Obama Soft On U.S. Enemies, Rules With Iron Fist At Home
Park rangers, scientific researchers and wildlife enthusiasts all rely on field guides to identify plant and animal species, along with careful notations spelling out their helpful and harmful characteristics.
Though we don't normally associate field guides with people, perhaps one is in order for President Obama. He clearly needs help in distinguishing between friends and enemies of the United States. After all, he's continued to extend olive branches to our fiercest adversaries, while throwing allies, both foreign and domestic, under the bus.
During Obama's nearly five years in office, he has created a "bizarro-world," in which up is down and down is up. He's helped usher in anti-U.S. Islamist governments across North Africa and the Middle East, is soft on Russia, Iran, Syria and any al-Qaida, Taliban or fellow jihadist detained by U.S. forces.
At the same time, he's ruled domestic issues with an iron fist, demonizing and punishing the opposition so bitterly that even the Chicago political machine would blush.
Yet determining national friends and enemies must be about serving America's interests, not Obama's personal agenda. And let's be honest, it's an agenda that has weakened us in foreign policy and pushed us closer to insolvency at home.
So here's a look at his suggested field guide:
Friends
Members of Congress: Elected by the American people, they took the exact same oath to support and defend the Constitution. Though political parties have seen spirited debates since the Founding Fathers, the current nastiness toward another political party hasn't been this acute since the Civil War era.
It's time to respect the Congress as an equal branch of government, regardless of political affiliation. Time to live up to the campaign slogan: "A uniter, not a divider."
Veterans: They put their lives on the line to defend America and deserve our unwavering support. Holding them hostage to partisan politics related to the government shutdown, such as blocking compensation claims and possibly payments to 3.8 million vets, is unconscionable.
As is denying WWII veterans access to their memorial in Washington — which actually cost money for police to cordon off the open air monument with bicycle racks.
Military: Of all the government functions to fund, the military should top the list. It's spelled out in the Constitution. If the $1 trillion in defense cuts targeted at the military in the next decade isn't bad enough, the denial of death benefits, including burial reimbursements to family members of those killed in Afghanistan during the shutdown, adds insult to injury.
Enemies
Iran's regime: Newly elected President Hasan Rouhani has signaled a fresh approach to relations with the West, but it's most likely all for show. The real boss remains Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has waged a low-level war against the U.S. for decades.
It seems more likely that Iran is merely adjusting its public diplomacy strategy so that a war-weary and cash-strapped U.S. and Europe will ease up on tough economic sanctions, thus allowing Iran to recover economically. And then continue with their clandestine nuclear program until they get the bomb.
Remember, Iran mastered chess. We've got to advance beyond checkers.
Gitmo detainees: Though the 164 al-Qaida and Taliban terrorists there have collectively killed tens of thousands of civilians, including on Sept. 11, 2001, and via scores of mass casualty terror attacks worldwide, plus Afghanistan's civil war, the international left has waged history's largest and most dishonest propaganda campaign to paint them as the victims.
It's time to stop advocacy on their behalf, as full Constitutional rights will guarantee more can be freed — and then can kill more Americans. Already nearly 30% of those released have returned to terrorism.
Vladimir Putin: The Russian Reset Button was an abysmal failure, as Putin continues to outmaneuver his foes on a daily basis. The New START agreement led to Russia's 10-1 advantage in tactical nukes, and did nothing to address rogue state North Korean and Iranian nuclear programs.
Granting asylum to America's worst spy in decades, Edward Snowden, was frankly embarrassing. Putin's diplomatic solution on Syria's chemical weapons sounded nice, but now comes the hard part — extracting them from a civil war against al-Qaida-backed rebels.
At every turn, it seems that Obama has made reckless choices when it comes to America's friends and enemies. Yet he is a smart guy and savvy politician. So the question we must ask is, why? Is he really "incompetent" and an "amateur," as former President Bill Clinton seems to think? Or are Obama's intentions far more sinister towards America's place in the world?
It's hard to say for sure, though considering Obama's track record, one might argue that Clinton's observation could be considered charitable.
• Gordon is a retired Navy commander and former Pentagon spokesman who served in the offfice of the secretary of defense from 2005-2009. He is a senior adviser to several think tanks in Washington, D.C.
Read More At Investor's Business Daily: news.investors.com
Follow us: @IBDinvestors on Twitter | InvestorsBusinessDaily on Facebook |
