Obama A Failure ...
... On Foreign Policy
Posted: September 15, 2012
President Obama’s wayward — make that inchoate — Middle Eastern policy has reaped a bitter harvest in the form of what appears to be orchestrated attacks against U.S. diplomatic installations in Egypt and Libya on the anniversary of 9/11.
In the wake of an initial response charitably described as tepid, such demonstrations of force seem to be spreading. On Thursday, protesters stormed our embassy in Yemen and set fire to a building.
While blame — and responsibility — for these attacks lies at the feet of the terrorists who made them, are we the only folks who deem it ironic that the two installations targeted on Tuesday are in countries the United States supported, either actively or tacitly, revolutions against entrenched regimes? That’s a foreign policy with blowback.
In truth, it’s a foreign policy with little rhyme or reason. In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, a genuine ally despite his failings, had to go. In Libya, Mr. Obama stepped in for humanitarian reasons to assist in the overthrow of the ruthless Moammar Gadhafi. But the administration wants no part of Syria, where the humanitarian crisis is no less heartrending and whose dictator, Bashar al-Assad, is no friend of America.
We’re not calling for intervention in Syria, merely wondering what criteria the White House uses in determining where and when to step in. The whole world, friend and foe alike, must be thinking similarly, with the inevitable result of such inconsistency sure to be a perception that the United States is either in decline or has no clue what it’s doing. Hence, what we’re seeing, or may see, is a rush of bad men to fill a void created by a yawning lack of U.S. leadership.
Making matters even worse, as this page noted Friday, is America’s inclination to reflexively apologize — in this instance, for an anti-Islamic film (produced in some dark U.S. corner) that may have been more pretense than reason for the attacks on our diplomatic posts. Yet, there was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday still making amends for this crude video, as if its appearance on YouTube actually incited these demonstrations.
Memo to Mrs. Clinton: Angry “protesters,” acting with irate spontaneity, hurl stones and invective. They don’t come armed with rocket-propelled grenades, as was the case in Libya. Time, we believe, will only further prove these attacks were planned, even coordinated, well in advance.
Yes, a void filling. Arab Spring, anyone?
In the wake of an initial response charitably described as tepid, such demonstrations of force seem to be spreading. On Thursday, protesters stormed our embassy in Yemen and set fire to a building.
While blame — and responsibility — for these attacks lies at the feet of the terrorists who made them, are we the only folks who deem it ironic that the two installations targeted on Tuesday are in countries the United States supported, either actively or tacitly, revolutions against entrenched regimes? That’s a foreign policy with blowback.
In truth, it’s a foreign policy with little rhyme or reason. In Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, a genuine ally despite his failings, had to go. In Libya, Mr. Obama stepped in for humanitarian reasons to assist in the overthrow of the ruthless Moammar Gadhafi. But the administration wants no part of Syria, where the humanitarian crisis is no less heartrending and whose dictator, Bashar al-Assad, is no friend of America.
We’re not calling for intervention in Syria, merely wondering what criteria the White House uses in determining where and when to step in. The whole world, friend and foe alike, must be thinking similarly, with the inevitable result of such inconsistency sure to be a perception that the United States is either in decline or has no clue what it’s doing. Hence, what we’re seeing, or may see, is a rush of bad men to fill a void created by a yawning lack of U.S. leadership.
Making matters even worse, as this page noted Friday, is America’s inclination to reflexively apologize — in this instance, for an anti-Islamic film (produced in some dark U.S. corner) that may have been more pretense than reason for the attacks on our diplomatic posts. Yet, there was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday still making amends for this crude video, as if its appearance on YouTube actually incited these demonstrations.
Memo to Mrs. Clinton: Angry “protesters,” acting with irate spontaneity, hurl stones and invective. They don’t come armed with rocket-propelled grenades, as was the case in Libya. Time, we believe, will only further prove these attacks were planned, even coordinated, well in advance.
Yes, a void filling. Arab Spring, anyone?