So, just how good of a diplomat was Karen Hughes?

Karen Hughes set out on her first trip as US Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. Since Bush appointees are chosen more for loyalty than achievement, I decided to do a little research to see how she did at trying to improve America's image in the Muslim world.

I found some great articles and thought I would share them with you. I underlined parts that really stood out to me and the (bold) are my snarky comments.

From http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1581335,00.html

When two undersecretaries of state for public diplomacy resigned this year in frustration, in the face of the precipitous loss of US prestige around the globe, Bush found Hughes a new slot. She may be the most parochial person ever to hold a senior state department appointment, but the president has confidence she can rebrand the US. ( Uh oh, sounds like Karen has a long row to hoe. But she was appointed so she must be qualified.):sarcasm:

"Many people around the world do not understand the important role that faith plays in Americans' lives," she said. When an Egyptian opposition leader inquired why Mr Bush mentions God in his speeches, Hughes asked him whether he was aware that "previous American presidents have also cited God, and that our constitution cites 'one nation under God'." (What???? Is there a version of our constitution that I don't know about? She's multi-tasking by being an idiot and a diplomat):dunce:



From http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/09/29/MNGUTEVHRR1.DTL

Hughes, looking increasingly pained, defended the decision to invade Iraq as a difficult and wrenching moment for President Bush, but necessary to protect America.

"You're concerned about war, and no one likes war," she said. But, she said, "to preserve the peace sometimes my country believes war is necessary." Hughes also asserted that women are faring much better in Iraq than under the rule of deposed leader Saddam Hussein. (Huh? War = Peace. My brain can't handle that.) :banghead:

"War is not necessary for peace," shot back Feray Salman, a human rights advocate. She said countries should not try to impose democracy through war, adding that "we can never, ever export democracy and freedom from one country to another." (Now this lady makes sense. No fair, why can't we have appointees like her?):cry:



From http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20050928/ap_on_re_mi_ea/turkey_us_2

"I am not anti-American, but I am anti-war and anti-violence," said Serpil Sancar of the Women's Research Center at Ankara University. "We would be pleased to cooperate, not on violence, but for increased freedom and well-being." (Geez, another smart woman. Maybe some will rub off on Karen.)

Women's rights activist Hidayet Sefkatli Tuksal said that "in every photograph that I see from Iraq, I see the fear and concern in their eyes and I cannot relax." She said she saw "no chance for America to make its image better." (Doesn't seem Karen is doing her job very well.):yoiks:

Fatma Nevin Vargun, a Kurdish women's rights activist said, "I am ashamed that the 21st century is the century of war." She called on the United States to stop wars "that lead to poverty," and criticized the arrest Monday of peace activist Cindy Sheehan during a rally in front of the White House. (Hey, the world is watching.):hi:

Hughes responded by saying, "I feel the pain that you are feeling." (No Karen, I don't think you do. Go on back to the US and enjoy your privileged republican lifestyle. Hey, I wonder if anyone there coughed out "bullshit" after she said that?):freak:



From http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=184321

"We in America take our freedoms very seriously," Hughes said. "I believe women should be free and equal participants in society. I feel that as an American woman that my ability to drive is an important part of my freedom." (I admit being able to drive is nice but things like equality, privacy, and control over my body rank pretty high in my book of important parts of freedom.)

The statement was not met by the round of applause the pioneering Hughes might have anticipated. (Oh, too bad Karen.) :nopity:

During the meetings Hughes stressed that Americans were a people of faith and called for cultural and educational exchanges with Saudi Arabia. The assumption that everyone would want to live the "American Way" given the chance irked some audience members at the women’s university. (What about "they hate us for our freedom" ?)

"The general image of the Arab woman is that she isn't happy, well, we're all pretty happy," an audience member told Hughes to a large round of applause. (Damn an audience member got a round of applause. Karen must of be embarrassed ):blush:



From http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_1-10-2005_pg7_36

Hurricane Hughes fails to make an impact

“Hurricane Hughes,” as the just-concluded image-building Middle East trip of US Undersecretary of State Karen P Hughes has been characterised by one Arab newspaper, came in for some rough treatment in the widely read letters to the editor column of the New York Times on Friday.

