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Obama’s Bungled Mideast Policy
National Review Online ^ | September 17, 2012 | Michael Barone

Posted on 09/17/2012 3:01:11 PM PDT by neverdem

In Libya, U.S. ambassador Christopher Stevens and three colleagues were murdered Tuesday. Earlier that day, protesters in Egypt stormed the U.S. embassy and tore down the American flag.

It was “the day the roof fell in,” proclaimed blogger and historian Walter Russell Mead. Barack Obama’s “efforts to reconcile the U.S. and moderate Islamism — in part by distancing the U.S. from Israel — have angered Israel without reducing Islamist bitterness against the United States.”

In other words, his Middle East policies are in shambles. His assumption that a president “who doesn’t look like other presidents” would endear America to Arabs has been proven wrong.

So have other assumptions. Like the idea that Iran’s mullah regime would negotiate with us if we uttered soothing words and turned a cold eye on Iranian dissidents, as Obama did in June 2009. And the idea that creating distance between the United States and Israel would lead to a settlement between Israelis and Palestinians.

Obama came to office believing that America had a lot to apologize for — for the “tension” between the U.S. and the Muslim world that “has been fed” by colonialism and the Cold War, as he said in his June 2009 “New Beginning” speech in Cairo. There, he implicitly rebuked George W. Bush’s emphasis on universal human rights by admitting that “America does not presume to know what is best for everyone.”

Since the 9/11/12 attacks on America, Muslims have been protesting over much of the world, from Tunisia to Yemen to Bangladesh, and in some cases they have been assaulting our embassies.

The ostensible reason for the protests is a video produced by someone in the United States criticizing the Prophet Mohammed. But that’s obviously just a pretext, used by Islamist terrorist organizers to whip up frenzy in nations with large numbers of angry unemployed young men.

Unfortunately, some of our government officials have taken the complaints about the video seriously. Before the attack, the Cairo embassy issued a statement condemning “the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.”

When Mitt Romney condemned that statement, he was widely criticized by mainstream media. But his judgment was confirmed when Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama ordered the statement taken down.

Even so, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the protests were directed at the video rather than the United States — wishful thinking. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the FBI was sent to Los Angeles to track down the man who made the video. The Los Angeles Times reported that the State Department asked YouTube to review whether the offending video violated its terms of service.

As Fox News commentator Kirsten Powers wrote, “Our leaders shouldn’t let our enemies know that when they kill our people and attack our embassies . . . the U.S. government will act like a battered wife making excuses for her psychotic husband.”

It’s also disturbing that Obama, after his brief statement deploring the Benghazi murders (and not mentioning the attack on the Cairo embassy), immediately embarked on a four-hour plane ride to campaign in Las Vegas.

In an interview there with Telemundo, Obama said Egypt was neither an ally nor an enemy. Later, the State Department spokesman conceded that Egypt is officially an ally under a 1989 law. That’s an unforced error for an incumbent president, one who has criticized his opponent’s lack of foreign-policy experience.

But perhaps it’s not surprising. American Enterprise Institute’s Marc Thiessen revealed last week that Obama has skipped more than half of his daily intelligence briefings. He reads the reports instead. His last in-person briefing before 9/11/12 was on September 5.

It’s not clear why security efforts failed in Benghazi; the Libyan government seems sincere in its assurances that it will protect our diplomats in the future.

And Obama did find time for a reportedly “tense” phone conversation with Egyptian president Mohammed Morsi, who then made a public statement denouncing the attacks. But on the phone, Morsi reportedly asked Obama to “put an end to such behavior” — i.e., suppress the video. Did the president explain that we have a First Amendment that prevents government from doing such things?

Under settled principles of international law, attacks on diplomats by, or permitted by, governments can be considered acts of war. The threat of such attacks deserves a more stern response than a campaign trip to Vegas, a misstatement of settled policy, and skipped intelligence briefings.

— Michael Barone is senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner. © 2012 The Washington Examiner. Distributed by Creators.com



TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Israel; Politics/Elections; US: District of Columbia
KEYWORDS: egypt; islam; libya; obama

1 posted on 09/17/2012 3:01:13 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem
Under settled principles of international law, attacks on diplomats by, or permitted by, governments can be considered acts of war. The threat of such attacks deserves a more stern response than a campaign trip to Vegas, a misstatement of settled policy, and skipped intelligence briefings.

Mistreated third world Muslims killing evil capitalists? bHo sides with them, not us.

2 posted on 09/17/2012 3:07:10 PM PDT by LucianOfSamasota (Tanstaafl - its not just for breakfast anymore...)
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To: neverdem

FORWARD!

BTW, if Obama is leading from behind, and exhorting his Obamanation members to move forward, then are his followers the rear guard?


3 posted on 09/17/2012 3:09:29 PM PDT by Graewoulf ((Traitor John Roberts' Obama"care" violates Sherman Anti-Trust Law, AND the U.S. Constitution.))
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To: neverdem

That’s what happens when you have an inept administration with a complete narcissistic at the helm.


4 posted on 09/17/2012 3:13:57 PM PDT by mongo141 (Revolution ver. 2.0, just a matter of when, not a matter of if!)
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To: neverdem

Mr. Barone, Obama sides with the Muslims. In his mind, he did nothing wrong.


