Leash

The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, and Susan Rice are having a falling out over the United States’ policy toward Egypt.  Kerry, for a change, is sounding sensible in that he is supportive of what is now happening there.  He recently said in Cairo that Egypt is “[back] on the path to democracy.”  Whereas National Security Adviser Rice had previously directed him to denounce what was occurring to former President Mohamed Morsi who is now on trial for murder … see: The Daily Beast Story.  One has to conclude that Susan Rice is reflecting President Obama’s posture on this issue.

The White House, through our five-time-Sunday-talk-show-liar, Rice, is clearly not happy with the fact the Egypt has moved back to the center after its brief fling with the Muslim Brotherhood and its radical operative, Morsi. In fact we have frozen our military aid to Egypt and, as a result, Egypt is now tilting toward Russia … see: Fox News Story  Now, Kerry must realize that his predecessor, Hillary Clinton, and his boss had made a dog’s breakfast out of our policy toward Egypt … and he is trying to clean up things. Hazzah!

It will be interesting to see if Obama will give Kerry his leash on this issue.  If he does, it will most certainly reflect Obama’s weakened state at State.

Morsi Less

The events in the last few days in Egypt could have (and I expect will have) a profound effect on the events of the next few years. The fact that the Obama administration was a clear backer of Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood can do nothing to buff their image among the Middle East modernists.  In fact the rioters in Cairo and throughout Egypt recognized this with placards denouncing Obama and our Egyptian Ambassador.

David Brooks has an oped in Friday's NY Times which is pretty much dead on in his assessment of what the events in Egypt presage for the Muslim Brotherhood (see: NY Times Opinion).  Here is an eerie quote from same:

Islamists might be determined enough to run effective opposition movements and committed enough to provide street-level social services.  But they lack the mental equipment to govern.  Once in office, they are always going to centralize power and undermine the democracy that elevated them.

I can only ask ... is Brooksie also trying to tell us something also about the state of affairs in the U.S of A.?  And, for myself, I believe that this resurgent secularism as recently exhibited in Egypt might find willing imitators in Turkey and possibly even Iran.  I hope we can find the courage and the voice to do something this time around.  And, for those in this country who clearly have been embracing the Islamists, you might have some serious backpedaling to do before the 2016 elections (I think you know whom I mean.)

Hubris

After more than four years of dumping on the Israeli Prime Minister, Bibi Netanyahu, (refusing to meet with him in New York, making him exit the White House via the back door, etc.), President Obama has made a dramatic u-turn with his first trip to Israel and the Israelis don’t know why (see: Breitbart Story ).  Actually they do suspect why … Obama’s over-sized ego has caused him to try to reach around Netanyahu and influence Israeli politics directly with his charming personality and good looks.  This tactic has worked for Obama his entire life so why not pull a Cairo (as he did in the early days of his Presidency with his speech there) and make his case directly to the people … particularly the young people … see: FT Story.

Perhaps the looming Iranian nuclear threat is one reason he wants the Israeli citizenry on his side when he opts for containment rather than confrontation when Iran finally has the bomb (my on-going speculation)?  Possibly, another aim is that he wants the Israelis to embrace Egypt’s President Morsi and the Arab Brotherhood like he himself has?  And maybe he will also try to influence them to stop their West Bank settlement expansions?  We will have to wait to hear his speech to the Israeli students to understand all of his motivations for this seeming "humble-pie" trip.  But, be assured, President Obama has not left his hubris back in Washington.

Whopper

I'm sorry in advance for the length of this blog post … but unfortunately it seems to be required.  Monday night’s Presidential debate had the following exchange between the candidates:

Mitt Romney – “The president in his campaign some four years ago said he'd meet with all the world's worst actors in his first year. He'd sit down with Chavez and Kim Jong-il, with Castro and with president Ahmadinejad of Iran. I think they looked and thought, ‘Well, that's an unusual honor to receive from the president of the United States.’ And then the president began what I have called an apology tour, of going to various nations in the Middle East and criticizing America. I think they looked at that and saw weakness.”

President Obama – “Nothing, uh, Governor Romney just said is true, starting with this notion of me apologizing. This has been, uhh, probably the biggest whopper that's been told during the course of this campaign. And every fact-checker and every reporter has looked at it, Governor, has said this is not true.” (Italics mine.)

