Inside Politics Weekend: Needing America

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By Jennifer Harper

President Obama is a cheerful traveler and apologizes for all sorts of things with great sincerity and flair. His speechifying is almost unparalleled.

But wait a minute. Gruff observers will have none of it, even as the engines of Air Force One cool down from overseas flights this week.

Mr. Obama thinks "Islam's a religion of peace" and "America isn't Islam's enemy," says Ralph Peters of the New York Post.

"But what if Islam — as enforced by the Saudis and their surrogates — isn't a religion of peace? What if their Islam needs America as an enemy? And what if a crucial core of radicalized Muslims don't want what we have to offer and pray for our destruction?" Mr. Peters asks. "What if the Saudi version of Islam is the problem?"

H-m-m. What if.

"For all the American left's blather about human rights and freedom, the Obama administration has turned its back on democracy, women's rights and the most basic social and political liberties in the Arab world," Mr. Peters says. "But presenting a rhetorical welfare check to the collapsed civilization of the Middle East won't advance our interests — or those of the average Arab.

"I ask our first multi-racial president to bear in mind two things. … The Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula and Egypt were the earliest, greatest and most tenacious enslavers of black Africans. And the Saudis are the leading sponsors of religious hatred in the world today. Who owes whom an apology?"

Dark horizon

And now we must address North Korea, which could very well have Enola Gay II parked in some convenient hangar. The Council of Foreign Relations has been cogitating over reports that Kim Jong-il chose his third son, Kim Jong-un, as his successor. Now what? There are three scenarios, the group says.

A nice, seamless "managed succession" would perpetuate a regime that has been in place since 1948. A "contested succession" could result in a new regime and new policies. A "failed succession" would lead to the demise of the state.