Monday Madness

Obama's Middle East Policies Suck! Dude!

Kerry: Mr. President, the Middle East is exploding right before our eyes. You must do something!

BO: John, they love me there. I supported their Arab Spring along with Summer, Fall, and Winter.

Kerry: Mr. President, have you been looking at the front pages.

BO: No, I have not. The construct of the newspaper is full of literary devices that say one thing but mean something else. It is all relative anyway. If we deconstruct the text using Foucault, then you arrive at a derivative meaning of nothingness which we can then reconstruct within an Alinsky paradigm and arrive at our desired outcome.

Kerry (looking really confused): Just look at this (he tosses a paper on the desk).

BO: See they love me.

Kerry: (growing irritated) They are burning you in effigy!

BO: That's me? (Kerry nodding) I thought that was Dennis Rodman. Shit John, we need a new policy. Get W on the phone.

 

Foreign policy is a complex beast. In my 11th grade US History class the Progressive Era foreign policies are taught like this: Theodore Roosevelt mastered the "big stick" approach (military); Taft specialized in Dollar Diplomacy (money); and Wilson embraced Moral Diplomacy (politics/negotiation). The lesson is concluded with an activity that foreign policy is really a combination of those three things. But those things are simply tactics, not goals. Without clearly established goals and a firm grasp of what you want to see accomplished in any given region of the world, then the tactics mean nothing.

Barack Obama has no set goal for the Middle East. He can talk about peace, but that has been the goal for thousands of years. Goals in a region wracked with turmoil must be limited and focused. The only real goal I can detect in Obama's Middle East policy is a strong desire to distance himself away from Israel. In fact, any nation that was even neutral or somewhat friendly toward the US has been alienated (with the exception of Saudi Arabia). While Mubarak and Gaddafi were not nice guys they did promote stability and a secular system. I find it unbelievable that the Obama administration did not recognize the door that was opened to Islamists with the Arab Spring episode.

I really can find no blame with Obama's Iran policy, because its no different than our previous stances, "Iran will not be allowed to have nuclear weapons." My concern is whether Obama has the guts (balls if you prefer) to actually strike if needed. I do think all past administrations did not do enough in terms of espionage to promote and enable opposition groups within Iran to challenge the current theocracy.

Regarding Palestine, Obama spends a lot of time playing nice and kissing up to the Muslims there. Even they protest his leadership and efforts. But he still tries to win them over. Someone needs to whisper in his ear, "Mr. President, this is not your constituency back in the states. You're not going to win them over with your 'cool' factor." In doing this he has alienated our most important ally in the region: Israel.

This is what concerns me the most. It is obvious to even the left that the Israelis feel snubbed by the President. Netanyahu hates him. Why? Why is the President distancing himself so far from Israel? The country has provided the US with valuable intelligence and support in the war on terror. Obama and his advisors don't seem to understand that these rogue nations and groups operate by a different set of rules more reminiscent of "realpolitik" than collective security.

So the question is, "Did Israel notify the US before they bombed targets in Syria this past weekend?" The answer seems to be a resounding NO. If so, that may be the first time Israel has taken that type of unilateral action without at least notifying the US. It speaks volumes in terms of our standing there. The President has nothing to hang his hat on in the Middle East. His charm and throwing away of money (jets to Egypt) will not change how they feel about us. But that shouldn't matter. It's world politics, not a 5th grade classroom. It's more important to be respected than befriended.

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