Now here are actual news stories (shortly after his inauguration) indicating whom Obama was willing to (or did) meet with:

Ahmadinejad: Telegraph Story 

Kim Jong-il: CFR Story 

Castro: Politico Story 

Chavez: The Daily Beast Story 

I have also found these following quotes from Obama ... apologizing for his country (shortly after his inauguration) on the Rush Limbaugh’s website (see: Rush Limbaugh Site).

In Strasbourg, France (4/3/2009): “In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America's shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.”

In Mexico City, Mexico (04/17/09): “I will not pretend that this is Mexico's responsibility alone. A demand for these drugs in the United States is what is helping to keep these cartels in business. This war is being waged with guns purchased not here, but in the United States. More than 90% of the guns recovered in Mexico come from the United States, many from gun shops that line our shared border. So we have responsibilities as well. We have to do our part.”  (A Fast and Furious set-up?)

Three quotes in Cairo, Egypt (06/04/2009): “Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world. 9/11 was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course. I have unequivocally prohibited the use of torture by the United States, and I have ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed by early next year.”

“In the middle of the Cold War, the United States played a role in the overthrow of a democratically elected Iranian government. I understand those who protest that some countries have weapons that others do not. No single nation should pick and choose which nation holds nuclear weapons. And that's why I strongly reaffirmed America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons.”

“There's been controversy about the promotion of democracy in recent years, and much of this controversy is connected to the war in Iraq. So let me be clear: No system of government can or should be imposed by one nation on any other.”


And I can not neglect to note the spate of Obama’s bowing to foreign leaders … in China, in Saudi Arabia, in Japan, in India, and in Mexico … see: Google Images.


Now, after all this evidence, was not Obama the one who was telling the most gigantic of whoppers?

Eating Their Young

Earlier this year, in order to distract the American public from President Obama's dismal job performance, the Democrat attack machine castigated Romney over his leadership at Bain Capital,  But when Cory Booker, Democrat Mayor of Newark, NJ, defended Romney's performance at Bain Capital, he was forced by the Democrat consiglieries to walk back these comments within twenty-four hours.  Ditto for the Democrat governor of Massachusetts, Deval Patrick ... and even ... gasp ... Bill Clinton ... all with similar u-turns.

But, when Mitt Romney, criticized the State Department's previous day's embarrassing apology in dealing with the mob attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, he has once again came under the rabid harassment of the left-wing media.  And when he suffered a brief spat of stuttering when responding to the coordinated media strikes by reporters in his later-in-the-day press conference, his trashing was intensified.  (Of course, Obama has never has never had a spat of stuttering.)  Even more disturbing, instead of rallying around their candidate, a number of Republicans found it convenient to ding Romney ... in particular John Sununu (see: American Thinker Comments).  Ditto Republicans, Peter King and Peggy Noonan.

As opposed to supporting their party and their candidate, erudite Republicans (such as George Will) often try to earn their stripes and the favor of the Washington elite by eating their young.  I suppose that they often do this because, unlike the Democrat party, Republicans slake no vengeance on those who fall out of line.  Perhaps they should learn to do so?

Shame

There is no other word for it … shame. For the United States to abandon our ally, Israel, in its time of crisis is a humiliation beyond ignominy. President Obama has refused to meet with Bibi Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, when he visits the United States at the end of September (see: Bloomberg Story). Whatever the feeble excuse, this is a clarion signal to Iran to have its way with its blood-sworn enemy. Israel is left swinging in the wind of our calculated indifference (see: CBS Story).

And this happens on the same significant day, September 11th, that the U.S. embassy in Cairo is attacked and the American flag replaced with the black flag of Islam (see: USAToday Story) … and our consulate in Libya is set on fire with one staffer being killed (see: Ahram Story). The symbolism of these three events cannot be ignored. The United States, under the crisp leadership of Obama and his aide-de-camp, Hillary Clinton, have tilted so far toward the Arab world that it is returning the favor with vengeance instead of gratitude. The “Arab Spring” has become “America’s Winter.”

And I cannot read anything else into these events other than a hidden pleasure-taking on the part of our smirking foreign-policy leadership. We are losing badly in the Middle East (and elsewhere) and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seem indisposed and perhaps even secretly thrilled. Is this darling duo not supposed to project a U.S. foreign policy of hegemony instead of lily-liveredness? How can we take pleasure in our humiliation? Perhaps that was the plan all along … shame and degradation as recompense for our past sins, imagined and real?

Update: The U.S. Ambassador and three other staffers were killed in the aforementioned Libyan attack (see: Reuters Story).  President Obaba has condemned this radical Islamic action.