After more than five years of Obama, the world is a much more uncertain and dangerous place. Experimentation in foreign policy coupled with loose lips and weak decision making has not worked out well for the US, for our allies or for people who thought they could rely on the US for support.
Some say that America’s foreign policy closely resembles “The Keystone Kops” in action.
The most recent debacle in Ukraine has part of its roots in shortsighted decisions made in Obama’s first term. Previous governments of Ukraine bear a huge responsibility for this mess too because they neglected Crimea.
The government of Ukraine made stupid decisions without taking into account what was right for their people or what might be the results of those decisions. The people of Crimea voted to cut loose from Ukraine and move under Russia’s wide umbrella. Putin was only too happy to take fast action.
Now Russia has massed its forces on Ukraine’s border. Opposite them is a weak defense, unless NATO is invited to step in. If Russia were to decide to carry out an “incursion” into the country, it could achieve its objective in three to five days, according to NATO’s top military commander.
In the spring of 2009, President Obama, on his “apology mission,” cancelled plans for new missile installations in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Obama has a history of taking unilateral actions without consultation, treating allies like dirt. Much like a dictator who doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, but this is a path fraught with traps for the unwary.
And so it was, without warning or consultation, Obama threw vital eastern European allies to the wolves. His intention was to send a “message” to Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States had only “peaceful intentions” in Europe.
Putin probably could not believe his luck. He had been facing a strengthened Europe backed by military deterrence, and with a single stroke of the pen, Obama had opened the door for a later entry point.
After Obama’s shock decision,there was no reciprocation rom Putin. European allies and enemies alike could see that this president was naive and weak, with a “school boys’ vision” of a very dangerous world. People wondered who was advising him to make these radical changes or was it that he was ignoring good advice.
Fast forward to yesterday’s “shocking news” that the United States and its allies have now come to the realization that Russia might designs on more than just Ukraine in the near future.
Russia could conceivably work on claiming Eastern Europe back in its entirety. This was apparently “shocking” information to President Obama, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, National Security Advisor Susan Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry, but certainly not to the Poles and Czechs who witnessed Obama’s tenderfoot actions in 2009.
It is worth reminding ourselves about the old adage: “Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.”
Many people, who have not lived through wars or deprivation, who think that they and the rest of the world’s people are now too civilized for war, and who think there are no forces at work intent on gaining power and territory, are in for a big surprise.
The situation is reminiscent of Europe in the 1930’s. America remained neutral as Europe, with terrible memories of WWI traded peace for territory with Adolph Hitler.
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, civilized and weak, signed the 1937 Munich Agreement with Hitler. He returned home, triumphantly declaring “Peace in our time” and handing over a sacrificial lamb, Czechoslocakia, the last democratic county in eastern Europe, to the Nazi dictator.
Obama has already shown that he can set “red lines” but he has not shown that he is capable of taking action when those red lines are crossed. If you set a red line, you must take action immediately it is crossed. Indeed, you must not set a red line if you don’t have the power or backing to take the necessary action if it is crossed.
Failures in foreign policy result in bad things happening.
Not unlike what President Obama has accomplished to make our vital allies in NATO quake from his misguided decisions, providing appeasement to the Russian bear is equivalent to the historic blunders by France and Great Britain before the outbreak of WWII, which just happened to begin in Poland in September, 1939.
The Czechs and Poles have not forgotten their history. President Obama, as a community organizer is obviously not a historian and either his foreign policy advisory team is full of dunces or he is ignoring their advice.
U.S. newspapers now tell us the Europeans had “no idea” this was on the horizon. Where are the Kissingers?
The Obama administration lives in a fairyland. This week, we were told Obamacare sign-ups hit the 7 million mark, exactly on time, but the announcement hides the real situation because website sign ups do not equal new people with health insurance coverage.
Our mainstream news organizations are failing us badly, preferring to toe the Obama line rather then report the truth. We don’t know what is really happening. Is it because the journalists and the smart analysts don’t have a clue?
Let’s just sit back and watch the football on TV, and wait for the next surprise to be sprung on us. There is sure to be a surprise or two coming up, because blatant appeasement plus the “restructuring” of America the former world power, can only lead to bad news.
What is really galling is that the massive so-called “intelligence agencies” that now monitor anything and everything are shown to be virtually useless.
If America no longer leads the free world, does that mean it’s every country for itself now?
Who can we look to for leadership? Obama, Kerry, Hagel and Rice?
If that is all we have, we are in big trouble.
