Obama Incompetence in Mid-East Rivals Carter’s in Iran

Townhall.com ^ | September 20, 2012 | Bob Barr

[Kaslin]

Despite repeated, self-serving claims by Obama officials that the Administration did everything it could to head off and then respond appropriately to the violence against American facilities in Libya and Egypt last week, their blunders in policy, intelligence and security illustrates an incompetence every bit as profound as exhibited by the administration of Jimmy Carter in Iran 33 years ago. It appears nothing has been learned in more than three decades; despite significant gains in technology available to the U.S. government during those intervening years.

In 1979, the Carter Administration precipitously abandoned the Shah of Iran, Washington’s long-time and loyal ally in Tehran, once widespread dissatisfaction with his regime surfaced. In the melee that ensued, and which accompanied the return from exile of the radical Ayatollah Khomeini, student groups led a successful assault on the huge American Embassy compound. Washington, believing the insurgent forces could be placated by throwing the Shah under the bus, failed completely to heed warning signs in the build-up to the storming of the diplomatic compound, and was caught flat-footed.

Once in control of the American facility, the radicals gained access to innumerable classified documents and microfilm cards (which standard operating procedures dictated were supposed to have been destroyed earlier) containing sensitive intelligence information. Additionally, because other security protocols had not been followed, certain individuals taken hostage were identified to the radicals as intelligence personnel, and subjected to “harsh interrogation techniques” during their long months in captivity.

As a direct result of the fall of the embassy in Tehran, the U.S. lost access to invaluable technological facilities, including some in northern Iran that provided unique electronic listening posts for then-Soviet missile ranges. Perhaps even more disastrous, was the compromising of the identities of numerous cooperating agents in Iran and elsewhere in the region; many of whom were subsequently tracked down and killed. The loss of such resources continues to be felt to this day.

Fast forwarding to last year’s mis-named “Arab Spring,” the Obama Administration found itself in much the same situation as did its predecessor in 1979 -- and appears to have engaged in just as serious a misperception. Apparently believing that popular uprisings against unpopular regimes in the Middle East, including Egypt and Libya, signaled an embrace of Jeffersonian Democracy in the Arab World, Washington again let down its guard – this time with immediate tragic results.

In the broadest sense, policy makers in Washington fail to understand the deep-seated religious zeal through which many Middle Easterners – including some of those educated in the West -- view their society and the world. They also appear not to comprehend that allegiances among many Arabs are based not so much on notions of political solidarity, profession, or the many other indices of “identity” familiar to us in western countries, but rather on tribal customs and background. The nature and use of violence – while well-known to virtually every culture in the world -- occupies a peculiar place in Arab culture that must first be understood and then forcefully and consistently defended against.

In a more focused sense, the Obama Administration seems to have made almost every mistake capable of being made, on the ground in Libya. Everything went wrong – from the failure to properly evaluate and disseminate relevant intelligence data (not “actionable” but “relevant” intelligence) to the physical aspects of knowing where your people are and maintaining communication with them during an emergency. With all the technology available to the United States of America, in Libya or anywhere else on the face of the earth, imagine “losing” an Ambassador inside a building controlled by our own government.

In fact, imagine an American ambassador placing himself – or allowing his staff to place him -- in such a situation in an area in which violence is clearly predicted and should have been expected, and then being taken to a “safe” house which location and layout was already known to well-armed assailants.

It is not difficult to chronicle numerous other mistakes made by our government in assessing the prelude to the violence last week in Cairo and Benghazi, and then elsewhere. Why, for example, do we rely still in such countries as these on local security personnel to provide the “first line” of defense? Why do we not anticipate violence ensuing from actions almost identical to earlier episodes that precipitated violence – does Washington really believe Arab culture has changed in the months since an idiot “preacher” in Florida threatened to stage a Quran burning? Why apparently did we not equip a “safe house” in an area known to harbor violent extremists, with the basic back-up generators and individual gas-mask protection devices now required in virtually every major federal government building in our country?

The list goes on and on. And all this Administration does is send its emissaries out to blame a film maker in California; hoping that by avoiding accountability it will avoid defeat at the polls. And as Washington dithers, families mourn and the world burns.

