We did not get into this foreign policy morass overnight and we will not fix it overnight.
This President has led us to a position of weakness from the start. Let me count the ways:
1. He advocated a "reset" with Russia and received nothing in return.
2. He failed to get a "status of forces" agreement in Iraq before our wholesale withdrawal.
3. Ditto for Afghanistan.
4. He "led from behind" in Libya as well as Iran, North Korea, China and now Syria.
5. He set a "red line" for chemical weapons in Syria apparently without a clue as to what his next step would be.
Syria is now dispersing its chemical weapon stockpiles. Going forward we can expect even more trouble from our adversaries. What can we do?
First of all, let's not do anything stupid. A short term solution such as a military strike now without sound leadership, national resolve and purpose is not the answer. Our problem requires a longer term view.
We can start by fixing our economy. Get rid of the impediments to our growth; fix the tax structure, reduce rates, cut government spending, reduce bureaucracies and regulations, substitute a rational health care system for Obamacare and take concrete steps to reduce our large unsustainable and crippling debt.
Strong leadership requires consistent and coherent polices. We need our leaders to take the lead, to inspire confidence in our allies so that they actually follow and support us. After all, aren't such weapons as nuclear and chemical arms a threat to all?
To back up what we stand for, we need to support our military. Better to have a strong military that we never need than an insufficient force that we are hesitant to deploy.
One last thought: To show Mr. Putin that we are truly committed to freedom and human rights let's support the Syrian rebels as we said we would and provide humanitarian aide to the millions of refugees resulting from the Syrian war. No speech necessary, Mr. President.
Lines 1-5 and the next thought are factual and may I add Egypt to the "list"? Norm, I agree with your thoughts all the way through yet as you ask a couple questions, so must I: 1.Obviously, Obama is not going to lead in a manner to fix the economy, per your offered suggestions. 2. "Strong leadership requires consistent and coherent policies." With this I agree yet can Obama change? 3.How many times did he vote "present" as an Illinois senator? 4. How many times has Obama shown consistency and presented coherent policy throughout his presidency?
ReplyDeleteThe question becomes, can Obama continue to lead our country for another 3 years and four months without doing irreversible damage? Could he be the leading cause of escalating war in the Middle-East or worse? What about our economy and debt (almost $17 T)?
While we agree resignation is not in Obama's narcissistic DNA, he must be convinced such is his best option and only choice to avoid impeachment. No need to state in the best interest of the country, this does not compute in the DNA of a narcissist......A group of bi-partisan politicians along with the Joint Chiefs of Staff must meet with Obama and leave him no option. As part of the agreement to resign, "in the best interests of our country", the NSA and IRS scandal investigations will cease immediately (to be corrected later)....and Benghazi will go no further than the Sec. of State. Obama simply has lost all credibility both at home and abroad. There is no good option and his continuation as President will become a disaster quite unlike what we have ever experienced. Last question: what good is a strong military without leadership? Obama remaining as Commander-in-Chief keeps us from garnering support, respect, and as Teddy Roosevelt said so well, "walk softly but carry a big stick"......Obama walks from behind and carries a rubber-band! May I suggest Praying?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThere is an excellent article in The Washington Times on 9/12 written by Andrew Napolitano, a former judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey who has written 7 books on the U.S. Constitution. Several good points were brought up including neither Obama nor Kerry can state if the chemicals were deployed by the Assad regime, and they have failed to state how the use of these weapons affected the freedom or safety of Americans in a civil war thousands of miles from our shores.
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. is party to a treaty that states we can’t use military force to punish another government without demonstrating an immediate threat of danger to the U.S. The U.S. and the UN have banned the use of chemical weapons, but Syria has not, so the UN is without lawful authority to authorize violent intercession.
Not knowing who was actually responsible for the use of the chemicals, Napolitano goes on to state that all governments have a right to defend itself from terrorist attacks. Then adds that the U.S. used them in Vietnam in 1965 and in Waco, Texas in 1993, and asks if you can imagine the response if another country used violence to punish us.
Napolitano continues: “We have a president heedless of his duty to uphold the Constitution by keeping the government within its confines, disdainful of international law when it fails to suit his purposes, and contemptuous of a Congress he once controlled when it feels the heat from the American people….”
He wrote that Obama wants to borrow an additional trillion, the NSA has spied on computers and mobile phones for the last “….two years at the insistence of the Obama administration, and the fiscal bankruptcy of Obamacare is now just below the surface.”
And his last paragraph is excellent: “Does the president really expect the American people to approve his bombing and killing just to avoid his personal embarrassment? Or is it his professional incompetence he wants to hide.”
Norm, you are correct when you state we need to fix our economy and tax structure, cut spending, reduce regulations, fix the health care system, reduce the crippling debt, etc. And aside from the Syria problem, Obama’s upbringing and mentors makes it clear why he is destroying our country. He said it himself before he took office that he would “fundamentally change” the U.S. It makes you wonder whether he is totally incompetent or if he and those actually pulling his strings know exactly what they are doing to bring us down. In the meantime, the world is laughing at us. God help the United States.
comment provided by Skip Martens
It is impossible to predict the future. But I do know the road ahead for our country is not good with Obama in office.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kenny that it is not in his make-up to change his ways or to resign for that matter. But I don't think impeachment is in the cards unless the situation gets much worse either economically or overseas--or both. (Which brings up the question of whether impeachment is even possible with a nation in real crises--rally around the flag etc.)
The most likely scenario in my opinion is that we will muddle through until at least the 2014 election when the Republicans could get a veto proof majority. Or we have to wait until 2016, a long time off. After that, it's anyone's guess.
Thank you Skip for providing the insights from the Napolitano article. The last statement in the article cited by Skip highlights one of Obama's standard modus operandi; that is to change the subject, hide the facts, delay and delay more until the subject is off the public's radar screen (as evidenced by our short news cycle).
It would seem from his prior statements that Obama is doing damage to our country with intent. Some say it's just plain vanilla type incompetence. In either case, the result is we are in trouble and it will not be easily fixed.