Posted on 03/03/2014 3:58:37 PM PST by SJackson
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Democrats' 'Smart Power' Lies in Ruins; Suddenly
Realizing What They Miscalculated About the World:
National Review | Sept 3, 2013 | Jim Geraghty / FR Posted by kristinn
....... Democrats are suddenly realizing that their foreign policy brain-trust completely misjudged the world.
Being nicer to countries like Russia will not make them nicer to you. The United Nations is not an effective tool for resolving crises. Some foreign leaders are beyond persuasion and diplomacy. There is no “international community” ready to work together to solve problems, and there probably never will be.
You can pin this on Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Susan Rice, but most of all, the buck stops with the president. Those of us who scoffed a bit at a state senator ascending to the presidency within four years on a wave of media hype and adoration are not quite so shocked by this current mess.
We never bought into this notion that getting greater cooperation from our allies, and less hostility from our enemies, was just a matter of giving this crew the wheel and letting them practice, as Hillary Clinton arrogantly declared it, “smart power” (and fronted Time magazine cover).
(These people can’t even label a foreign policy approach without reminding us of how highly they think of themselves.)
They looked out at the world at the end of the Bush years, and didn’t see tough decisions, unsolvable problems, unstable institutions, restless populations, technology enabling the impulse to destabilize existing institutions, evil men hungry for more power, and difficult trade-offs.
No, our problems and challengers were just a matter of the previous hands running U.S. foreign policy not being smart enough. (Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
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OH, BTW, AT THE SAME TIME Smartpowertics, O and HILL, staged military raids in Libya, they gained access to the National Bank of Libya. (No, no paper money there---just solid gold bars. Solid Gold. Not the Chinese tungsten filled bars that flooded the gold market).
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LET'S STROLL DOWN MEMORY LANE In 2009, Obama made a "Smart Power" suck-up speech in Cairo----"apologizing" for America's historical role in the Middle East. By snubbing Mubarak, Obama set the stage for the Egyptian president's overthrow by the Islamic mob.
When the worst-case scenario happened, when Obama's personal choice---Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Morsi, was elected president----Obama sap-happily sent his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, to Cairo to personally kiss-up to Morsi....perhaps at that time hatching their plans to destroy Westen civiliation in compliance w/ Muslim dictates.
Obama's treacherous ill-advised component of US foreign policy----sucking up to the very people who want to kill us and destroy our churches. He portrayed teeming Muslim majorities there as "victims of Western colonialism and Cold War policies," stupidly promoting American-style democracy for these conflicting cultures w/ thousands of years of religious and territorial factionalism.
OBOBO'S SUCKUP "The relationship between Islam and the West includes centuries of coexistence and cooperation, but also conflict and religious wars," Obama said in the June 2009 speech in Cairo. "More recently, tension has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were too often treated as proxies, without regard to their own aspirations."
Fast forward to 2013: the savage Muslim Brotherhood torched some 63 Egyptian churches and many Christian businesses. Obama ignored the bloodbath and spent the crisis dining out, golfing, power-partying, and vacationing in exclusive Martha’s Vineyard on the taxpayers' dime.
Wrong on points no one in the west thought Putin would emply armor to occupy the Crimea. Sarah Palin and Mitt Romney knew.
This is all “noise”. Basics: The USA does not want to see a single power dominate the Eurasian landmass. This interest does not change.
Right now China is on-the-make — the up & coming power both economically and militarily. So the US needs Russia & India as counterbalances. SOOOO when Russia moves against Ukraine, the US will do -—— nothing.
40 years ago the situation was reversed and the US was letting things slide with China because it created discomfort for the then Soviet Union.
Talk about being observant. I didn't think about that. Boy,doesn't Putin have Obama over a barrel. All Putin has to do is call a press conference and say,"If Obama doesn't shut up about our foreign policy decisions I'll cut the US off our Space Program."
You might ask Lou Foxwell to put you on his ping-list.
Happy to include you on the Greenfield ping list. You need only ask.
I’m on Louis’ list!
I just caught the article before checking my pings.
Greenfield is one of the very very best.
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