User:Viriditas/A New Beginning

Problem
A "legacy" section was created in A New Beginning, an article about a speech Barack Obama delivered on June 4, 2009 at at Cairo University. Upon further examination, the legacy section appears to be a coatrack which was created in order to specifically criticize the Middle Eastern foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration and the foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration in general.

Arguments for removal
Removal of the legacy section is justified for the following reasons:
 * 1) The section contains copyvio, plagiarism, misattribution of sources and misuse of primary sources. Such content should be removed whenever identified.
 * 2) Primary and secondary sources, including transcripts, news reports, editorials and opinion pieces, have been synthesized to promote the idea that the foreign policy of the Barack Obama is a "failure". Original research and/or misuse of sources should be removed whenever identified.
 * 3) Opinion pieces criticizing the foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration aren't representative of a "legacy", nor do they discuss the subject of this article. "Coatrack" sections should be removed.
 * 4) The speech was given in 2009. There hasn't been enough time for reliable sources to publish information on its "legacy".

Arguments for inclusion
Reinstatement of some of the content is possible for the following reasons:
 * 1) Relevant information in the first paragraph could be merged into the background section of the current article provided it is supported by secondary sources
 * 2) Subsequent speeches, such as the speech at the University of Indonesia, might be relevant to the subject in another context, perhaps in another section, if reliable sources connect the two
 * 3) An assessment of Obama's speech, such as the one offered by Gregg Carlstrom of Al Jazeera, might be relevant if additional reliable sources can be found to support it. However, it must be used carefully and cannot be inserted wholesale as in the current case of copyvio
 * 4) If it can be shown that the 2011 State Department speech is relevant, then it should be noted
 * 5) If survey results, such as those from the Pew Research Center, are relevant to this subject, and are directly connected by the sources, then they should be included

Note

 * Unsourced material is colored.
 * Request for secondary sources are colored.
 * Questionable sources are colored.
 * Questionable content is colored.
 * Copyvio/plagiarism is colored

Legacy
Anything relevant in this paragraph belongs in the background section, not in legacy. Picking and choosing primary sources without the guidance of secondary sources is not acceptable. Historically, it may be too soon to discuss any kind of "legacy", or to find a single source that discusses it. Obama attempted to reach out to Arab leaders by granting his first interview to an Arab cable TV network, Al Arabiya. On March 19, 2009, Obama continued his outreach to the Muslim world, releasing a New Year's video message to the people and government of Iran. This attempt at outreach was rebuffed by the Iranian leadership. President Obama's first trip to a Muslim majority country occurred on April 6–7, 2009 when he visited Turkey and spoke to the Grand National Assembly. The speech was was well received by many Arab governments.

The follow-up speech in Jakarta is not part of any legacy. It was part of his tour of four countries in Asia, where he gave a speech at the University of Indonesia. The sources make passing reference to Cairo but say little to nothing about it. Much of the text is copied wholesale from NYT Is Gregg Carlstrom's scorecard for Al Jazeera notable? Have other sources referred to it, or have other sources published similar critiques? Only one of the nine points appears to be objectively quantifiable (Close the Guantanamo Bay prison by early 2010). Have other sources noted the failure of closing Guantanamo Bay in relation to this speech? The text says "they concluded", but it is the opinion of Gregg Carlstrom, not Al Jazeera. The list is copied wholesale from Carlstrom



2011 State Department speech relies on primary source transcripts Which secondary sources mention it in relation to this topic? Discussion of UN Resolution 242, rejection by Netanyahu, not on topic Source doesn't say Obama first to endorse UN position. Much of this section is devoted to the IP conflict and the sources say nothing about the Cairo speech. This is a synthesis of post-speech incidents related to the IP conflict.

Opinion pieces not reliable for statements of fact. Criticism and praise of Obama's speech is already handled in the relevant reaction section. Opinion piece by Mark Silverberg of the Hudson Institute and opinion piece in the NYT is focused on the IP conflict, not this topic. Opinion piece by Jonathan S. Tobin and Kirkpatrick NYT article don't actually criticize the speech as the text appears, but criticize the inaction of the administration to embrace the initial Arab Spring protests. The opinion piece by Ross Douthat is about Obama's foreign policy. In combination, these weak sources (opinion pieces) are used inappropriately to push a POV that has little to nothing to do with the subject of this speech ("A New Beginning"), and everything to do with criticizing Obama's overall foreign policy with the Muslim world. In other words, this is a WP:COATRACK.

Copyvio from Pew Research Center. No such thing as "Pet Global Attitudes Project". Use of a survey requires secondary source Not a "Washington Post editorial" but an editorial from The Washington Times. Content has nothing to do with the speech, entirely synthesis to advance the position that the Middle Eastern foreign policy of the Barack Obama administration was a failure.