American foreign policy

Death of Moammar Gaddafi Another Foreign Policy Victory For Barack Obama!

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The death of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gaddafi today in his hometown is a victory for change in the Middle East, another sign of the impact of the “Arab Spring”, and a great moment for President Barack Obama’s image in being effective in executing American foreign policy!

This just adds to the justification of the American intervention through NATO in the Libyan Civil War, and it adds stature to Obama’s ability to be the most effective figure in fighting terrorism and dictatorship in the Arab world!

There is great hope for the future of Libya, and certainly, it is the final removal of a 42 year brutal dictatorship, at the cost of only $2 billion and not one American life lost!

Already, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, soon to be followed by other Republican Presidential candidates, have made an obligatory statement, trying to prove their foreign policy expertise, but it is Barack Obama who will gain the credit for a decision well crafted, and encouraged by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Ambassador Susan Rice!

This, on top of the death of Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists recently, is another victory for civilization against barbarism!

Herman Cain: Reality Check As He Faces Attacks On The Right, The Center, And The Left

Ronald 1 Comment

Herman Cain says he is not the “Flavor of the Week” or “Flavor of the Month”, but he most assuredly is such!

After being on Meet the Press on Sunday and speaking in Tennessee, where he is on a book tour, Cain has major problems and is being attack on the Right, the Center, and the Left!

Cain has not raised much money, has no real campaign staff, and spends time promoting his newly published book in a state that does not vote until Super Tuesday on March 6, long after the early caucuses and primaries. This, in itself, is the weirdest way to campaign for President!

But getting beyond that, the Right, the Center and the Left are displaying anger with and at him. Why, specifically?

On the Right, Herman Cain seems unwilling to support a constitutional amendment against gay marriage, which it is clear would never pass in any case. But by leaving it to states, as he advocates, he has made enemies, particularly among social conservatives who like Michele Bachmann or Rick Santorum.

Secondly, Cain has demonstrated that he is a novice on foreign policy, claiming to admire Henry Kissinger and John Bolton, which is, as critics say, like admiring both Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a totally preposterous concept. And Cain actually said he saw Clarence Thomas as a model, enough to undermine his legitimacy to be President! It shows he is not ready for “prime time”, and has no clue on international affairs, another thing which upsets conservatives as well as progressives. His ideas on Afghanistan show no depth or knowledge of that war, which has been going on for a decade!

Third, Cain talks about sales taxes on “new goods’, and none on “used goods”! What in the world does that mean, and is it not true that if fewer “new goods” are purchased which would be likely if they are subjected to a sales tax, then the economy will suffer and never recover? And since food and clothing would be taxed, is Cain proposing used clothing only, and how can food be “used”? His 9-9-9 economic plan would hurt the poor and the middle class, and benefit the wealthy, and is an outrageous attack that could be called the true “class warfare”!

And then the Left is furious at Cain’s suggestion that abortion not be allowed for rape or incest, as that is “rare” according to him, and “life of the mother” would be left up to the family. What does all that gobbledygook mean anyway?

And then to suggest an electrified fence along the US-Mexican border is impractical and also horrifying, the concept of inflicting harm on refugees and possibly killing them, and using troops to shoot and kill if necessary to stop refugees! That would be a massive violation of human rights, and would America want to have that image in the world, that it is ready to shoot and kill, or execute by electric shock any refugee, who while doing something technically illegal, is just trying to make a better life in America and escape from poverty?

Herman Cain is a preposterous candidate, and the attacks by his opponents in the Republican Presidential race are likely to escalate in Tuesday’s Presidential debate scheduled in Nevada, and sponsored by CNN. This man, with no political experience at all, is indeed not only the “Flavor of the Week or Month”, but the biggest joke of the loony GOP campaign to find a legitimate candidate for President!

Republicans Start To Deal With Foreign Policy Finally! First Mitt Romney And Later Jon Huntsman!

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The Republican Party has been busy trashing President Barack Obama and economic problems in America, but has failed to address the world scene and our foreign and defense policy.

