We are now beginning to see the fantasy foreign policy of President Obama. In fact, his performance at the recent annual meeting of the U.N. General Assembly and his chairing of a ridiculous Security Council session on non-proliferation was particularly un-nerving. Do you really think that the permanent members of the Security Council, U.S., China, Russia, really want to get rid of nuclear weapons while North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan are busy building their stockpiles?
The fact that President Obama knew of Iran’s other previously undisclosed nuclear site and did not confront them at the UN session, was a clear error in judgment and a major disappointment to our allies. President Sarkosy of France and Gordon Brown of the U.K. were mortified that Obama waited until the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh to give a rather tempered rebuke of Iran while Messrs. Sarkosy and Brown made very strong statements and looked like the real leaders of the free world.
It seems that President Sarkosy has been frustrated for months about Obama’s reluctance to confront Iran, but was told by the Administration that it didn’t want to “spoil the image of success” for Obama’s debut at the UN and his formal speech calling for his “dream” of total world disarmament. In fact, Sarkosy’s speech to the Security Council included a section about Iran’s latest deception, but was scrubbed at the last minute.
Sarkosy’s remarks, after Obama’s rather muted scolding of Iran at the G-20, were telling and seemed to be directed at Obama and not Iran. “We are right to talk about the future, but the present comes before the future, and the present includes two major nuclear crises (Iran and North Korea). We live in the real world, not in a virtual one”. Wow, is this France talking? “I support America’s extended hand but what has this produced for the international community? It has resulted in a statement by Iranian leaders calling for wiping off the map a member of the United Nations. What conclusions are we to draw?” Looks like Israel now has a more reliable friend.
On TV last night a credible reporter for a major Pittsburgh newspaper, said that aides of Sarkosy said to him that Sarkosy considers Obama naïve about foreign relations and is so egotistical that he doesn’t listen to those with more experience and just will do what he wants. This is shocking stuff coming from people at that level.
If you remember Obama’s opening line of his UN speech, he said “I know you have great expectations about me”. I guess he now thinks he is President of the whole world. A naïve President with a major ego is a dangerous combination. I never thought I’d see the day France would lead in confronting the bad guys for the free world while our President hides in his virtual world of disarmament.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Obama: Commander-in-Chump
The events of the past few weeks must put a scare into the public as recent terror plots of Al Qaeda cells in the U.S. were nipped in the bud while an urgent proposal by our Commander in Afghanistan goes unheeded. These terror plots remind us that we are at war with an enemy that will stop at nothing to kill Americans here or abroad. Meanwhile, our Commander-in-Chief acts as though a war doesn’t even exist. In fact, his Commanding General in Afghanistan admitted last night on television’s 60 Minutes that he has spoken to the President only once in the last 70 days! Does this sound like a President engaged in a war?
What Are the Priorities?
General Stanley McChrystal’s memo urging a troop build-up of an additional 30-40,000 was sent to the White House in late August. Here we are a month later and the President has enough time to make the rounds of every network (except FOX News and the Food Network channels) to push his healthcare reform package (a package he doesn’t even know exists at this point), talk about the White Sox’s chances to make the playoffs on the David Letterman Show, and today announced that he and his wife are flying to Copenhagen on Friday to plea for holding the 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago instead of Rio. This must be pay-back for his Windy City cronies so they can make big bucks, particularly his real estate friends. Frankly, I think Rio is a much better site for such an event and there are other more deserving cities in the U.S. that can use the economic lift from an Olympic event.
What Really is the Strategy?
In the meantime, our military is in harm’s way while Mr.Obama decides if he now wants to change the strategy in Afghanistan from the one he just set in March. That strategy was one in which he said was “a stronger, smarter, more comprehensive strategy” which would build schools, hospitals, roads, and enterprise zones, and address issues of energy and trade. We have thus far seen none of this! Where are the agricultural specialists, educators, engineers and lawyers? He said he was directing Secretary of State Clinton to develop a diplomatic plan to run in tandem with McChrystal’s military plan. Have you seen that plan? In fact, our Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, made a plea to the White House for funding this civilian support last month only to be told it was “premature”. Does this sound familiar?
Governing By Proclamation
The President makes these proclamations implying that he now has the answers, but there are no plans to implement them or know whether they even can be implemented. Remember, let’s get out of Gitmo? Well, we are still there with no plan to get out. He recently proclaimed that the school year should now run through the summer. Apparently, we can’t get all the work done in the conventional school year because in the 21st century we now have more things to do. Boy, we have computers for kids, i-phones, Twitter, texting and still can’t get all the work done. Maybe he ought to first ask the teacher’s union why. Perhaps our teachers aren’t as efficient as they used to be.
