Posted on 08/01/2012 5:18:46 AM PDT by SJackson
Gov. Mitt Romney finishes up his overseas trip to Britain, Israel and Poland this week. The trip began inauspiciously, due to what some called Romneys gaffe about the London Olympic Games. There are a few things that were disconcerting, said Romney, who organized the Salt Lake Games in 2002, when asked about Londons preparations. That rather bland remarkwhich turned out to be at least partly accurate, as ticket and transportation problems have plagued the Gamesbecame the narrative for most major media outlets. But if anyone cares to know what a gaffe really looks and sounds like, consider President Barack Obamas treatment of the very allies Romney visited.
Britain
It pays to recall that Obama began his presidency with a series of major gaffes and outright insults to Americas closest ally.
With little fanfarein fact, it was kept quiet for many weeksObama discreetly returned a bust of Winston Churchill to the British government soon after his inauguration. During his predecessors administration, the statue rested in an honored place near the presidents deskan unmistakable symbol of the special relationship between these two great, liberal democracies. When the Obama administration dismissed reports that Sir Winstons likeness had been tossed out like so much remodeling debrisemploying its trademark self-righteous rhetoric by calling those reports 100 percent falseit was discovered that the denials were false. As the British Embassy in Washington reported, the bust was loaned to the White House in the wake of 9/11 as a signal of the strong transatlantic relationship The new president has decided not to continue this loan and the bust has now been returned. It is on display at the ambassadors residence.
Obama White House officials vainly explained that they were talking about a different Churchill bustone was given in the 1960s, another after 9/11but the damage was already done. Barack Obama Sends Bust of Winston Churchill on its Way Back to Britain, blasted a London Telegraph headline from February 2009.
Sadly, that would be the first of many slights and gaffes Obama directed Britains way. In a terrible breach of protocol, Obama met with Tony Blair, the former prime minister of Britain, before meeting with then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Worse, Obama cut short a meeting with Brown to visit with the Boy Scouts. British media described Brown as humiliated by the snub. Even worse, when the two leaders met and engaged in the customary exchange of gifts, Obama gave Brown 25 DVD movies. The Prime Minister gave Mr. Obama an ornamental pen holder made from the timbers of the Victorian anti-slave ship HMS Gannet a framed commission for HMS Resolute and a first edition of the seven-volume biography of Churchill by Sir Martin Gilbert, the Daily Mail reported. (Rudeness personified towards Britain, howled The Daily Telegraph.) And worst of all, the Obama administration offloaded a handful of GITMO detainees onto the British colony of Bermudawithout consulting Britain. This is not the kind of behavior one expects from an ally, a British official declared.
Indeed, in areas of shared interest, like NATO military operations, Obama deeply disappointed Britain. Early on in Libya, the White House talked about a time-limited, scope-limited mission. In fact, the U.S. was so eager to step back from the lead role it played in the first week of Libya operations that Britain and France had to request assistance from U.S. aircraft before they could be deployed on strike missions. William Hague, Britains foreign minister, urged allied nations to expand their efforts, pointedly adding, That is why the United Kingdom in the last weeks supplied additional aircraft capable of striking ground targets that threaten the civilian population. Of course, it would be welcome if other countries did the same. Hague was politely directing his message at Washington. The U.S. accounted for 90 of the 206 NATO planes initially deployed in support of Unified Protector, and an even higher percentage of the planes capable of carrying out precision ground-attack missions. However, the U.S. contribution plummeted to a tiny handful of planes after the first two weeks. As a result, Britain and France were left straining to play a lead role in NATOa role they are simply not equipped to play.
Poland
Poland, too, knows how it feels to get the Obama treatment.
Obama pulled the rug out from under Poland (and the Czech Republic) in order to ink a bad arms control treaty with Russia. Worried about Irans nukes and missiles, Europe had agreed to a NATO-wide missile defense system during the Bush administration. It was a courageous decision on Polands part (Warsaw was exposing itself to Russian ire by agreeing to allow permanent U.S. missile-defense bases on its soil) and an impressive diplomatic feat on the Bush administrations part (most of NATO had taken an agnostic stand on missile defense for decades).
But for Obama, a hard-earned diplomatic victory by previous administrations and the fate of Poland were less important than his Russian reset. So he abruptly scrapped NATOs plans for a permanent defense against missile threats. (Talk about unilateralism.) It pleased the Russians, but it humiliated the Poles and Czechs. A Polish defense official called the decision catastrophic. The Czech Republic announced that it was withdrawing from Obamas scaled-down alternative system, angrily rejecting Washingtons revised plans as a consolation prize.
