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Reelected Presidents And Foreign Policy

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An interesting trend of reelected American Presidents is their tendency to become deeply involved in foreign policy matters. This is true since the dawn of America as a world leader in the time of Theodore Roosevelt.

The question is whether this is a planned strategy, or a simple reaction to events, or both.

After Theodore Roosevelt won his full term, having succeeded William McKinley after his assassination, TR became involved in aggressive policy making, criticizing Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany over Morocco at the Algeciras Conference of 1906, and taking leadership of relations with Japan.

Woodrow Wilson, after keeping us out of war in Europe, called for our entrance into World War I a month after his second inauguration, and then went to the Versailles Peace Conference after the war, and worked, unsuccessfully, to convince the US Senate to ratify the Versailles Treaty and membership in the League of Nations. He also committed troops, along with Great Britain, France, Italy, and Japan, to attempt an overthrow of the Soviet Union regime under Nikolai Lenin.

Calvin Coolidge, elected after succeeding Warren G. Harding in 1923, became involved in the promotion of the Kellogg Briand Pact in 1928, an attempt to outlaw war as an instrument of international policy.

Franklin D. Roosevelt moved the nation closer to dealing with the German Nazi, Italian Fascist, and the Imperial Japanese threat before and during the early part of the Second World War, and then took us into the war after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in his third term, and pushed for an alliance with the British and the Soviet Union during the war, and advocated the formation of the United Nations as the war was ending.

Harry Truman, after succeeding FDR upon his death in 1945, and winning his own election in 1948, helped to form the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, took America into the Korean War, and gave aid to the French in the Indochinese War.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, in his second term, engaged in diplomacy with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev at Camp David in 1959 and secretly planned to overthrow Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

Lyndon B. Johnson, after succeeding the assassinated John F, Kennedy in 1963, in his full term, escalated American involvement in Vietnam to a full scale war that divided the country, and invaded the Dominican Republic in 1965.

Richard Nixon, after being reelected, became engaged in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, saving the possibility of a Soviet intervention in the Middle East, and also arranged the overthrow of the Chilean President, Salvador Allende.

Ronald Reagan, in his second term, engaged in arms agreements with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev; bombed Libya over its claim of a 200 mile territorial limit; and supported overthrow of dictatorial regimes in Haiti and the Phillippines.

Bill Clinton, in his second term, brought about peace in Northern Ireland; became engaged in war against Serbia over Kosovo; and engaged in counter terrorism actions against Osama Bin Laden and other terrorists.

George W. Bush, in his second term, conducted a “surge” in Iraq, and promoted action against the HIV-AIDS epidemic in Africa.

The question is what Barack Obama will end up doing in the field of foreign policy, and whether he will initiate it, or react to events he cannot control.

Rapidly Growing Polarization Threatens Safety Of President Obama And Vice President Biden!

Ronald 7 Comments

As the fury and anger of critics of President Obama and Vice President Biden on so many issues—the debt ceiling, gun control legislation, Cabinet nominees, gay rights, immigration reform, climate change, and foreign policy controversies (including a nuclear Iran, the Syrian Civil War, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea)— continues to escalate to dangerous emotional levels, the safety of both men is, more than ever, a subject of great concern not often directly talked about publicly.

The argument could be that both the President and Vice President have exceptional Secret Service security, and that we need not worry.

But as one realizes as we begin the 50th anniversary of the John F. Kennedy assassination this coming November 22, no security detail can guarantee the safety of any President, Vice President, or anyone else.

There is always the “lone wolf” out there, ready to sacrifice himself to gain glory, to make a political point, to act out hatred of someone, knowing they will be part of the American history story forever, as much as John Wilkes Booth, Charles Guiteau, Leon Czolgosz and Lee Harvey Oswald—the assassins of Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, and John F. Kennedy, respectively!

And the rhetoric that has become “normal” these days is far greater than it was even when John F. Kennedy was traveling to Dallas, Texas, almost 50 years ago.

And we have talk show hosts on radio and Fox News Channel who thrive on building hate and animosity and conspiracy theories, and will stop at nothing in their hateful and divisive rhetoric!

And we have the power of pressure groups, and not just the National Rifle Association, but many others, who ratchet up the stress and tension by making it seem like the world will end, due to the federal government passing legislation or extending executive authority, as if we are Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Soviet Union, or Communist China, when our history and our heritage have nothing to do with the history of those nations!

As we come up to the second inauguration of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, we all need to do a lot of praying that the polarization which exists will not lead to a greater tragedy which solves nothing, and just would show the depths of the threats we face from right wing wingnuts who want to set back the progress of America, and are delusional about the world they live in!