Barack Obama has done a masterful job in many ways on the international scene, often seen as his strong point, particularly with dealing with international terrorism, including Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Many problems, of course, remain, including North Korea, Iran, China and the Middle East crisis. He has also had a masterful Secretary of State in Hillary Clinton!

But the question arises: Do the Republican candidates have any vision of how to deal with the outside world, considering that only former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman has had any real expertise, as former Ambassador to Singapore and China?

Well, now, Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts has announced in a speech at The Citadel in South Carolina, what is defined as a “muscular” foreign policy!

Romney calls for:

1. Increased Naval shipbuilding.
2. Strengthening alliances with Great Britain, Israel and Mexico
3. Keeping aircraft carrier groups in the Persian Gulf and the Eastern Mediterranean as a deterrent against Iran
4. Spending more on national missile defense
5. Renewed emphasis on diplomacy and foreign aid to the Middle East
6. Increased diplomacy and trade with Latin America
7. Figuring out how to deal with Afghanistan beyond 2014
8. Devising a national cyber security strategy

Romney calls for a “new American Century”, with aggressive and hawkish foreign policy reminiscent of Ronald Reagan and the two Presidents Bush. This is in contradiction of the Tea Party Movement followers, and the libertarian, isolationist view of Congressman Ron Paul, an opponent in the Republican Presidential contest and his son, Senator Rand Paul, as well as liberal Democrats who want to avoid military conflicts overseas, which Romney seems clear to be unwilling to avoid if it is seen as necessary to assert American power.

Romney’s doubt about working through the United Nations will also turn many off from his strong foreign policy and defense policy statements, and of course, the question will be how the costs of this new, bold foreign policy will be managed in the present budget mess we are facing as a nation!

Next week, Jon Huntsman will enunciate his views, as foreign policy goes from the back burner to the front burner of American politics, as indeed it needs to do. But the question is can Romney or Huntsman convince the American people that Barack Obama has not, overall, been successful in areas of defense and foreign policy?

One thinks that will be difficult to convince the nation over the next year!

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton And Buyer’s Remorse

Ronald 1 Comment

In the midst of all of the economic problems we face, new polls indicate “buyer’s remorse” among Democrats and the general public regarding the election of Barack Obama to the Presidency, instead of Hillary Clinton, in 2008.

Hillary Clinton has become the most popular public figure in America, but as her husband Bill Clinton says, it is because she is further away from politics, and is regarded as having done a fantastic job as Secretary of State.

This is a smart assessment of the situation, as one when looks back on the Bill Clinton Presidency, and remembers the vicious attacks on Hillary Clinton as First Lady by the Right, can one really believe that a President Hillary Clinton would be gaining any greater cooperation from Republicans in Congress, conservatives on Fox News Channel, or radio talk show hosts?

Hillary Clinton may have her fans and supporters, but to think of her as having an easy time uniting the nation, is to dwell in fantasy land.

We are actually better off with Hillary Clinton doing a superb job as Secretary of State, helping to promote a foreign policy that is, overall, one of the strong points of the Obama Presidency!

The Debate Audience In Tampa: What Are We Becoming? Shame Over Their Behavior!

Ronald 2 Comments

In watching the CNN-Tea Party debate in Tampa, Florida, last night, beyond the points made by the potential GOP Presidential candidates, one characteristic stood out, a very ugly characteristic!

The audience at the debate demonstrated just how nasty, mean spirited, self centered, and lacking in humanity the Tea Party crowd have become!

It has become a disease in America, if one wants to believe that the Tea Party movement is spreading far and wide, which the author hopes is NOT the case!

Witness the following:

1. When Rick Perry brought up the idea of Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke being treasonous, the crowd cheered wildly.
2. When the subject of a 30 year old male who chose not to have health insurance coverage and then is in the hospital for six months, the reaction of the audience is to applaud the idea that he should not be put into intensive care to save his life, that he should die, that there is no responsibility for others in medical crisis.
3. The hatred of the audience toward illegal immigration, and readiness to destroy Social Security and Medicare was obvious.
4. The refusal of the audience to consider that Ron Paul had some good points about our foreign policy causing a lot of our woes financially, and instead booing him, was disturbing.
5. There were many other moments of poor behavior by the crowd, too numerous to list here.