Mr. Obama, I hope you can be more efficient, stop making proclamations, just stay at your desk for awhile and make a decision on this war, because saving the lives of our soldiers is more important than lowering yourself to run a UN Security Council meeting or run off to Denmark to make the case for a Chicago Olympics. You lose your sense of priorities when you don’t have a plan. That’s a cardinal rule in the business world and you’re obviously no businessman.
What Are the Priorities?
General Stanley McChrystal’s memo urging a troop build-up of an additional 30-40,000 was sent to the White House in late August. Here we are a month later and the President has enough time to make the rounds of every network (except FOX News and the Food Network channels) to push his healthcare reform package (a package he doesn’t even know exists at this point), talk about the White Sox’s chances to make the playoffs on the David Letterman Show, and today announced that he and his wife are flying to Copenhagen on Friday to plea for holding the 2016 Summer Olympics in Chicago instead of Rio. This must be pay-back for his Windy City cronies so they can make big bucks, particularly his real estate friends. Frankly, I think Rio is a much better site for such an event and there are other more deserving cities in the U.S. that can use the economic lift from an Olympic event.
What Really is the Strategy?
In the meantime, our military is in harm’s way while Mr.Obama decides if he now wants to change the strategy in Afghanistan from the one he just set in March. That strategy was one in which he said was “a stronger, smarter, more comprehensive strategy” which would build schools, hospitals, roads, and enterprise zones, and address issues of energy and trade. We have thus far seen none of this! Where are the agricultural specialists, educators, engineers and lawyers? He said he was directing Secretary of State Clinton to develop a diplomatic plan to run in tandem with McChrystal’s military plan. Have you seen that plan? In fact, our Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, made a plea to the White House for funding this civilian support last month only to be told it was “premature”. Does this sound familiar?
Governing By Proclamation
The President makes these proclamations implying that he now has the answers, but there are no plans to implement them or know whether they even can be implemented. Remember, let’s get out of Gitmo? Well, we are still there with no plan to get out. He recently proclaimed that the school year should now run through the summer. Apparently, we can’t get all the work done in the conventional school year because in the 21st century we now have more things to do. Boy, we have computers for kids, i-phones, Twitter, texting and still can’t get all the work done. Maybe he ought to first ask the teacher’s union why. Perhaps our teachers aren’t as efficient as they used to be.
Mr. Obama, I hope you can be more efficient, stop making proclamations, just stay at your desk for awhile and make a decision on this war, because saving the lives of our soldiers is more important than lowering yourself to run a UN Security Council meeting or run off to Denmark to make the case for a Chicago Olympics. You lose your sense of priorities when you don’t have a plan. That’s a cardinal rule in the business world and you’re obviously no businessman.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Obama's Endless Summer
August has been a horrible month for the Obama administration and the Democratic Congress. Not only have the poll ratings and public support deteriorated significantly, but town hall meetings and the President’s bungling of the healthcare message has capped a summer that exposed many things about this President that most of us feared; he can make a great speech but when it comes to running things and developing political strategy, he is what most of us thought…..a novice.
From Bungled Events
From the Louis Gates affair, where he actually illustrated racial bias (a trait that would get a white President impeached), to the resignation of his Green jobs Czar, Van Jones, a professed communist, anarchistic, white hater, and supporter of a cop killer, he has made the wrong move at every turn. All this while his foreign policy continues to languish and our Secretary of State is virtually absent. In fact, her husband pulls off the best stunt of the summer by going to North Korea at the request of the captors, in order to escort two irresponsible and reckless female employees of Al Gore back to the U.S. That must have really made us look great in the eyes of the world, particularly the Iranians.
To The Healthcare Fiasco
This President has already made 32 more speeches than his total number days in office, held more press conferences than his predecessor did in his whole first term, and we still don’t know where he stands on healthcare, except that he wants the “government (public) option” and will cut Medicare by about $500 Billion to help pay for it. Meanwhile, the people of this country want reform but not a drastic overhaul of the entire system. It’s time for the President to stop blaming Republicans or Fox News for the healthcare debacle and start looking at the left wing of his party which is scaring the moderate and conservative Democrats. Many of whom are up for election in 2010 and believe they will lose their jobs if the Congress passes legislation that most of us don’t want. It is clear from the polls that the American public does not want universal healthcare, in fact, the elderly are overwhelming against it, except in the black community, but then again anything this President does is ok with them.
