Obama Foreign policy: Confused and Non-Committal

I am amazed – but not surprised – at the statement from White House Press Secretary Carney regarding the effort by Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi’s decision to assume sweeping powers through a decree which in essence makes him a dictator.  “Our interest in the development and transition to democracy in Egypt is one that reflects what the Egyptian people demanded through the revolution and continue to demand, which is a government that reflects the will of the people. We will continue to work towards that goal because it reflects what the Egyptian people want,” the White House Press Secretary said.

Former President Mubarak, a 3 decade staunch ally of the USA was thrown under the bus by President Obama while trying to keep the country together during the transition to democracy. The Islamic party vowed not to run for office, as they were the only organized party at the time and didn't reflect the “will of the people” if the elections were held in the short term. The Islamic Brotherhood party lied and fielded Morsi as a candidate, who won easily against unorganized opposition. President Obama stood silent while this played out.

There are all types of democracies. Nazi Germany was a democracy. Hamas and Hezbollah both listed as terrorist organizations are democratically elected. Is the Obama administration endorsing illiberal democracies as opposed to liberal democracies like Sweden where human rights and the minorities are protected from the will of the majorities?

The USA used to have a clear vision about where we wanted the Mideast to go in the future: First and foremost, it was to protect American economic interests, but we respected the Islamic religious perspective, but not militant religious Islamic politics that persecuted the very minorities (Christians, Secularists, Western Educated, etc.) that reflect our values of freedom of speech and religion, basic human rights and peace with their neighbors.

The Obama administration is sending out no message, a message that is too late in the cycle to make a difference, or a vague message that is designed to postpone taking a position.  No wonder our allies around the world are looking for alternatives to American leadership. It’s become a trust issue.

Israel Forced into the Abyss of War

The most current escalation in the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in Gaza has deep roots going back since before the creation of the state of Israel (1948) – when it was part of Egypt.  Israel had tolerated a tit-for-tat low level war of attrition as long as the threat to its citizens was contained. The difference today is that Iran is increasingly supplying the Gaza Palestinians with sophisticated missiles capable of terrorizing the main population centers in the heart of Israel, including Tel Aviv – Israel’s version of N.Y.C... Iran’s surrogate force in Gaza, Hamas, has fired up to 25 Iranian made versions of the long-range Russian Katusha  rockets at Tel Aviv and thousands more shorter range missiles randomly in the south of Israel terrorizing over 1 million innocent civilians, killing scores of Israelis.

Israelis have fought (and successfully won) many long, hard wars and have suffered thousands of casualties. They know the price of war, and they openly admit they love life and grieve for every lost soldier and innocent civilian caught up in this conflict. Israel has done everything it could possibly do in order to minimize its casualties and avoid war. Israel uprooted hundreds of thousands of Israelis living in Gaza in order to test the “land for peace” concept touted by the Palestinians and parroted by diplomats.  In return Israelis received over 10,000 missiles that originated in Iran, and traveled through Egypt unimpeded. Israel can no longer be content with developing and depending on a sophisticated defensive array of anti-missile systems to knock down Palestinian projectiles, as the sheer number of missiles fired assures some will get through the shield to terrorize Israeli civilians. Nor can Israelis depend on sophisticated fortifications to protect its citizens from Palestinian missiles.

The core responsibility of ANY government is to protect its borders. No country on earth would have been as patient as Israel has been with the Gaza Palestinians led by Hamas/Iran. Israel is finally taking the offensive against this threat in order to protect its citizens. In every war that Israel has been in, the outcome was never known or guaranteed. Israel’s leaders are well aware that this unavoidable clash with the Palestinians of Gaza could escalate into a wider conflict with Iran, Egypt, Syria and/or Lebanon.  It is with this knowledge - that the scale of war, the number of casualties, and the outcome is unknown that the Israelis have entered into the abyss of war.