But beyond all this, the fact that the audience at the Reagan Library debate last week cheered and applauded the fact that Rick Perry had been responsible for the execution of more prisoners than any governor in history, was also very disconcerting, as if the death penalty is the answer, when it is well known that mistakes ARE made and have been made in Texas and elsewhere, with denial of new evidence, refusal to recognize that some testimony against some defendants is unreliable, and that the death penalty is unevenly utilized against minorities as compared to whites!

If this is the country we are becoming, the equivalent of the Tea Party mentality, this nation is in deep trouble, and we have lost our common decency and humanity!

But the thought is that this is a minority view, which demands full commitment to fight and defeat this poison, this cancer, in our society, before it becomes endemic!

Libya Success Proof Of Obama’s NEW Foreign Policy Being A Success!

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The overthrow of the Gaddafi regime in Libya, even if Gaddafi himself is still at large as the author writes, is a triumph of major proportions for President Obama, and adds to his image of fighting against terrorism and international outlaws in unison with the international community, rather than going “Lone Ranger” as George W. Bush did in Iraq!

Despite all the critics who said Barack Obama was defying the War Powers Act, which he was not; and that the Libyan Civil War should not have been intervened in, as many Republicans declared; or the criticism that we had led from behind, rather than use our own air power and troops on the ground, as John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman stated; Barack Obama did PRECISELY the right thing in working with the Arab League, the United Nations, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and with the full backing of his Secretary or State Hillary Clinton and his UN Ambassador Susan Rice in undermining Gaddafi, working with the Libyan rebels, and yet NOT committing ground forces or major American air attacks and spending large amounts of money on the involvement!

So not one person was killed who wore an American uniform; not one plane was lost; and only about $1 billion was spent on this crisis, by the latest estimate!

This outdoes the Kosovo intervention against Serbia in 1999 under President Bill Clinton, where no one was killed and only one plane was shot down and lost!

The Republicans may be unwilling to give Barack Obama credit, but his new foreign policy of collaboration with other nations has been a major success, and he deserves full credit for what has happened!

So even in the midst of economic troubles that the President faces, which threaten his reelection, one must hail the President’s outstanding record in foreign policy and ask again: Other than Jon Huntsman, what are the credentials in foreign policy of ANY of the other GOP Presidential candidates? The answer, unlike with John McCain in 2008, is ABSOLUTELY NONE!

So again, if the Republicans have any common sense, in more ways than one, they will make Jon Huntsman their Presidential nominee, and if so, Barack Obama will have some sleepless nights during the fall campaign of 2012!

Republican Presidential Candidates And The Outside World: Who Is Legitimate?

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In the midst of all the tumult and drama surrounding the Debt Ceiling Crisis, the lowering of the US credit rating by Standard and Poor’s, and the Stock Market gyrations this past week, it would seem as if only the economy matters to most Americans, an understandable viewpoint, but a dangerous one!

We must remember that the President of the United States is not just the leader of this country, but the number one world leader, and therefore, his or her credibility on an international scale really is significant and crucial!

So when one looks at the four finalists in the Republican Presidential contest, as the author earlier today assessed it, one must see the dramatic differences between the so called Establishment Republican Mormon candidates (Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman), and the Tea Party Republican evangelical Christian candidates (Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann).

Romney has the record of having operated the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, requiring diplomatic skills to make it the success it was.

Even more so, Huntsman has been the Ambassador to Singapore in the time of President George H. W. Bush, Deputy US Trade Representative under George W. Bush, and Ambassador to China under Barack Obama, therefore having tremendous foreign policy training and experience.

Rick Perry has NO foreign policy experience, and comes across as a bully type who would throw his weight around in foreign affairs with his swagger and arrogant manner, in a way that would make George W. Bush, often called a “cowboy” in foreign affairs, look civil and diplomatic by comparison!