And Now Another Speech
And now we wait for another inspirational speech that is going to set things straight. In my many years of following politics I have never heard any speech by any great orator change public opinion in one night. The mere fact that Obama needs another speech, after all the previous speeches, TV specials, and advertising that his giant political machine has given this topic, tells us that the speech is now a political necessity. It is clear that the healthcare reform he will eventually get will be far less expensive and more incremental than he wants. It is the economy that concerns us right now, not healthcare.
I know that most of you expect this kind of commentary from me since you know I’m not a fan of this presidency, however, I have never witnessed such a shortened honeymoon for a newly elected President, particularly coming off the mountaintop from which he ascended after the election. The ironic thing is that you would never know it, if the mainstream media was your only source of information.
From Bungled Events
From the Louis Gates affair, where he actually illustrated racial bias (a trait that would get a white President impeached), to the resignation of his Green jobs Czar, Van Jones, a professed communist, anarchistic, white hater, and supporter of a cop killer, he has made the wrong move at every turn. All this while his foreign policy continues to languish and our Secretary of State is virtually absent. In fact, her husband pulls off the best stunt of the summer by going to North Korea at the request of the captors, in order to escort two irresponsible and reckless female employees of Al Gore back to the U.S. That must have really made us look great in the eyes of the world, particularly the Iranians.
To The Healthcare Fiasco
This President has already made 32 more speeches than his total number days in office, held more press conferences than his predecessor did in his whole first term, and we still don’t know where he stands on healthcare, except that he wants the “government (public) option” and will cut Medicare by about $500 Billion to help pay for it. Meanwhile, the people of this country want reform but not a drastic overhaul of the entire system. It’s time for the President to stop blaming Republicans or Fox News for the healthcare debacle and start looking at the left wing of his party which is scaring the moderate and conservative Democrats. Many of whom are up for election in 2010 and believe they will lose their jobs if the Congress passes legislation that most of us don’t want. It is clear from the polls that the American public does not want universal healthcare, in fact, the elderly are overwhelming against it, except in the black community, but then again anything this President does is ok with them.
And Now Another Speech
And now we wait for another inspirational speech that is going to set things straight. In my many years of following politics I have never heard any speech by any great orator change public opinion in one night. The mere fact that Obama needs another speech, after all the previous speeches, TV specials, and advertising that his giant political machine has given this topic, tells us that the speech is now a political necessity. It is clear that the healthcare reform he will eventually get will be far less expensive and more incremental than he wants. It is the economy that concerns us right now, not healthcare.
I know that most of you expect this kind of commentary from me since you know I’m not a fan of this presidency, however, I have never witnessed such a shortened honeymoon for a newly elected President, particularly coming off the mountaintop from which he ascended after the election. The ironic thing is that you would never know it, if the mainstream media was your only source of information.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Connecticut - On the Road to Oblivion
The great and beautiful State of Connecticut appears to be heading down the road with California, New York, and New Jersey. The road to oblivion: increased taxes, greater spending, increasing deficits, losing population, losing jobs, and disincentives to investors.
I lived in Westport, Connecticut for 4 years in the 70’s when the state had no income tax, balanced its budget every year, and became one of the richest states in the Union. Such was the case for 200 years until 1991 when Governor Lowell Weicker pushed the first ever personal income tax at 4.5%, saying it would remain flat thereafter. Thus started the era of excessive spending and pay raises for the unionized state government workers. Such is the case when a state gets more revenues, it starts spending on things it would never conceive of in the past.
Quickly, after the on-set of the income tax the state went to the top 10 in expenditures per capita. There has been a long and slow exodus of jobs, people, and businesses and Connecticut has generated no net new jobs in the past decade. During this time the nation added 22 million jobs, while right next door, Wall Street was booming. Over the last decade the state has lost population every year but one.
In addition, the state income tax was raised to 5.5% and now the Governor, Jodi Rell, has proposed a $1-billion+ income tax hike by raising the top rate to 6.5% for high income individuals in order to close the expected $8.5 billion deficit. History shows that when you have a heavy reliance for tax revenues on top income filers, tax collections will become very volatile and these swings will make governing very difficult.
The Governor also plans to eliminate the state’s death tax which has exacerbated the loss of wealthy seniors to states with no estate tax. This maybe a good idea but she also plans to use the money generated from the income tax increase to cut the sales tax, which is a bad idea. Again, history shows that when you cut the consumption tax but raise taxes on investment and small business, this is a formula for losing more jobs.
