Thursday, September 13, 2012

Obama’s Muslim-Flavored Foreign Policy

He has fed and nurtured the “Arab Spring.” It was his baby. The United Nations, led by a US bombing campaign, overthrew the government of Muammar Khaddafi in Libya first. Then Obama threw Hosni Mubarak, who had been a staunch US ally for more than 30 years, under the bus. Not satisfied with this, he skirted the review of Congress and issued an Executive Order to release $1.5 billion in foreign aid to prop up the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. This same group swore Islamic jihad against the US in October 2010. They never issued a retraction. In August 2012 they issued a fatwa allowing the killing of anyone who protests against Mohammed Morsi (http://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/08/egypt-muslim-cleric-issues-fatwa-permitting-the-murder-of-demonstrators-against-muslim-brotherhood-p.html). I guess this is Obama’s idea of democracy. It kind of fits with his shielding of birth certificates, sealing college transcripts, having dissenters blocked from websites, etc. Obama’s new vision for America.

During the 9/11 remembrance yesterday, both Libya and Egypt attacked the Embassies of the United States and tried to raise Al Qaeda flags instead of the Stars and Stripes. In Libya they killed the US Ambassador Christopher Stevens dragging his body through the streets of Benghazi. Obama’s first instinct was to be Apologizer-in-Chief: The Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims—as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions (http://madisonproject.com/2012/09/obama-apologizes-to-islamists-on-september-11/).  For someone who prides himself on being a constitutional attorney, I think Obama needs to go back and review the classes he took on the First Amendment. That amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Whether people are offended or not, people in the United States have a right to poke fun or rail at any topic they like. It may be out of bounds, it may be in poor taste, the content may reflect poor citizenship, it might be outright offensive, but in this country we have freedom of speech and freedom of religion. The US is not a banana republic, and, do I need to remind President Obama, it is also not a dictatorship.  The representative of this country needs to be explaining democracy … not kowtowing to terrorists.

During the Democratic National Convention, Obama in his typically arrogant fashion was deriding Mitt Romney’s foreign policy experience. He focused on his gaffes prior to the Olympics for upsetting the British press. But let’s consider Obama’s record. Just these two nations, Egypt and Libya, have become Islamic fundamentalist since Obama played a key role in funding and overthrowing the governments. Turning his back on Mubarak has angered Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), two other key US allies in the Middle East. His icy relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is notorious. Obama claims to be a staunch supporter of Israel, but it is clear that Netanyahu is keeping his congressional ties current because the relationship is not even cordial. I think most Americans realize that if there was a choice to be made between Israel and the Muslims … Obama would side with the Muslims. Which raises an interesting point: Israel and the United States have always had a symbiotic relationship. Most of the American voting public, Jewish Americans, Christians, military veterans, etc., would back Israel. What happens with this conflicting choice then? 

We all remember the open microphone incident with Russian President Dmitri Medvedev and Obama, where Obama told the Russians that he’d have “more flexibility” to compromise on the missile defense shield after the November 2012 election (http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/03/26/149404599/gop-seizes-on-obama-open-mic-comment-to-russias-medvedev).  This continues to show that the President is an appeaser ranking right up there with Neville Chamberlain. It would not surprise me to discover that Obama intends to give the Russians top secret US military technology related to the missile defense system in Eastern Europe. In China, Obama has basically stood by as the Chinese have taken a more muscular stance in the Asia-Pacific Rim. He touts the idea of a strategic shift towards the Pacific, but take a close look at what that entails.  Obama has vowed to continue his process of cutting the Department of Defense budget by as much as another $1 trillion. The US Navy has already shrunk from 592 to 283 surface ships, and the US Air Force has less than 6,000 serviceable aircraft available (Naval History and Heritage Command; http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/jan/18/mitt-romney/mitt-romney-says-us-navy-smallest-1917-air-force-s/).  This means that the US military will be less able in the coming decades to support a Pacific shift despite Obama’s flowery rhetoric, and while he blows smoke China is taking meaningful action to expand and fortify their military. The Chinese have placed a garrison in the disputed Paracel Islands (http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2012/s3552853.htm); Building J-20 stealth fighters and planning expansion beyond their borders according to a Pentagon report (http://www.stripes.com/news/pentagon-report-elements-of-chinese-military-expansion-are-concerning-1.177571); Constructing the DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile with a range of over 915 miles that could target American aircraft carriers, and the Pentagon report holds that China will be able to project and sustain military might around the globe prior to 2020 (http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/08/24/us-usa-china-military-idUSTRE77N7YP20110824). China has also become the world’s primary supplier of rare earth elements (REE) that are used in many, if not most, critical electronics systems including US national defense systems. China provides 95 percent of the world supply. They recently imposed an export embargo on these elements in order to impose their own will on the world. The United States, it should be noted, holds 13 percent of these same rare earth elements within our own borders (http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2010/5220/), and at one time was a self-sufficient provider of these metals. Instead of ordering the resumption of mining to become self-sufficient once again … Obama filed a trade protest with the World Trade Organization (WTO) (http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/13/world/asia/china-rare-earths-case/index.html).
When it comes to foreign policy, it is abundantly clear that Obama’s version of “foreign policy” is to genuflect before our enemies. We need a President who understands what it means to be American, what it means to stand tall and bow to no one. We need a President who will restore the military might of America, and the swagger of Teddy Roosevelt: “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement only encouraged Hitler to think that European leadership was weak and compliant. Hitler exploited that, and millions lost their lives as a result. It seems that the more Obama apologizes … the larger the body count gets, too. Rest in peace, Ambassador Stevens. The Apologizer-in-Chief has things under control.

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