And Michele Bachmann also has ZERO foreign policy experience, and a loose, no holds barred way of speaking, that would totally antagonize the outside world!

Both Perry and Bachmann would be a danger in world affairs through their lack of experience and judgment, and with their Christian evangelical roots, would promote a war on Islam, that would make the nightmare of Iraq and Afghanistan in the past ten years look like a minor blip in international affairs! They would conduct themselves as Christian crusaders, something we do NOT need if there is to be peace and diplomacy with an outside world which Is not going to accept American imperialism and dominance!

So the foreign policy issue may seem minor now, but in a campaign of Barack Obama against either Perry or Bachmann, it would be a tremendously important issue, and a blessing to Obama!

With Huntsman in particular, and Romney lesser so, Obama would have more difficulty on this issue, as well as generally all matters, including the economic difficulties we now face.

So for Barack Obama, a dream fulfilled would be Perry or Bachmann as his opponent, while Huntsman or Romney could be his greatest nightmare!

The Republican War Against Science And History

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The Republican Party has become a “KNOW NOTHING” party, encouraging the population to believe myth and fable as fact.

In the field of science, the Republicans deny climate change is going on, despite harsh environmental conditions, including floods, fires, and tornadoes, along with extremes of temperature at all points of the year.

They also deny evolution, and instead profess the concept that the earth is about 6,000 years old, and that mankind walked with dinosaurs, the concept of creationism or intelligent design, with most Republicans arguing that it should be taught alongside evolution, even though creationism is a religious belief with no evidence of being scientific.

At the same time, Republicans love to argue their own version of history and government, totally distorting the Founding Fathers, the Civil War, the history of American capitalism, the role of American religion, American foreign policy, and Ronald Reagan! It is literally embarrassing how often Republican Presidential candidates and congressional and state Republicans misread history, and show their total ignorance and prejudice toward women, African Americans, immigrants, and labor!

The Republicans are busy spreading a propaganda view of human knowledge, and in the process, undermining America’s greatness! Knowledge is supposed to be power, but to the GOP, knowledge is a enemy of their distorted agenda to mislead the American people!

The Middle East Headaches Of Barack Obama

Ronald 1 Comment

Now in its fifth day of intervention in the Libyan Civil War, the Obama Administration faces a whole series of headaches in the Middle East, many more problematical than Moammar Gaddafi!

The biggest problem of all is the Afghanistan War and the instability in next door Pakistan, which could blow up any time and affect the security of next door India, with the growing threat of Al Qaeda and Islamic terrorism in the region.

Iran is also a problem that will NOT go away, with the growing dangers presented by the radical theocracy of that nation, and the movement ahead on development of nuclear weapons capability.

Third issue is Iraq, where the last 50,000 troops are supposed to be withdrawn by the end of this year, but Iran is gaining more influence by the week in a country which once fought an eight year conflict against Iran from 1980-1988.

Bahrain, where the US naval fleet is housed, and Yemen, which has an active Al Qaeda cell, both are undergoing revolutionary activities against then established governments, endangering American security interests.

Egypt and Tunisia have to adapt to their revolutions and evolve toward democracy, something they have never experienced before.

The Israeli-Palestinian struggle continues, and new violence has now erupted, leading to new possibilities of widespread bloodshed and turmoil.

Libya is less significant comparatively, but it is a reality that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates and others involved in the execution of foreign policy must be having sleepless, or at the least, restless nights!

The Rise of Women “Hawks” In American Foreign Policy

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With the intervention in the Libyan Civil War, a new trend has emerged: women “hawks”!

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice were the members of the President’s cabinet most involved in convincing President Obama to choose to intervene in Libya, while Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff head, Admiral Mike Mullen, were more cautious.

This comes after National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice under President George W. Bush was also a “hawk” and supported intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The fact that women are now becoming frontline “hawks” is certainly a new concept that will bring about much analysis by scholars and journalists, since the role of women was never as significant before as it has now become in the formulation of American foreign policy!