Try before you buy
Dear Editor,
Wouldn't it be great if we could order our U.S. president from a catalog? We could evaluate him on a trial basis. Then we could return him if he did not meet our expectations.
Unfortunately, the Arab Spring is now looking like an Arab Winter as far as Egypt and Libya are concerned.
Sam Bacile, writer and director of a short film attacking Islam's prophet, Muhammad, has caused death and destruction.
About 2,000 Egyptian Muslims protested against the U.S. and this 14-minute movie by destroying the American flag and writing on the walls of our embassy in Cairo.
President Obama has been criticized for not reacting quickly enough to the protests in both Egypt and Libya. However, he did announce that the U.S. State Department will act upon the problems in both those countries.
Libya's new president has issued an apology to the U.S. Still, many people are outraged. News of U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens' death, as well as that of Sean Smith, foregn service information officer in Libya, has been a shock. In addition, other staff members were also killed and this problem won't go away very soon.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate, has criticized the White House for giving mixed signals.
President Obama has attempted to soften the blow by promising increased security to protect the lives of American diplomatic personnel around the workd.
Film maker Sam Bacile has reacted by going into hiding.
Still more fuel has been added to the fire. Benjamin Netanyaho, Israel's prime minister, is coming to the U.S. in about two weeks. Barack Obama will not be meeting with him face-to-face, because of a busy schedule. Instead, he talked to Netanyaho on the phone. This has been described by political experts as "snubbing the prime minister."
Personally, I agree with Dick Trail's column in the Sept. 11, Gazette. The film, "2016," explains the situation very clearly. It is "a real eye-opener."
Helen Ruth Arnold
Trenton, Nebraska