Wednesday, March 9, 2016
The Worldwide Fallout from Obama's Lead-from-Behind Policy
As much as anyone, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been caught up in Obama's lead-from-behind lassitude. She has led Europe alone, with no clear guiding US foreign policy. It worked until Putin, emboldened by Obama's disinterest, took back the Crimea and asserted Russian interests in Ukraine and the Baltics. Merkel tried to stiffen Socialist French President Hollande's resolve to no avail. NATO has backed up Merkel, also without visible increased US military support until very recently. ~~~ After Obama's abandonment of Syria created millions of displaced people who headed for Europe, Merkel unilaterally told EU states to take in over a million Syrian refugees. She didn't consult EU leaders, who opposed her open door. This led to such a political, social, criminal and terrorist mess that Merkel is now gambling on a deal with Turkey to stop the migrants. Whether the deal -- cobbled together a week before German regional elections her party will likely lose -- will be a master stroke or a time bomb for her is not yet clear. In Germany, reaction to her Turkish gamble is mixed. Top-selling Bild newspaper welcomed it, but some of her own conservative lawmakers object to giving Turks visa-free travel in exchange. German officials say Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu surprised everyone by arriving in Brussels on Sunday night with a bold plan offering to take back all migrants who cross into Europe in return for political and economic rewards. Merkel realized the deal could "change the whole dynamic," a German official said, that the gains would far outweigh EU concessions. Davutoglu demanded a doubling of EU money to keep Syrian refugees in Turkey, faster visa liberalization for Turks and accelerated EU membership talks for Turkey. EU officials were amazed by the proposal presented at a Monday summit, but some were angry, saying they were kept in the dark. "Ask Mrs Merkel," one said when asked if sending back all migrants, including Syrian refugees, to Turkey was illegal under international law. European Council President Donald Tusk spent two days in Turkey last week meeting Davutoglu and President Erdogan on a different deal, with little idea about what was coming. Neither Tusk nor European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker was invited to the Sunday night pre-meeting, nor was France, Germany's closest EU partner. So, left to mop up the refugee crisis dumped on Europe's doorstep by Obama's inaction in Syria, Merkel is risking her role as EU's indispensable leader by embracing Turkey -- hugely unpopular in the EU -- in exchange for Turkey taking the refugees off her hands. ~~~~~ In an Obama lead-from-behind fallout that threatens Israel, Iran's Revolutionary Guards test-fired ballistic missiles Wednesday designed to reach Israel, defying US criticism of earlier tests. Iran state TV showed two Qadr missiles being launched from northern Iran and said to have hit targets 1,400 km away. The tests drew a threat of new US sanctions. Iranian Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh said : "The reason we designed missiles with a range of 2,000 km is to be able to hit our enemy the Zionist regime from a safe distance." The point in Iran closest to Israel is 1,000 km from Tel Aviv or Jerusalem. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said : "Instead of forcefully condemning Iran's dangerous missile tests, the White House is twisting itself into pretzels to explain how they don't violate the President's deeply flawed nuclear deal." ~~~~~ And, dear readers, the latest blow to Obama's lead-from-behind disaster comes from Cuba. In a long editorial in the Communist Party newspaper, Cuba said it will welcome President Obama in March, but has no intention of changing policies to achieve normal US relations, saying the US must stop meddling in its internal affairs and helping dissidents. The editorial noted Obama's effort but attacked "the existence of other regulations and intimidation caused by the blockade...in force for more than 50 years." The White House brushed off the piece. Cuba sounds like the Iran bully, doesn't it ?
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I am the biggest possible opponent to all Obama does, and his "leadership from behind" lacks the right to be called leadership of any sorts.
ReplyDeleteBut for Merkel to imply that her own political problems with her Conservative German party are the direct failure of the United States not taking a more definitive stance in Syria is plain hogwash.
Within any equation of how a million Syrians got to Germany and other areas if the EU, there is no factor about the United States. All Germany and or anyone else in the EU had to do was say 'NO" to migrants and the biggest part of the problem goes away.
What Merkel wants is for someone to do something to make hers and Germany's self inflicted problem go away. She simply is expecting far to much from Obama. He doesn't fix problems, he only creates them. And when he dies attempt to fix his own problems the fix is simply a new problem
The United States depended on Obama to handle the Offjce of the Presedency in the same reasoonsibke way every president before him has - and friends he has failed miserably for the past 7 plus years.
ReplyDeleteEuropean nations expected the same attention to their international and threatening problems as previously from the United States and Obama has also failed them.
Obama is a failure for all of us. Nothing can change that fact. What we all can do is take care of our problems and hope that Oresudent Trump and VP Cryz will right the ship and bring back leadership and responsibility.
All of us who are students of politics and ethical behavior, Rule of Law, the Constitution, etc. knew that at some point Obama past and present actions would blow up in his face. I think the mystery for most of us was that it didn’t seem to be happening.
ReplyDeleteObama just kept on lying, misusing our trust in the office pf the presidency, and surviving one disastrous move after another. By the most conservative count he is at 37 major mistakes in judgement and/or scandals in 7 plus years as President. On the average that is 5+ a year. Fate simply had to come falling in on him.
And with the help of Hillary Clinton’s e-mails, John Kerry’s continuous bad judgement in the Middle East & Israel, one outright lie after another, misrepresentation of economic numbers week in and week out …, the end appears to be near.
The end may not get Obama (but will indirectly in his legacy) but it will get many in his administration, and could even send a couple to jail.
“Don’t ask for whom the bell’s toll” Mr. President “they toll for you”
The Obama Doctrine or Obama’s Foreign Policy (whichever) can be summerozed in one word – DECEIVE.
ReplyDeleteAccording to John Kerry the Iranian Nuclear deal was actually NO DEAL AT ALL. It was all a charade for Obama to appear to have successfully dealt with Iran just to return their Billions of dollars from years of embargos.
Americans (at least those paying any attention) know that Barack Obama routinely lies to fulfill the one promise he has not broken: to “fundamentally transform America.” But what he has done to empower Iran and pave its way to develop nuclear weapons trumps even that boastful claim.
Only by knowing exactly who your enemy is and what motivates your enemy, knowing what he is fighting for and what he intends to achieve, what his strategic objectives are, can you become able to strike him where he is weakest – most brittle, most fragile, most vulnerable – and that is by striking at what motivates him. If you do not know what motivates your enemy, you cannot strike where he is weakest.
Make no mistake the Left wing Progressive Socialist democratic party is my, yours, our enemy.
From Nelson Mandela (who is credited with the term “Lead From Behind”) … “ It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
ReplyDeleteWell that certainly is not what we get from Obama or any part of his administration.
They don’t lead from behind, from the left side, from the right side, or certainly not from the front (because all Obama’s victories have been lies and dishonesty) – we get NO LEADERSHIP from Obama administration in any form. He is void of leadership as he is void of telling the truth.
He is what he was in Chicago a neighborhood organizer for the Democratic Party and the tools of his trade were expanded welfare programs with very little (if any) verification and cash payments on election day for voting the straight party line.
Why did we expect different? Not once but twice?