Best Team For America’s Future Security: John Kerry For Secretary Of State, And Chuck Hagel For Secretary Of Defense

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In the midst of the “Fiscal Cliff” battle, President Obama is also deep into Cabinet selection, and it was heartening to hear that former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican who served in Vietnam and became an acknowledged expert on foreign policy in his years on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has been at the White House, and is a hot candidate for Secretary of Defense.

This author has long raved about the credentials of Hagel, and suggested him for the cabinet in the first term, and it now seems more likely that he might become the head of the Pentagon when Leon Panetta leaves soon.

This would be continuing the tradition of past Democratic Presidents to decide to choose reputable Republicans for the Defense Department, and it even goes back to when it was called the War Department before 1947.

The historical record shows Franklin D. Roosevelt having Henry Stimson, former Secretary of State under Herbert Hoover, as his Secretary of War, along with Frank Knox, who had been the Republican Vice Presidential nominee in 1936, being named Secretary of the Navy, both in 1940, when Great Britain was being attacked by the German Air Force in World War II, and the threat to America was seen as dire by many as a result.

John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson utilized Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense in the 1960’s.

Bill Clinton had former Maine Senator William Cohen, a responsible and reputable Republican Senator, as his Secretary of Defense in the second term, and he received kudos for his performance.

And Robert Gates, George W. Bush’s second Secretary of Defense, became Barack Obama’s first Secretary of Defense, and did a wonderful job for more than two years.

So the reasoning to pick Hagel is clearly there, but to make the foreign policy-defense team complete, the President also needs to choose Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, a Vietnam War veteran too, and 2004 Democratic Party Presidential nominee, to replace Hillary Clinton at the State Department, after 28 years of service in the US Senate, and chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry has had a distinguished career, and would be an excellent choice, and the team of Kerry and Hagel would be sensational.

In a time of trouble and turmoil, America needs its strongest team on national security, and Kerry and Hagel fit the bill, without any question or doubt.

Susan Rice, the UN Ambassador, is also outstanding in many ways, but quite frankly, is not on the same level as Kerry, and her nomination would cause unnecessary turmoil over the issue of Libya, a sad commentary, but a distraction which should not be allowed to continue by choosing her, when Kerry is really a better choice!

So, Mr. President, pick John Kerry for State and Chuck Hagel for Defense, and America will be very well served at Foggy Bottom and the Pentagon!

Mitt Romney Reaches An All Time Low: Emergence Of The “Birther”!

Ronald 5 Comments

Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney has just reached an all time low in degrading the office he seeks!

Mitt Romney, in his home state of Michigan, just said that there was no debate about where he or his wife were born, as they were born in Michigan hospitals! Specifically, he said “No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place where we were born and raised.”

In so doing, he is spreading the sick, vulgar myth that Barack Obama was not born in the United States, but instead in Kenya!

There is absolutely nothing more despicable and disgraceful that Mitt Romney could say about President Obama than to legitimize and spread the lie that the 44th President of the United States is illegitimate to serve in the highest office of the land!

Romney is spreading the poison of hate and racism represented by Orly Taitz, Donald Trump, and the many others who hate Barack Obama because he is African American, and refuse to show respect and a sense of dignity to a President who has faced the greatest challenges of any President in 80 years, since the time of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Great Depression!

These despicable “Birthers” are promoting the “Big Lie” technique that was utilized in Nazi Germany by Adolf Hitler, and their racism classifies them as no better than the Ku Klux Klan and other violent groups that have made ethnic and racial and religious hatred their purpose and aim throughout American history!

Romney has produced the most sinful accusation for a man who claims to be a person of “faith”, and he adds to the racism that his Mormon Church practiced until 1978, and then suddenly changed!

He cannot be forgiven for such an insult and the degrading of his own reputation, and the American people will pay him handsomely by a repudiation of his divisive, dishonest, unprincipled campaign, which has no limits to his obsessive ambition to be President, no matter how much he divides the nation!

This outrage also makes John McCain, the 2008 Presidential nominee, look so much more principled when he challenged those who spread rumor and gossip and lies about the origins of Barack Obama!

Mitt Romney, you should be totally ashamed of yourself, and make a profusive apology, but one can be sure no such admission is forthcoming!

May 8th:67 Years Since V-E Day, And 128th Birthday Of A Courageous President, Harry Truman!

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Today marks two significant events in American history!

It is the 67th anniversary of V-E Day, the end of the war in Europe against Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in 1945.

It is also the 128th anniversary of the birth of President Harry Truman, who took over the Presidency suddenly, less than a month before the end of the war in Europe and his birthday, and always stood out, through crisis after crisis, as a man of courage, guts, decisiveness and principle, not much appreciated at the time, or in retirement, but now seen as usually the fifth best President, trailing only Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, George Washington, and Theodore Roosevelt.