Pam Perraud, also from New York, calls Ms Hughes “a poster child for this administration’s clueless foreign policy” who “shamelessly promotes American values as the best in the world while criticising cultures she knows nothing about”. The correspondent adds, “She’s making a bad situation worse.” (Yet another "Mission Accomplished" by the Bush administration.):puke:

her level of success requires nothing less. Not much more, but nothing less.

Like this: :rofl:

Click the "Smilies lookup table" in the forum edit screen just above the Subject line.

Ye cats. shee is a danger, probably to herself, as well.

I wonder what she will say upon her return. And to whom she will retort.

They will receive you with open arms....(not!) Go there Mrs. Huge and talk down to the Venezuelan women...they'll kick your fat ass for sure.

his current thought is about Hughes and her trip, link in sig.

I have bookmarked it so I can go back on the really bad days when this *idiot appears to be on top of things.

... just blowing off a little steam...

thinks of Hurricane Hughes?

her husband wants her to!

The world is laughing at you, Karen!:+ You stupid clown.

Her trip has wasted a Hella lotta fuel. Amerikan Middle Class are paying for her salary, as well. A waste of money and fuel is what this is!

and this article says it best, IMO.

Someone send that troll back to Texas or wherever they keep finding these morons.

Day by day, I'm thankful we are getting closer to the day we can get rid of this aministration that has brought us so much shame.

,...on that woman's face. She ALWAYS has that, know-it-all, disconnected expression,...ALWAYS. When she smiles, she is distant rather than present,...as if she is planning her very next expression because there is nothing about her that is genuine. When she reaches out for another's hand, it's always for self-purpose rather than gratitude. When she portends to be "helping" or "assisting", she's always imposing or intruding.

She's a very poor diplomat (although a real-deal BushCO/neoCON spokes model) because she is clearly convinced that her realm and perception of this world represents the ultimate truth about how humanity must exist.

sound an alarm about this folly at her confirmation hearing on the Hill. Sending a yappy *-loyalist pitbull to the Middle East to "repair" our image is earning derision, not respect.

Senators were just letting her pay out the rope that would one day hang her boss! Hey, the more she screws up, the more he screws up!

At this point, we are in such a mess, we may as well let them crash the country like an old jalopy, and we'll just have to strip the thing and start from scratch!

Hand me that wrench...!

after all, didn't Pat Robertson, just rewrite it.

:beer:

Karen Hughes – the personification of persona non grata

Karen Hughes is another prime example of the blatant inept nepotistic nightmares that underscore the Bush administration. The mafia-like hiring of ‘family’ rather than people who are more qualified to do the job is turning uot to be a nightmare for Bushco - in the case of FEMA director Michael Brown especially – who compounded the ravages of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans due to his complete lack of experience and knowledge in handling the crisis.

Take Sidney Blumenthal’s scathing Hughes article in the Guardian.

--- When an Egyptian opposition leader inquired why Mr Bush mentions God in his speeches, Hughes asked him whether he was aware that "previous American presidents have also cited God, and that our constitution cites 'one nation under God'." ----

The truth is – the US Constitution says nothing about God. There is no three-letter word with an O wedged between a G and a D anywhere in there. God is simply nowhere to be found in the paperwork. No use of the words "divine" or "Creator" either.

And the omission was too obvious to have been anything but deliberate –as some of the key founders were Deists (Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and Tom Paine as well as George Washington and James Madison). The Founding Fathers of the US were not religious men, and they fought hard to erect, in Thomas Jefferson's words, "a wall of separation between church and state." John Adams opined that if they were not restrained by legal measures, Puritans - the fundamentalists of their day - would "whip and crop, and pillory and roast."

In 1797 the US government concluded a "Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the United States of America and the Bey and Subjects of Tripoli, or Barbary," now known as the Treaty of Tripoli. Article 11 of the treaty contains these words:

--- As the Government of the United States...is not in any sense founded on the Christian religion--as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquillity of Musselmen--and as the said States never have entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mehomitan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.---

Karen Hughes’ first trip through the Middle East will hopefully be her last. If her knowledge of the founding documents of her own nation is so flawed – it is petrifying to ponder her ignorance of Middle East politics, history and culture.