I think if the Governor just looked at what is going on next door to her in New York and New Jersey she would get some religion. Millionaires just evacuate when you focus on them and states like Florida, Texas, and Nevada benefit. Connecticut may not be as bad as its sister states yet, but like them, it certainly looks like it’s on the road to oblivion. At least California is beginning to wise up.
I lived in Westport, Connecticut for 4 years in the 70’s when the state had no income tax, balanced its budget every year, and became one of the richest states in the Union. Such was the case for 200 years until 1991 when Governor Lowell Weicker pushed the first ever personal income tax at 4.5%, saying it would remain flat thereafter. Thus started the era of excessive spending and pay raises for the unionized state government workers. Such is the case when a state gets more revenues, it starts spending on things it would never conceive of in the past.
Quickly, after the on-set of the income tax the state went to the top 10 in expenditures per capita. There has been a long and slow exodus of jobs, people, and businesses and Connecticut has generated no net new jobs in the past decade. During this time the nation added 22 million jobs, while right next door, Wall Street was booming. Over the last decade the state has lost population every year but one.
In addition, the state income tax was raised to 5.5% and now the Governor, Jodi Rell, has proposed a $1-billion+ income tax hike by raising the top rate to 6.5% for high income individuals in order to close the expected $8.5 billion deficit. History shows that when you have a heavy reliance for tax revenues on top income filers, tax collections will become very volatile and these swings will make governing very difficult.
The Governor also plans to eliminate the state’s death tax which has exacerbated the loss of wealthy seniors to states with no estate tax. This maybe a good idea but she also plans to use the money generated from the income tax increase to cut the sales tax, which is a bad idea. Again, history shows that when you cut the consumption tax but raise taxes on investment and small business, this is a formula for losing more jobs.
I think if the Governor just looked at what is going on next door to her in New York and New Jersey she would get some religion. Millionaires just evacuate when you focus on them and states like Florida, Texas, and Nevada benefit. Connecticut may not be as bad as its sister states yet, but like them, it certainly looks like it’s on the road to oblivion. At least California is beginning to wise up.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Robert Novak - A Brief Encounter with an Icon
By now you may have heard about the passing of the famous Washington columnist and reporter, Robert Novak, who died of brain cancer on August 18th at the age of 78. Novak covered the Washington beat for over 50 years starting with the AP, the Wall Street Journal, and his syndicated column “Inside Report” with Rowland Evans, which he continued to write long after Evans retired. Most of us know him from his television persona on CNN as a host and guest on many news shows such as “The Capital Gang” and “Crossfire” where he played the curmudgeon to his peers and was called “The Prince of Darkness”, which he said referred to his pessimism about civilization, not his conservatism.
I had the privilege of a brief encounter with Novak in Florida in February of 2008 just a few months before he was diagnosed with brain cancer. The Young American Foundation (YAF) was traveling to various cities on a promotional tour and, as a long time supporter, I was invited to the event. Bob Novak was traveling with the group as an after-dinner speaker about the coming presidential election and was promoting his last book, “The Prince of Darkness”, an autobiography about his 50 years in Washington. My wife had just suffered a heart attack, had triple bypass surgery, and was recuperating at home at the time and I was reluctant to leave her for the evening. However, she knew I loved Novak and urged me to attend. The meeting was held at the Ritz Carlton and following the afternoon session I asked Ron Robinson, the President of YAF, if Novak was around because I wanted to meet him and have him sign my copy of his book. Ron directed me to the patio where people were beginning to gather for the pre-dinner cocktails.
I spotted Novak standing with some young college students who were part of the YAF entourage. I immediately went over and introduced myself and asked if he would sign his book for me. He smiled graciously and signed it with a nice salutation. Thus began a most fascinating and memorable 30 minutes, in which we discussed his past and current experiences like friends who hadn’t seen each other for years. We had great chemistry and he focused on my questions, as I was mesmerized about his observations of several Presidents. There was no pretense or omnipotent preaching, just honest observation of first hand, uncensored interactions with Johnson, Carter, Ford, Clinton, Reagan,and Bush I & II. He had particular admiration for Reagan and Johnson, who hosted his wedding party because Novak’s wife was a secretary in Johnson’s White House. He had particular disdain for Carter, who he called the biggest liar of any President he covered. Needless to say, I was taken by his naturalness, his concern for my wife’s health, and his appreciation of my recognition of his accomplishments. He was a man comfortable in his own skin and at a time in life when interaction with your public was now more important than any hills to climb.
