Miliband urges coalition of West and Muslim world

from Her Royal Whyness. Parenthetical, smart ass remarks are mine.

AFP at Yahoo News:

Miliband urges coalition of West and Muslim world

LONDON (AFP) – Terrorism and past conflicts have "distorted" relations between western and Muslim nations but both sides must work together against global challenges, the foreign secretary said Thursday.

David Miliband admitted that London's interventions from the Crusades and colonialism to the invasion of Iraq had created distrust in many countries, with the latter war causing "a sense of bitterness, distrust and resentment". (hey -- 9/11 cuased a sense of bitterness, distrust and resentment. trust me.)

But he said the challenges of climate change (a hoax lining alot of already too fat cats pockets), terrorism (that's what this whole damn thing is about, isn't it?) and financial crisis required a united effort born of better understanding on both sides, as well as a resolution of conflicts such as in the Middle East. (the only thing the Jihadis understand is violence and gunfire and sudden death).

In a speech to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, Miliband said a history of relations between Europe and the Islamic world "have been characterised by conquest, conflict and colonialism". (Right, and the Crusades were a pushback AGAINST Islamic conquest, conflict and colonialism)

"More recently, the invasion of Iraq, and its aftermath, aroused a sense of bitterness, distrust and resentment," he said. (again, 9/11 aroused one helluva sense of bitterness, distrust and resentment. We wouldn't be doing this if it hadn't).

Since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, the focus of the relationship between western and Muslim states had narrowed (well no fucking kidding you fucking moron. What did you expect?), he said.

"Terrorism has distorted our views of each other and skewed our engagement with each other."

But Miliband said global security can no longer be guaranteed by the world's only superpower, or even grouping of great powers.

"The threats from climate change, terrorism, pandemics (he's afraid he'll get swine flu) and financial crisis are too large and too diffuse... we need the broadest possible coalition of states and political movements", he said.

While western powers "need to hold fast to our own values", any coalition would at times have to include "groups whose aims we do not share, whose values we find deplorable, whose methods we think dubious", Miliband said. (so, he wants us to form a coalition we those we find deplorable and dubious. Make sense?)

But he stressed forging coalitions required "greater respect" from western nations, in particular, adding: "That means rejecting the lazy stereotypes and moving beyond the binary division between moderates and extremists."

Distrust over conflicts such as Iraq has also overshadowed efforts to use diplomacy and aid for humanitarian reasons, Miliband said: "We need to recover the original idea (of liberal interventionism) which was and is a noble idea." (ok -- that liberal interventionism is not mine)

Active diplomacy was most needed in the Middle East, he said, an issue on which "we need -- all of us, in our own ways -- to act soon, very soon, to prevent a fatal and final blow to the scope for compromise".

Hey Miliband! I Got Yer Diplomacy Right Here!