People of Berlin — people of the world — this is our moment. This is our time. [What does he mean by that? This is whose time? Is he speaking as a citizen of the United States or a citizen of the world?]

I know my country has not perfected itself. [Another chiding of the US and an attempt at an apology. What hubris! Who is he to apologize to “the world” for the actions of the US?]

At times, we’ve struggled to keep the promise of liberty and equality for all of our people. We’ve made our share of mistakes, and there are times when our actions around the world have not lived up to our best intentions. [When was that Barack?]

But I also know how much I love America. I know that for more than two centuries, we have strived — at great cost and great sacrifice — to form a more perfect union; to seek, with other nations, a more hopeful world. Our allegiance has never been to any particular tribe or kingdom [We do not have allegiance to people. Our allegiance is to those principles of freedom and personal liberty that were proclaimed by our Founders in the Declaration of Independence and the US Constitution and which were granted, not by men, but by our Creator.]— indeed, every language is spoken in our country; every culture has left its imprint on ours; every point of view is expressed in our public squares.[Except Christianity]

What has always united us — what has always driven our people; what drew my father to America’s shores — is a set of ideals that speak to aspirations shared by all people: that we can live free from fear and free from want; that we can speak our minds and assemble with whomever we choose and worship as we please.

Those are the aspirations that joined the fates of all nations in this city. Those aspirations are bigger than anything that drives us apart. It is because of those aspirations that the airlift began. [No it wasn’t. It was the determination of Harry Truman, despite Congressional opposition that caused the American airlift to begin.]

It is because of those aspirations that all free people — everywhere — became citizens of Berlin. It is in pursuit of those aspirations that a new generation — our generation — must make our mark on history.

People of Berlin — and people of the world — the scale of our challenge is great. The road ahead will be long. But I come before you to say that we are heirs to a struggle for freedom. We are a people of improbable hope. Let us build on our common history, and seize our common destiny, [I still can’t figure out why he is talking about a common history and common destiny with the U.S. There is no common history or common destiny. The destiny of Germany is to be a socialistic Islamic state. The destiny of the U.S., so long as Barack Obama and his fellow socialists don’t get elected, is to be a free country with liberty and justice for all.] and once again engage in that noble struggle to bring justice and peace to our world. [When leftists or Socialists speak of justice they typically mean “social justice”,which is code for wealth redistribution. This is typical socialist rhetoric. Justice and Peace are values the Left holds in highest regard, while Liberty and Freedom are the highest values among conservatives.]

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This speech certainly gives an insight into who Barack Obama is, if anyone wants to take the time to find out. I did not see him express a great love of his country or a passion for the freedom and opportunity we enjoy in the US.

To learn more about Obama’s speech in Berlin, I recommend you read this article by Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe. Excerpt:

Indeed, Obama seemed to go out of his way not to say plainly that what saved Berlin in that dark time was America’s military might. Save for a solitary reference to “the first American plane,” he never described one of the greatest American operations of the postwar period as an American operation at all. He spoke only of “the airlift,” “the planes,” “those pilots.” Perhaps their American identity wasn’t something he cared to stress amid all his “people of the world” salutations and talk of “global citizenship.”

You should also read this article in The American Thinker called, “The Audacity of No Fact Checking” about the speech. An excerpt:

Obama speech:

 

“Not only have walls come down in Berlin, but they have come down in Belfast, where Protestant and Catholic found a way to live together;”

Quoting from a 5/3/2008 USA Today article:

Another article in The American Thinker (Obama’s Casual Way with the Truth) talks about his lack of knowledge about the Airlift. Excerpt:

Obama, speaking to Berliners, used the familiar cloudy and cold Berlin winter weather to evoke a response of sympathy and unity with America (at least America of the Berlin Airlift era) when he said,

“The odds were stacked against success. In the winter, a heavy fog filled the sky above, and many planes were forced to turn back without dropping off the needed supplies. The streets where we stand were filled with hungry families who had no comfort from the cold.”

Obama should have read my book before making his claim about the Berlin Airlift. Barely a handful of the nearly 28,000 flights “turned back” in the face in the cruel winter of 1948-1949.

Obama obviously has limited knowledge of the Airlift, and automatically assumes that the USAF would send up aircraft in prohibitively dangerous weather (it didn’t) and that, once up, large numbers of pilots aborted their missions.