Some dismissed Polands reaction as paranoia. However, as the old saying goes, its not paranoia if theyre really out to get you. Just consider that Russian war games often involve simulated nuclear strikes against, and invasions of, Poland.
Just as bad, the perception that the U.S. had taken Moscows side was a humiliating diplomatic blow for Poles and a bitter reminder of the Wests indifference to their security before and after World War II. As historian George Weigel concluded, When the administration announced this betrayal on the 70th anniversary of the 1939 Soviet invasion of Poland, without even informing the Polish prime minister in a timely manner, it raised a very large question mark in Polish minds about the administrations strategy, its grasp of the history of east-central Europe, and its understanding of the linkage between the two.
As to gaffes, Obama recently stunned and sickened Poland by using the term Polish death camps in a speech. Poland has never run death camps. The Nazis and the Soviets did, and many Poles died in those murder mills. As Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski observed, Obamas word choice was a matter of ignorance and incompetence.
Israel
And to that list, we might add insensitivity. Indeed, the longer this goes on, the less we can blame Obamas treatment of allies on things like ignorance and incompetence. The harsh reality may be that he just doesnt care about allies.
Take the example of Israels Benjamin Netanyahu. In one of those hot mic incidents that have come to haunt Obama, Nicolas Sarkozy, then the president of France, called the Israeli PM a liar. Instead of gently correcting Sarkozy, diplomatically changing the subject or better yet, defending Netanyahu and the besieged nation of Israel, Obama joined in the gripe session. You may be sick of him, but me, I have to deal with him every day, he sighed.
It was only one of many glimpses into Obamas pettiness vis-à-vis Israel. In 2010, Obama made Netanyahu wait for an hour before meeting with the Israeli leader. We didnt hear much about it from Obamas dutiful press here in the States, but newspapers on the other side of the Atlantic took notice. ABritish newspaper reported that Obamas boorishness appeared designed to show Mr. Netanyahu how low his stock had fallen in Washington Mr. Obama treated his guest to a series of slights. Photographs of the meeting were forbidden and an Israeli request to issue a joint-statement was turned down.
There is no humiliation exercise that the Americans did not try on the prime minister and his entourage, declared an Israeli newspaper.
During that same 2010 meeting, Obama reportedly presented Netanyahu with a list of 13 demands designed both to the end the feud with his administration and to build Palestinian confidence. Where were the demands on Hamas, which pelts Israel with dozens of rocket attacks per month?
Indeed, perhaps nowhere is Obamas postmodern moral relativism more distressing than vis-à-vis Israel, a tiny island of free government and free people in a sea of chaos, terror and autocracy. The White House seems to equate the construction of housing settlements by Israel with acts of terror by Hamas. And when Israel responds with force to those acts of terror, Israels response is lumped in with the initial attacks.
If Obama was surly and cavalier with every nation, it would be shortsighted and uglybut at least consistent and fair. The fact that he offers an extended hand to those at odds with U.S. interests, while close allies in Britain, Israel and Poland are treated to snubs, slights and backhands is not only shortsighted and ugly, but also inconsistent, incongruent, unfair and just plain wrong.
Perhaps Romneys foreign trip has sent a signal that things can be different.
Like good little propagandists, the leftist media ignores the “gaffes” made by Obama, but every little thing Romney says is going to be picked apart so they can find some way to claim it is a “gaffe”.
sicko
Right after Romney says “so help me God” on Jnauary 20th, the excrement storm will begin in earnest. We haven’t seen anything yet. The lsm will employee a scorched earth policy against him. Their hypocricy will be on full display. The contrast between the last nearly four years will be noticed even if one was blind. Screw the lsm!
Interesting that for a conservative a gaffe is when someone says something incorrect, but for a liberl a gaffe is when someone says something politicaly incorrect.
We must stop giving our government leave to do (without process of proper channels) any ole thing that pops into their mind. To be insulting in an obvious way ... as the leader of Israel endured, is form of a mean heart. No class. No caring, and no consideration of the long term consequences.
It is as if he, slapped the leader of Israel in the face! And in general dissed Netanyahu. Diplomacy is necessary so as to maintain cordial relations. It was purposeful. All of the current administration has done in the last 31/2 years has been to the detriment of America, on purpose with intent. MO
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