My admiration of Robert Novak stems from his obsession with the story and the facts rather than spreading his own ideology or opinion in his reports, a lesson that should be heeded by our modern day journalists. He had the unique ability to cultivate his sources and was always loyal to them. Although he was conservative in his views, he was not a partisan. Novak was hard on Republicans as well as Democrats and was skeptical about power and the intervention of big government in our lives.
Novak converted to Catholicism in 1998, so I expect he is continuing his column for Saint Peter, writing about the big stories in Heaven. We will miss his column here on Earth and also the prince of darkness, who was really a gentle and caring man.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Term Limits for Seniors or Politicians?
It’s clear that the healthcare bill that is currently before the House will require considerable savings in order to achieve the deficit neutral goal that President Obama promised when this process began. Even then, it now appears that a middle class tax increase will be required in order to supplement the significant tax revenue shortfall that is now apparent as a result of this severe recession. So the question is why do we need to junk our current healthcare system at a time when we clearly can’t afford it and there are also bi-partisan proposals presented which will reduce costs in the current system and maintain the quality of care we now have, cover those uninsured who want coverage and are qualified to receive it, without bankrupting the country. I guess Nancy Pelosi will have to answer that question.
The Real Objective Behind Healthcare
The real answer is that the Democratic Party is hell bent on single payer universal healthcare and eventually junking the Medicare system and this is Phase One of that effort. The initial focus is on seniors who represent one-fourth of Medicare costs in the final years of their life. Therefore, eliminating tests, procedures, and medications for seniors because they are no longer in their “productive” years will result in considerable savings according to some of Obama’s czars, who believe that an early exit for “non-productive” citizens will be beneficial for the economy. This philosophy has been discussed in the stimulus bill and further expanded upon in the healthcare bill and exposed in the Wall Street Journal article: http://www.defendyourhealthcare.us/assaultonseniors.html
Seniors Are Assets Not Liabilities
Well, maybe someone should inform the current administration that these seniors are mostly responsible for the economic growth and accomplishments of this country to date and have already paid into the Medicare and Social Security system for all of those who have preceded them because the government has run a giant Ponzi scheme on the funds that have gone into these programs for the last 40-75 years.
Since all legislators have their own very generous government pension and healthcare benefits for life and can continue to work their 1-2 months/year in wheelchairs and walkers, since they have no term limits and people keep voting them in because their seniority provides earmarks and pork barrel legislation for their communities, I guess they don’t care about those of us who have mandatory retirement or get “terminated” because we’re “too old”.
Perhaps they should ask how much the currently “productive” people have learned from their predecessors, how much the youth of this country relies on and seeks the wisdom of their grandparents, and how many of the world’s population want to keep their mothers and fathers with them for as long as they can?
Doctors Not Government Should Decide
Sure, we know that many people have living wills and don’t want to be kept alive artificially, but most of us want to hold on as long as our quality of life is good and our families want us around. However, we’re not talking about terminal illness here; we are talking about government making Orwellian decisions about your right to available healthcare relative to someone who they conclude has more “productive” potential.
I think we should have term limits on politicians, not on seniors, and I think it is absolutely preposterous to have to write a column about this as a citizen of the wealthiest country that ever existed on this planet.
The Real Objective Behind Healthcare
The real answer is that the Democratic Party is hell bent on single payer universal healthcare and eventually junking the Medicare system and this is Phase One of that effort. The initial focus is on seniors who represent one-fourth of Medicare costs in the final years of their life. Therefore, eliminating tests, procedures, and medications for seniors because they are no longer in their “productive” years will result in considerable savings according to some of Obama’s czars, who believe that an early exit for “non-productive” citizens will be beneficial for the economy. This philosophy has been discussed in the stimulus bill and further expanded upon in the healthcare bill and exposed in the Wall Street Journal article: http://www.defendyourhealthcare.us/assaultonseniors.html
Seniors Are Assets Not Liabilities
Well, maybe someone should inform the current administration that these seniors are mostly responsible for the economic growth and accomplishments of this country to date and have already paid into the Medicare and Social Security system for all of those who have preceded them because the government has run a giant Ponzi scheme on the funds that have gone into these programs for the last 40-75 years.
