Another no-win for Obama?

And another big mess for us, no doubt.

Obama is coming to Cairo! For various, apparently logical, reasons, Obama has chosen to come to Cairo for his "first" address to the Muslim world.

My first reaction, of course, is to think oh no! It's going to be a huge mess, security-wise; I have no doubt that Mubarak does not want to be held responsible for anything happening to the world's new darling. And when it comes to overblown irrational responses to phantom threats, Egypt's expert.

I really wish they'd given the date of the speech; I sincerely hope it won't be anywhere near the time I'll be traveling. In fact, if I could get out of Dodge entirely (at least for a few days), I'd be much happier.

Hang on - this article seems to think that the speech will be given on June 4. I wonder if that's the correct date.

There were a few interesting points in the article, but I'm most intrigued by this one:

Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who met with Mr. Mubarak on Monday in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheik, has tried to promote the idea that Arabs, Israelis and Americans have a common enemy in Iran and should first unite against that threat.

I don't want to sound like a raging hippie, but isn't the fabrication of a "common enemy" what got us into this mess in the first place? Aren't we, as a global civilization, past this cold-war mentality yet?

Obviously not. It's very disappointing.

While we're busy attributing all divine goodness to Obama, why don't I throw in my two cents. Mr. Obama, could you maybe try fostering a spirit of unity and humanity in your message? Point out that we're all human beings, and that - since we've fabricated our differences - we have the power to stop all this waste once and for all? Maybe even go so far as to say that the US is committed to a future of peace, and that we've learned our lesson from the past 100 years or so?

Dream on.