THE WORLD SMELLS WEAKNESS: A confluence of events this week emphasizes that the world–especially its worst characters–smells the pungent aroma of American weakness thanks to President Obama’s purposeful, “leading from behind” philosophy of non-leadership:
Iran is brazenly trying a Washington Post reporter, Jason Rezaian for espionage, ignoring State Department entreaties to release him. It also has ongoing ties to North Korea, which is providing nuclear weaponry expertise, even as Iran claims to be negotiating the the Obama Administration to halt development of its nuclear weapon program.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forced to pitch his country’s concerns about the Iran nuclear deal directly to Congress, and our President won’t even meet with him.
President Obama will meet with Arab Gulf leaders, however, in an attempt to pitch them on his Iranian deal. But the leaders of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain snub the President and don’t attend. Saudi Arabia sends its own troops in to fight ISIS in Syria.
China is building up strategically located islands in the South China Sea–including construction of a military airstrip–destabilizing the area and warning the U.S. not to fly or sail near them. After Secretary of Defense Ash Carter responded tepidly, a Chinese Colonel said Mr. Carter “wasn’t as tough as I expected.”
Secretary of Defense Ash Carter admitted that the US-trained Iraqi military forces have “no will to fight” ISIL–the official excuse for why Ramadi and other major cities in the region are falling. But then again, the Administration doesn’t exhibit a will to fight ISIL either.
The Obama Administration’s support of the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS-supporting Syrian rebels have been disasters.
The question is: What will 18 more months of an Obama Administration mean for U.S. national security?