These are important historical events to commemorate, as we face a campaign in which the nation is more divided than it has ever been since a time of great unity in 1945,

And we have a candidate for President, Barack Obama, who can be compared in courage and decisiveness in foreign policy to President Truman; and with Obama’s opponent, Mitt Romney, easy to compare in so many ways to Truman’s opponent in 1948, Thomas E. Dewey, who came across as plastic, not liked by conservatives in the Republican Party, lacking in dynamism and charisma, and lacking strong principles.

Hopefully, the Dewey defeat in 1948 will be matched by a Romney defeat in 2012!

Barack Obama’s Most Courageous Decision: One Year Ago, A Moment That Will Live In History!

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A year ago today, President Barack Obama followed through on a courageous decision, a moment which will live in history on a short list of decisive moments of America’s Presidents.

The decision to gamble on the killing of Osama Bin Laden was extremely risky, and had it failed, it is likely that Barack Obama would be facing defeat in 2012, rather than the strong likelihood of a great victory this coming November.

What else matches this courageous decision of Barack Obama?

The decision of Abraham Lincoln to resupply Fort Sumter, leading to possible confrontation with South Carolina in 1861, and the beginning of the Civil War.

The decision of Franklin D. Roosevelt to give aid to Great Britain in 1940 and 1941 to help them to survive Nazi Germany’s assault.

The decision of Franklin D. Roosevelt to open up the “Second Front’ on D Day in 1944.

The decision of Harry Truman to use the atomic bomb on Japan in 1945.

The decision of Harry Truman to overcome the Berlin Blockade of the Soviet Union, with the Berlin Airlift of 1948-1949.

The decision of John F. Kennedy to overcome threats, and resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis peacefully in 1962.

The decision of George H. W. Bush to go to war with Iraq’s Saddam Hussein after the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.

We are very blessed that this nation had a man of courage and conviction to lead us into this effort to end the life and career of the greatest terrorist of modern times, Osama Bin Laden!

And when we watch ROCK CENTER with Brian Williams tonight on NBC, we also realize how fortunate we are that Obama had around him such talented and brilliant people as Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, along with others!

70th Anniversary Of Japanese Attack On Pearl Harbor!

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On this day in 1941, the world changed forever for the United States, when Japan attacked our naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, killing about 2,400 military personnel and sinking eight battleships, and committing other major damage.

The attack took America out of its isolationist slumber, and brought us full scale into World War II. Looking at it then, it seemed close to impossible that the United States could defeat the forces of Fascism and Nazism represented by Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany.

America had to adjust its economy, build up a war footing very quickly, and adjust to the reality that the war would take young and middle aged American men to overseas battle, with about a quarter of a million killed in the conflict that roared on for the next, nearly four years.

The war was a challenge to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and he faced tremendous pressure only matched, possibly, by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War.

Today, the veterans of Pearl Harbor, and of the war itself, are diminishing rapidly, with the average living veteran being in his 90s, and the youngest probably 86 or 87, for those underage who looked mature and lied their way into the military services.

This was the GREATEST GENERATION as journalist Tom Brokaw has termed them, and we owe our freedom and liberty to their courage, their sacrifice, and their commitment to their country!

We can honor them by visiting the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC, and other memorials all over the nation, including the Pearl Harbor Memorial in Hawaii.

The war showed what could be done if only the nation was united, as it most certainly was, after Japan attacked.

Only the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, can be regarded as an equal moment of shock, and as a turning point in our history, in the sense of changing our view of the world forever.

So on this day, we should all express thanks for what was done by the generation of our grandparents and great grandparents, allowing us to have the blessings of liberty and freedom in 2011!

Commemoration Of Two Events On November 9: One Wonderful, One Tragic!

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Today, November 9, marks two events, both in Germany, which changed the world–one in a positive way, the other in a very tragic way!

On this day in 1989, the Berlin Wall, which symbolized the horrors of Communism, came down spontaneously in East Germany, leading to the downfall of the Soviet Union two years later, and the end of the Cold War between Russia and the United States led alliance of NATO.

The collapse of the wall gave the world hope for a peaceful future, no one being aware that the Persian Gulf War just over a year later helped to lead to the new age of terrorism, which had already begun, but accelerated after US forces were stationed in Saudi Arabia, the home of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in the Islamic faith.

Fifty one years earlier, in 1938, in Nazi Germany, we had the tragedy of Kristallnacht, the Night of the Broken Glass, when the Nazis unleashed an attack on Jewish citizens and property, including synagogues ransacked and set on fire, along with businesses, shops, and the destruction of cemeteries, and the arrest of thousands and the death of many Jews in a vicious manner. This is now seen as the beginning of the Holocaust, and sadly, while there was condemnation of the actions on November 9 and 10, the international community did little more than condemn verbally.