5 posted on 09/17/2012 3:15:56 PM PDT by stephenjohnbanker (God, family, country, mom, apple pie, the girl next door and a Ford F250 to pull my boat.)
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To: neverdem
Think about it:

An American embassy and consulate in Libya, a muslim country with a weak government. Rifles and high powered weapons are still widely distributed in the wake of the recent revolution and the population is the standard blend of muslim crazies, including haters of America and American citizens.

It is the eve of 9/11/2012, the 11th anniversary of the muslim suicide attacks on American soil but the State Dept has taken no special steps to provide security for Americans nor have any steps been taken to remove them from the country or to consolidate them in an unknown location where they are protected.

What the hell is wrong with our government?
Doesn't the date 9/11 ring any bells?

Did they think that having Obama in the White House and Hillary in the Sate Dept. was enough to make muslim savages love America now?

These people are inept as managers - in the business world they would be in charge of toilet paper procurement.

If it was a small business office with American employees instead of an embassy, the mangers would have protected their people better than the US government protected our own embassy personnel.


6 posted on 09/17/2012 3:37:20 PM PDT by Iron Munro ("In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit." - Ayn Rand)
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To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; ColdOne; Convert from ECUSA; ...

Thanks neverdem.


7 posted on 09/17/2012 4:13:12 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: mongo141

he isn’t a narcissist. He a fecist.


8 posted on 09/17/2012 4:24:53 PM PDT by bigheadfred (evry day i'm shufflin')
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To: bigheadfred
THE FOREIGNER and his regime still can't get it through their ANTI AMERICAN PEA BRAINS that the radical muslims, who he thinks are his friends and he supports, attacked us under his watch. There only suppose to attack when the mean republicans are in office.
9 posted on 09/17/2012 4:40:55 PM PDT by spawn44 (MOO)
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To: bigheadfred

“he isn’t a narcissist. He a fecist.”

________

BWHAHAHA! I met quite a few Jr Officers and (some seniors) like that in the military, JJ Snerdly the III types, thought their sh*t didn’t stink.


10 posted on 09/17/2012 4:49:27 PM PDT by mongo141 (Revolution ver. 2.0, just a matter of when, not a matter of if!)
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To: Iron Munro
These people are inept as managers - in the business world they would be in charge of toilet paper procurement.

And they would still screw it up. better hope not.

11 posted on 09/17/2012 5:06:01 PM PDT by no-s (when democracy is displaced by tyranny, the armed citizen still gets to vote)
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To: dennisw; Cachelot; Nix 2; veronica; Catspaw; knighthawk; Alouette; Optimist; weikel; Lent; GregB; ..
Middle East and terrorism, occasional political and Jewish issues Ping List. High Volume

If you’d like to be on or off, please FR mail me.

..................

12 posted on 09/17/2012 5:18:34 PM PDT by SJackson (none of this suggests there are hostile feelings for the US in Egypt, Victoria Nuland, State Dept)
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To: neverdem

It’s not clear why security efforts failed in Benghazi; the Libyan government seems sincere in its assurances that it will protect our diplomats in the future.


How many religion of pieces from the Muslim Brotherhood have the Obamas plugged into the food chain of the State department and intellegence? Huma is Hillary’s right hand man at State. Muslims argue mightly that muslims are not the religion of pieces and get offended and outraged when Muslims are dissed. I could see them playing down the danger to our embassies.

We know they are in Homeland insecurity as our domestic terrorism efforts have shifted from the Muslim Brotherhood radicals and onto the MB’s enemies in America. Vets and Christian conservatives who won’t fall for the bs of shira and Muslim threat and victim schemes.

Remember the MB was allowed to go through our military plans and training and remove offensive stuff to them? The Rinos led by McBackstabber went after Michelle Bachmann for desiring to investigate the infiltration. Remember how the Feds tossed a fit at NY city for spying on Muslims there?

Finally, look at the military. They have deluded themselves that Islam is the religion of peace and filled the bases with Muslims in Afghanistan who are killing off soldiers and destroying equipment. Even though it happens over and over again, they don’t change the politically correct demand that they be cooperative, loving and respectful to the Muslims we are supposedly at war with. This kind of nonsense happeded in the cold war. Many in our government, academia and media were communist infiltrators who did their best to make sure we did not win that struggle.

Muslims have weaseled in and this dead ambassador is the result. Now that the idiots are coming to the realization that we were attacked because Islam is not a peaceful, trustworthy religion, maybe they are ready to consider stopping the damage via infiltration.

What is going to happen in the homeland as our government operates in this up-side-down delusion with the borders wide open and a massive increase in Muslim immigration from enemy Nations? Although we know jihadists are amassing in Mexico and South America, Obama moved border protection from Mexico to Canada’s borders. We are going to get hit hard. It will be the Republicans’ fault.


13 posted on 09/17/2012 5:35:21 PM PDT by SaraJohnson
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To: mongo141

Back in the day there was this REALLY hot chick lived in town. People always fawning over her.

She was working in a convenience store. I stopped one morning to get myself a quart of buttermilk. She looks at me with contempt and tells me that stuff is DISGUSTING.

I told her she should try it. It would make her sh!+ stink. And walked out (with my buttermilk).

Guy walks out behind me laughing so hard he could hardly speak. Tells me Dude! NO ONE TALKS TO HER LIKE THAT!

She was just an empty shell with a bit of Shinola rubbed on.

Obama strikes me as the same.

(Please excuse my typing fail last post)


14 posted on 09/17/2012 5:55:35 PM PDT by bigheadfred (evry day i'm shufflin')
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