Is Obama Weak? – How many wars do we want? (updated)

Is Obama Weak? – How many wars do we want?
American Exceptionalism.

It seems barely a day goes by without ghouls from the past trolling our airways, pontificating about how the USA should conduct itself. These individuals are seemingly oblivious to the fact that they were responsible for misleading the nation into a war – leading to the destruction of any moral authority the USA may have had, or could have cultivated after 9/11.

Relatively likable villains, to my mind at least, like Condoleezza Rice have been received with rapt attention at virtually every college in the country, allowed to busily attempt to rewrite history, thus helping undermine the longer-term credibility of the country. We can lecture the Russians or the Chinese all we want, but all for naught, as the hypocrisy, exacerbated by mass cultural denial, is so overwhelming.

I wanted to like Gaddafi crush Rice. She was attractive in those knee-high leather boots, smart, and had broken through ceilings. But I suspect her pride at those career achievements was so great that she ditched her compass. Joining a team for 2000 – with foreign policy objectives belonging in the previous millennium – they were always doomed to fail. The fact that George Bush, Jr. was intellectually and psychologically unfit for the job was simply going to add Texan oil to the fire.

Within the context of the Bush foreign policy team, I still retain a grain of empathy for Bush (he was out of his depth) and Rice. I am not convinced either would have wanted to out Valerie Plame. I doubt that either would have been happy to actually wantonly alienate virtually every actual or potential ally. I doubt if either understood the negative consequences of ramming delusional and insulting American exceptionalism down collective overseas throats. Just because European foreign policy remains fractured and lethargic does not make the opposite, sans intelligence, correct. 

My ire really is directed toward people like Dick Cheney or the West’s worst diplomat, John Bolton. Dick Cheney (like both George Bushes) is an oilman. These people arrogantly and unethically thought it was a good idea to design an energy policy without input from non-oilmen. Doing this, not only did they threaten mankind via exponentially increasing climate issues, but they condemned the country to continue to embark upon wars caused by such fashioned energy policy. Worse, the USA not only pays the initial cost of such wars, but creates and then funds (via oil revenues to Middle Eastern counties) the enemies they must destroy. Then they must embark on often futile and always costly efforts to rebuild from the very destruction that has been wrought. 

We now know the country was misled into war. A couple of years after the war, in 2004, when the facts had been established, two thirds of Stupidparty disciples still believed the USA had been attacked by Iraq. Presidential aspirant Sarah Palin also did not have the intellectual curiosity to figure out this easily resolvable puzzle. What worse crime can there be against the nation than to mislead that nation into war? What worse crime against humanity? Those responsible are war criminals and some are traitors. For it is clear Scooter – fall guy – Libby did not act alone.

But in spite of that, they still get to talk – seemingly endlessly and on any platform they choose. And people listen, oblivious of the “poisonous tree.” However, the world is watching, and the world finds it difficult to be lectured to by war criminals, and finds it difficult to respect a country that treats crimes against humanity as irrelevant when Americans do it. Tony Blair should likewise be held accountable. By 2008 the USA was about as trusted as Russia

Obama now sets about restoring American credibility. So is Obama weak? Who gets to define what this even means? And even in a two-dimensional world, this appears to be a stretch. Of course, there are thousands of smart prognosticators, who have to continuously write to engage the reader or “their readers,” so it is inevitable that such criticism will occur and on occasion such a narrative might be well constructed. I would be interested in such reading material, assuming it came from an objective, credible source. I would be most interested in such opinions when written by non-Americans. Then I would want to read the rebuttal. For the vast majority of us not attending high-level briefings, not having to deal with the Gordian knot, I think it is pretty absurd to jump on any bandwagon – especially when such cheap labels are cast in a politically polarized environment motivated by shallow, partisan Stupidparty goals. But when one considers where much of this specific criticism comes from and the path these discredited wraith like individuals would like to put us back on – what these critics so cavalierly propose – that path seems to lead to oblivion. 

First, take the notion that without the USA we are all screwed. Putting aside the fact that energy policy is the root cause of Middle Eastern wars, such a message can find some sustenance; i.e., it can be debated. 
Europe is not yet united/integrated enough to be a singular force for global stability.

But the debate about whether the US should be the World’s one man enforcer has been fundamentally altered by the unheralded policies of Obama. Perhaps Japan and other far East nations can be cajoled into becoming a better buttress against Chinese imperialism; in Libya the USA set the playing field but forced NATO to execute. Syria is another case in point, where the battle lines have not yet devolved into East/West conflict. The French took responsibility for dealing with Mali, and international efforts to pressure Iran appear well coordinated and might be bearing fruit.

