Tipsheet

Obama New Policy for NASA: Make Muslims 'Feel Good'

Charles Bolden, Obama's NASA administrator, sat down for an interview with Al Jazeera to explain NASA's new role in U.S. diplomatic relations with the Middle East.  He describes Obama's new "foremost" role for the space agency as one dedicated to more outreach with Muslim nations to make them "feel good."


Bolden: I am here in the region – its sort of the first anniversary of President Barack Obama’s visit to Cairo – and his speech there when he gave what has now become known as Obama’s "Cairo Initiative" where he announced that he wanted this to become a new beginning of the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world.

When I became the NASA Administrator – before I became the NASA Administrator – he charged me with three things: One was that he wanted me to re-inspire children to want to get into science and math, that he wanted me to expand our international relationships, and third, and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with predominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science, math, and engineering."