[Cicero]

Too kind.

Obama knew damn well what he was doing, and was delighted to side with his Muslim pals when the chance came.

And although I believed at the time that Carter was just a dumb peanut farmer, I increasingly suspected that he did what he did on purpose, too. Because there never was a Communist dictator or a Muslim fanatic that Jimmy didn’t joyfully hug, or an ally he didn’t betray.

[PLD]

Obama knows exactly what he is doing he is following instructs from his Muslim brothers..Carter is so ignorant and scared he didn’t want to anger the fools in Iran,he was afraid they would come after him..

[The_Reader_David]

The author is too kind. Carter managed to lose one Shi’ite country where the fact their local dictator had been one of “our bastards” in the Cold War turned their Islamists anti-American (while most Shi’ites outside Iran have no particular antipathy toward the West). Obama is managing to lose the entire sweep of the Arabic-speaking Sunni world, whether the prior regime was genuinely pro-American (Tusisia and Egypt) or merely grudgingly cooperative (Libya and Syria — yes, Syria provided intelligence against Al Qaeda). If all of those fall, the Gulf monarchies (which are dubious as allies anyway, Qatar excepted) will fall in line either by being overthrown or by cozying up to the Muslim Brotherhood to stay in power.

[Red Badger]

Obama Incompetence in Mid-East Rivals Carter’s in Iran

No, this is orders of magnitude worse. There is no word to describe the level of incompetence beyond outright stupidity......

[Grampa Dave]

Carter is Obama. Obama is Carter.

Both are Traitor Losers, who hate America!

Jimmy Carter's presidency was doomed by the Iranian hostage crisis after the US embassy in Tehran was stormed by Islamist extremists following the Iranian revolution.

A year after the 52 Americans were taken hostage, Carter lost the 1980 election. The hostages were released just as President Ronald Reagan, who defeated Carter, was sworn in.

1979

2012

As Clint noted, the Empty Chair improved by codetoad:

It is past time to fire Barack and his empty chair and have both of them hit the road back to Chicago!

Thanks to RushIsMyTeddyBear and Focault's Pendulum and for finding these morphing graphic art realities

[Grampa Dave]

“In a more focused sense, the Obama Administration seems to have made almost every mistake capable of being made, on the ground in Libya. Everything went wrong – from the failure to properly evaluate and disseminate relevant intelligence data (not “actionable” but “relevant” intelligence) to the physical aspects of knowing where your people are and maintaining communication with them during an emergency. With all the technology available to the United States of America, in Libya or anywhere else on the face of the earth, imagine “losing” an Ambassador inside a building controlled by our own government.

In fact, imagine an American ambassador placing himself – or allowing his staff to place him — in such a situation in an area in which violence is clearly predicted and should have been expected, and then being taken to a “safe” house which location and layout was already known to well-armed assailants.

It is not difficult to chronicle numerous other mistakes made by our government in assessing the prelude to the violence last week in Cairo and Benghazi, and then elsewhere. Why, for example, do we rely still in such countries as these on local security personnel to provide the “first line” of defense? Why do we not anticipate violence ensuing from actions almost identical to earlier episodes that precipitated violence – does Washington really believe Arab culture has changed in the months since an idiot “preacher” in Florida threatened to stage a Quran burning? Why apparently did we not equip a “safe house” in an area known to harbor violent extremists, with the basic back-up generators and individual gas-mask protection devices now required in virtually every major federal government building in our country?

The list goes on and on. And all this Administration does is send its emissaries out to blame a film maker in California; hoping that by avoiding accountability it will avoid defeat at the polls. And as Washington dithers, families mourn and the world burns.

Go to this link for pictures, you will not see in our left wing media: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2202979/Benghazi-attack-U-S-consulate-pictured-Libyan-attack-revealed-officials-knew-attack-plans-48-HOURS-before.html

[Bon mots]

Obama's foreign policy involves covering up his team's incompetence, dereliction and treason.

[unlearner]

Not incompetence. Hatred for America.

Look for him and his cronies to do as much damage as possible as they realize they are on the way out. It will be much worse than the w keys being removed from keyboards like when Bush was elected.

He will take the knife he stuck in our back and give it a good twist.

[SJackson]

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