Obama Talks, America Walks (Away) (AIM) ACCURACY IN MEDIA) Michael Widlanski 05/24/12)
Source: http://www.aim.org/guest-column/obama-talks-america-walks-away/
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Led by President Barack Obama, the UN and NATO last weekend embraced
the three key elements of The Obama Doctrine for international policy
and national security: talk a lot, do nothing and then walk away,
declaring victory.
· Meeting in Chicago, NATO announced that it would not intervene in
Syria even as violence there reached the capital of Damascus and
washed over the border into Lebanon, menacing that country with
another round of civil war;
· NATO asserted it would pull out of Afghanistan by 2014, even though
the Taliban, spurred by Obama’s promises of withdrawal, has been
surging and threatens to restore Afghanistan as an Islamic rogue
terror state;
· UN diplomats said they were close to a deal with the ayatollahs of
Iran under which Iran keeps most of its illegally-produced weapons
grade uranium—for making atomic bombs—but “agrees” to “real” UN
inspections of Iranian facilities.
These milestones are all part of the framework of beliefs at the core
of “The Obama Doctrine,” which history will judge alongside the
Monroe Doctrine, the Truman Doctrine and even the Bush Doctrine.
Unlike Presidents Monroe, Truman, or Bush, Obama likes to use words
dramatically but avoids being pinned down by them, never setting
forth a clear national security or foreign policy doctrine other than
to enunciate general principles:
· America should not lead by itself, but work always with others, and
if necessary, it can “lead from behind;”
· America should try never to use force or even talk about force,
since “military measures” usually means “discussing military options”
while carrying out military withdrawals;
· Actual use of force should be confined to operations by drones and
rare use of special operations against isolated terror leaders, such
as Osama Bin-Laden. This might be called the Cowardly Chicagoan
Concept: When you see a person or a country being mugged, call 911,
don’t remember 9-11. When you see terror, call the ACLU. When you see
an international bloodbath, call Brussels or call the UN.
The Obama Doctrine is often eerily similar to Ron Paul’s view of the
world: America only gets itself into trouble by getting involved. It
is much safer to stay on the sidelines and preach. Stick your chin up
and sound high and mighty.
President Obama was not shy about invoking his family’s Islamic
heritage—Barack HUSSEIN Obama, he said proudly and loudly—as he spoke
to crowds in Egypt and harangued Islamist leaders in Turkey and Iran.
He hoped to “engage” them with his charm and his message of hope and
change.
President Obama engaged the ayatollahs of Iran, and they slaughtered
their own people after an incredibly rigged election in 2009. Strike
one for hope and change.
President Obama again engaged Iran, hoping to stop or slow down
Iran’s intensive efforts to produce atomic weapons and missiles that
can reach Europe and America. Iran sped up bomb making and missile
production: Strike two for hope and change.
He made a dramatic trip to Egypt, sermonizing Hosni Mubarak about
democracy, not mentioning Islamic terror, and inviting the Muslim
Brotherhood for dinner. But he who invites extremists to dinner
should not be surprised if they stay for desert. The next few days
may show how much “hope and change” Obama has brought Egypt.
Obama preached to Israel to stop all “settlements,” as he and Joe
Biden lectured Israel about 20-year-old housing projects in
Jerusalem. This policy led to a total breakdown of Israeli-
Palestinian talks. Another home run for hope and change.
Obama made his first major foreign trip to Turkey, whose leader,
Recep Erdogan, is seen as a real friend by Obama. That same Erdogan
denied NATO fly-over rights, and Turkey has aided quasi-terror
operations against Israel such as the Gaza flotilla.
Whether Obama is re-elected or not, his policies may have long-
lasting impact, and the question is, how will the Obama Doctrine rate
among presidential doctrines? President James Monroe asserted that
the U.S. would jealously guard what took place in America’s backyard,
while Harry Truman launched the containment policy to confront
Communism, and George W. Bush set forth a robust policy against
terror.
What will be Obama’s legacy? Will it include an isolated Israel and a
nuclear Iran, a bloody Syria and an aggressive Islamist Turkey,
renewed terror in Afghanistan and a prostrate Egypt? Are these
messages of hope and change? It is time for President Obama to start
supplying some answers instead of vague high-tone phrases. Guest
columns do not necessarily reflect the views of Accuracy in Media or
its staff.
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