Since all legislators have their own very generous government pension and healthcare benefits for life and can continue to work their 1-2 months/year in wheelchairs and walkers, since they have no term limits and people keep voting them in because their seniority provides earmarks and pork barrel legislation for their communities, I guess they don’t care about those of us who have mandatory retirement or get “terminated” because we’re “too old”.
Perhaps they should ask how much the currently “productive” people have learned from their predecessors, how much the youth of this country relies on and seeks the wisdom of their grandparents, and how many of the world’s population want to keep their mothers and fathers with them for as long as they can?
Doctors Not Government Should Decide
Sure, we know that many people have living wills and don’t want to be kept alive artificially, but most of us want to hold on as long as our quality of life is good and our families want us around. However, we’re not talking about terminal illness here; we are talking about government making Orwellian decisions about your right to available healthcare relative to someone who they conclude has more “productive” potential.
I think we should have term limits on politicians, not on seniors, and I think it is absolutely preposterous to have to write a column about this as a citizen of the wealthiest country that ever existed on this planet.
Monday, August 3, 2009
The Israel Policy - Naive or Just Plain Dumb
The good cop/bad cop policy that Biden and Obama are playing with regard to Israel appears to be a cynical attempt by Obama to placate the growing fears within the American Jewish community over his increasingly extreme pro-Arab bias in Middle East policy. How he commanded so much of the Jewish vote has always been an enigma, since his bias has always been apparent to me. I realize the liberal tendency of Jewish voters, but Obama’s stance on Israel will eventually cause him to lose that voting block in 2012 if he continues on this path.
Back in early July, Biden proclaimed on national TV that “Israel can determine for itself – it’s a sovereign nation – what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran or anybody else…..Whether we agree or not. Any sovereign nation is entitled to do that. But there is no pressure from any nation that is going to alter our behavior as to how to proceed.”
This is a reversal from his statement in January 2008 that “Israel will have to reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran.” Then Obama jumps in and says that he had not given Israel a “green light” to attack Iran. His language was stunning in that he implied that Israel needs his permission to ensure its survival as a nation. This is bizarre to say the least. It sends the impression to Arab states that we dictate Israeli foreign policy and that they are a stooge of the U.S. and do not control their own sovereignty. This damages our credibility worldwide.
It seems that Obama’s remark is an attempt to placate our enemies in the Mid-East and attempt to change our “image” and show our willingness to negotiate our differences. Most of us realize that this approach has been tried by other administrations since Carter. We have found that strength is the only thing that resonates with our Mid-East adversaries. Our experience with Libya, Iraq, and Afganistan illustrate this. It certainly is Obama’s option to revert to this approach again; however, he must show progress. Thus far, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, have spit in his face. Things appear to be better in Syria now but they, like Libya, don’t have many options and we look like the best one at this point.
I hope that this is not the ignorance of a “community organizer” playing on the world stage. Where is our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton? Maybe we will soon see a Mid-East Czar, or is that George Mitchell or Richard Holbrook? At least they have a track record, compared with the bevy of czars we have now.
Back in early July, Biden proclaimed on national TV that “Israel can determine for itself – it’s a sovereign nation – what’s in their interest and what they decide to do relative to Iran or anybody else…..Whether we agree or not. Any sovereign nation is entitled to do that. But there is no pressure from any nation that is going to alter our behavior as to how to proceed.”
This is a reversal from his statement in January 2008 that “Israel will have to reconcile itself to a nuclear Iran.” Then Obama jumps in and says that he had not given Israel a “green light” to attack Iran. His language was stunning in that he implied that Israel needs his permission to ensure its survival as a nation. This is bizarre to say the least. It sends the impression to Arab states that we dictate Israeli foreign policy and that they are a stooge of the U.S. and do not control their own sovereignty. This damages our credibility worldwide.
It seems that Obama’s remark is an attempt to placate our enemies in the Mid-East and attempt to change our “image” and show our willingness to negotiate our differences. Most of us realize that this approach has been tried by other administrations since Carter. We have found that strength is the only thing that resonates with our Mid-East adversaries. Our experience with Libya, Iraq, and Afganistan illustrate this. It certainly is Obama’s option to revert to this approach again; however, he must show progress. Thus far, Iran, Hamas, and Hezbollah, have spit in his face. Things appear to be better in Syria now but they, like Libya, don’t have many options and we look like the best one at this point.
I hope that this is not the ignorance of a “community organizer” playing on the world stage. Where is our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton? Maybe we will soon see a Mid-East Czar, or is that George Mitchell or Richard Holbrook? At least they have a track record, compared with the bevy of czars we have now.
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