So the later date marked the end of Communism in Eastern Europe, while the first marked the growing menace of Nazism and anti Semitism, and the horrors of anti Semitism are still a reality in the world today!

Alabama Surpasses Arizona With Hateful, Nativist Anti Immigration Law!

Ronald 2 Comments

After the uproar over the Arizona illegal immigration law of 2010, now being appealed in the federal courts, one would have thought that no state could surpass them in narrow mindedness, hate, and nativism, but that has now become the case with the state of Alabama.

The state of some of the worst examples of “Jim Crow” segregation for many generations, and the state of infamous segregationist George C. Wallace, has now put into action an anti immigration law that is described by many as the cruelest imaginable!

Four Alabama church leaders–Episcopal, Methodist, and Roman Catholic–have led the fight against the law, which goes into effect two days from now!

They say it criminalizes acts of Christian compassion by making potential criminals of anyone who may work or live with them or show them consideration!

Undocumented immigrants may not work, rent a home, sign any contract, and can be stopped by the police to check their status if there is suspicion of any kind!

Anyone who knowingly “conceals, harbors, or shields” an illegal immigrant can be charged with a crime–including renting a place to live, driving that person to church, or taking them to a doctor!

Schools must check the status of all students, and businesses can lose licenses to operate if they hire illegal, undocumented immigrants!

Harassment and racial profiling are the result, and the Justice Department and the American Civil Liberties Union are suing to block enforcement!

This situation reminds one of the anti Jewish actions taken by Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany in the mid 1930s, with the Nuremburg Laws coming to mind. Of course, many will say that is ridiculous as a comparison, but is it really, when one looks at the past history of African Americans in Alabama during the near century of “Jim Crow” laws and racial violence by the Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups, and also the intimidation visited against Jews and Catholics?

The only people who can celebrate this law are the KKK, and other white supremacy groups! It puts Alabama to shame, and puts it back on the list of the ten worst states, a group that it might have been escaping with some racial progress in recent years, but now rapidly disappearing with this hateful, nativist, despicable legislation!

Three Key Events Of June 5 And 6, Which Transformed America , Commemorated

Ronald Leave a comment

While the author was away for a week’s vacation in Montreal and Quebec City, three key events, which transformed America, were commemorated.

Historically, the first event was D Day, the invasion of Normandy, France by the United States, Great Britain and the Free French, on June 6, 1944. This was the beginning of the final push against Nazi Germany, opening up a second front in the war against Adolf Hitler. Thouands of Americans and other allied troops died on that day and in the days that followed on a great mission, and this is what makes the World War II generation called by many the “greatest generation”!

So on the 67th anniversary of that pathbreaking event, one needed to stop and think how rapidly we are losing that generation, with the minimum age of those engaged in that great battle now being 85! We can never do enough to salute the bravery and courage of those who perished, as well as those who survived that crucial moment in World War II, allowing us to be the society we are today!

Secondly, on June 5, 1967, 44 years ago, the Six Day War of Israel versus Egypt, Jordan and Syria, began after information came to the Israelis of an imminent attack, and their decision to commence a war of pre-emption. The war lasted just six days, and led to Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, the Sinai Desert, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank.

Out of this war came the creation of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the rise of Yasser Arafat, and two generations of terrorism, which have affected the security and safety of Israel, the United States, and all western nations. And attempts to negotiate peace on the occupied territories has led to return of some land to Egypt and the Palestinians, recognition by Egypt and Jordan, but failure to recognize Israel by other Arab nations, and attempts by the US to promote a comprehensive peace, meeting with utter failure and constant tensions in the area.

But to expect Israel to return more territory without guarantees of security, safety, and recognition of their right to exist, is to dream the impossible.

Finally, exactly a year after the beginning of the war in the Middle East, Senator Robert F. Kennedy of New York, brother of the slain President John F. Kennedy, was assassinated at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles immediately after winning the California Presidential primary. Considered the front runner for the Democratic nomination for President, RFK was murdered by a Palestinian Arab named Sirhan Sirhan, who worked in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel, and was angry over RFK’s open support of the Israelis in the Six Day War a year earlier.

So RFK became the first victim of Palestinian terrorism, something not recognized for a long time. And America lost its possible future President, and one has to wonder how he would have performed as President of the United States.

Many have seen RFK as a transformative figure, who would have changed the course of American history in a major way. We will never know how his impact would have affected us, but we are well aware that we had an opportunity for a major change to the left, and instead descended into Republican conservatism which has put America in a precarious state in the past 40 years, and has caused the Great Recession that we are still reeling from in 2011!