Filed under: Foreign Policy, Terrorism, National Security, Middle East, Islam, The United States, Iran | Tags: "The Arab Spring", Threatening South Korea, The Battle for Syria
Kim Jong Un, the young new dynastic dictator now filling his father’s and grandfather’s shoes declared that “Since the United States is about to ignite a nuclear war, we will be exercising our right to pre-emptive nuclear attack” upon the “aggressor” America. And had just set off its most advanced-ever underground nuclear test to get our attention..
In 2007, in a widely read article in Foreign Affairs, Barack Obama said “Throughout the Middle East, we must harness American power to reinvigorate American diplomacy” which “could bring success even when dealing with long-standing adversaries such as Iran and Syria.”He further promised that he would “develop a strong international coalition to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and eliminate North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.” How? Through “sustained, direct, and aggressive diplomacy — the kind that the Bush administration has been unable and unwilling to use.”
That’s working out well. It’s like an upside-down world where the movie is running backwards, starting with a Nobel Peace Prize, and then we slowly get less and less safe, and the world gets more and more troubled.
We are apparently moving towards helping the rebels in Syria, and John Kerry has officially changed his mind about Assad. But the question is do we know which rebels are associated with al Qaeda and which are not?
We approved deposing Mubarak in Egypt, and now we have a Muslim Brotherhood radical in charge, and we’re sending him F-16s and monetary aid, for unfathomable reasons, while the dissidents in Egypt can’t get any help. The Arab Spring did not lead to a blooming of peace., but a blooming of continuing rebellions. The “sustained, direct, and aggressive diplomacy” went well. Hillary set records for mileage flown, but the foreign policy miracles that were promised never materialized. America is perceived as weak, and despots are encouraged.
We are undeniably less safe than we were, and if the movie is still running backwards, we’re in trouble.
Filed under: Politics, Media Bias, Military, Terrorism, National Security, Islam, The United States, Election 2012 | Tags: Benghazi Libya, "The Arab Spring", Fox News Does Journalism, Conventional Media Doesn't
Here’s the complete Fox News coverage to date of the Benghazi scandal as it is known so far. Lots to learn yet, but people are angry, especially the nation’s military families and veterans who now know that their government may not “have their backs.” Political expedience trumps all.
Take the time when you can to watch the whole thing. We need to be well-informed on this scandal, for in a cover-up there always are designated fall guys and attempts to shift blame. This can’t ever happen again.
Filed under: Foreign Policy, Terrorism, Capitalism, National Security, Middle East, Intelligence | Tags: Terrorism, Benghazi Libya, "The Arab Spring"
Politics, statecraft, avoidance, security, cover-ups, falsehoods and the word that must never be uttered — terrorism. The raid that killed bin Laden was to be the great accomplishment of Obama’s first term. With bin Laden’s death and the president’s “kill list” for drone strikes, the administration has assumed that al Qaeda was greatly diminished and no longer a major concern.
But that isn’t true. The widely heralded “Arab Spring” was not a matter of the Arab states of North Africa suddenly deciding that they wanted to be peaceful democracies. That delusion has done incalculable damage. Governments make mistakes, misread events, and fail to understand movements, History bears witness to error.
But real lives are at stake, international perceptions of weakness or strength. Hauling the maker of the video that nobody watched in on a “parole violation,” and sticking him in solitary confinement where he remains a month and a half later, is not just a” coincidence.” Somebody managed to get a drone over Benghazi quickly enough to monitor at least part of the attack.This was not a “bump in the road” nor can the death of an American ambassador in thirty years, his aide and two former SEALS be described callously as “not optimum.”
I rely a lot on the DiploMad 2.0 whom I have been following since the Indonesian earthquake and tsunami on the day after Christmas in 2004. He reported from Banda Aceh as the rescue efforts began, with a clear voice that we didn’t get from the media. He is since retired, but writes about these things from long experience in some of the world’s tougher spots —”hard countries,” he calls them. His comments are an important addition to the video.
Fox News has consistently and accurately covered this scandal.
