And Where Is This Money Coming From?

Time for a speech.

Barack Obama is to announce that the United States and the west will pour billions of dollars into the Middle East in support of Egypt, Tunisia and other countries embracing democracy, a move the White House portrayed as being on the scale of aid to former communist countries after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Speaking in Washington, the president will attempt to reposition the US as a champion of the newly-emerging Arab democracies. His speech comes amid criticism that the US has been too slow to support the uprisings, and has adopted contradictory approaches in its dealings with different countries.

  UK Guardian

If there’s one thing he can’t ignore, it’s criticism.

The speech will deal mainly with the Arab spring, hailing the benefits of democracy and respect for human rights, in spite of America's long-time support for authoritarian regimes in the region.

You just had to bring that up.

Senior Obama administration officials, briefing on the speech, said he will take a fresh look at the Middle East after a decade of tension and division. With the winding down of the Iraq war and the death of Osama bin Laden, "we are turning a page", one official said, adding that the democracy movements reinforced this.

Winning the future. Turning a page. In other words, just what you expected – another pretty speech with little or no consideration of reality. The man should take up watercolor.

Obama's speech comes after intensive debate within the White House between those arguing that the US should be at the forefront of the democracy movement, and those whose concern is US national security and protection of oil supplies.

Gee, I wonder who wins out.

The speech is expected to last 45 minutes, a long one by Obama's standards. He is to devote a big portion to castigating countries such as Iran and Syria.

Oh yeah, that, too.

Christ.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.