Further Obama’s Further Obama’s central role in the successful attack on Iran’s ability to enrich Uranium in 2010, only came out in 2012. North Korea v Sony—North Korea loses the internet and an Obama official simply says “accidents will happen”. The US is evidently planning visible  and  invisible counter measures. Meanwhile the peoples of the West must make a vow to see the movie in question “the Interview”. While waiting to perform that duty, everyone should purchase “Team America” which also tackles North Korea. Evidently it just sold out on Amazon. Yes it has some gratuitous puppet sex, but puritans – it is time to get a life and be a patriot, in a manner that does not embarrass your homeland. Now that would be patriotic.

Obama is also acting on the infantile Cuban embargo— his secret trade craft on Cuba, China and Climate issues, Iran – beginning emerge. Is it really  just a coincidence that after Putin had treated Obama with total contempt, that within months Oil prices had crashed threatening to bring Putin to his knees – all done with great patience, subtlety and deniability. Saudi Arabia is after all a CIA founded US protectorate and their agenda on oil prices are neatly aligned with the Western geopolitical agenda.

With the rise of ISIS—the Hawks panicked as they always do, but a we have a calmer mind at the helm, who recognized the obvious dynamics a) it would have been pointless buttressing Iraq until Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki had agreed to relinquish power* b) there is a difference between Sunni’s and Shia’s, (John McCain could never figure this out) therefore Iran would be motivated to deal with  a Sunni Isis c) there really is not a long term future for a religious cult that happily executes innocent people. 

 *Why Isn’t Anyone Giving Obama Credit for Ousting Maliki?
Obama is modest by nature, does not blow his own horn, yet he should, especially in the toxic environment created by Stupidparty, and by the absurdly minute attention span of the electorate in general. The determination  to remove Maliki is already bearing fruit—but hardly anyone cares, having already moved on to the next non story or misunderstood crisis. Even when there is good news—congress is totally ill equipped to know what to do about it because Congress has other priorities designed to benefit their puppet masters. 

Regarding Putin’s aggression, why over react when there is an obvious peaceful strategy—make the Russian Oligarchs suffer financially and now with the collapsing price of oil (deh! deh! for the last 30 years deh! – since Jimmy Carter was ignored in 1977) the Russian economy already on the verge of shrinking as result of Putin’s expensive and prideful agenda,  is now on course to implode with a collapsing ruble panicking consumers do ditch their treacherous currency in droves.

 Yes —Putin might get more desperate, more aggressive—but his efforts will logically be a Zero Sum effort—as like in everything else money wins (in this case a military capability dwarfed by the US). Now of course, a newly minted ever stupider Congress will work hard to derail any progress, because of their irrational hatred of anything Obama and inability to engage in non-Myth-based thinking. But such populist bigotry will diminish as Obama’s final term runs it’s course. But meanwhile Obama get to put another nail into the coffin of Stupidparty bluster: 

“Last year, as we were doing the hard work of imposing sanctions along with our allies, as we were reinforcing our presence with front line states, Mr. Putin’s aggression it was suggested was ‘a masterful display’ of ‘strategy and strength.’ That’s what I heard from some folks,” Obama said. “Well, today, it is America that stands strong and united with our allies, while Russia is isolated with its economy in tatters. That’s how America leads – not with bluster, but with persistent, steady resolve.”

The US handling of the FIFA scandal as been masterful and this event alone will seriously mitigate Putin’s grand designs for Ukraine etc. The reasons of this and how Obama has been out playing Putin at chess (since Obama finally lost patience with Putin’s deceptions) are explained in detail here.

That the Stupidparty in Congress (backed by some Democrats overly influenced by Israeli lobbying) had come close to scuppering those Iranian outreach efforts was a stunning example of how the USA is on the brink of becoming a pariah. Stupidparty’s pathetic and near treasonous invitation to Netanyahu to speak before Congress will undoubtedly back fire, strengthening Obama’s hand in his negotiations with Iran and likely lead to an erosion of Stupidparty’s new found hero Netanyahu’s ability to continue to forge a right wing coalition in the Knesset – a trend that is abhorred round the world – by every one except Stupidparty and the more extreme Jewish elements. (updated…)  and so these proceeding comments have proved prescient – because in July 2015 the world is informed of a Iranian Nuclear deal. Of course the Stupidparty traitors will try and torpedo this and if successful would turn the US into an international pariah. Jeb!!! before he was a aware of any details, blasts the deal. But having Zero knowledge has never been a liability for any Bush kid -so why bother gathering knowledge in the first place. These comments are amply supported here and here.

Right now the West has a unique opportunity to pressure both Iran and Russia. Falling oil prices give a huge boost to the Wests Geo Political interests, (not to mention being a boost to Western Consumers at a pivotal point in the Keynesian inspired economic recovery).  What is so tragic is that the vast majority of people refuse to understand how this boon should be handled from a domestic tax revenue perspective – and this collective brain freeze tempts me to throw up my hands and conclude that mankind (the developed nations at-least) deserves to fry themselves into extinction. In this instance the voters get the politicians they deserve. 

But rather wasting his time in getting caught up with the mental midgets who attack the very air that he breathes, he politely demurs and carries on quietly promoting America’s best interests and trying to preserve her imperiled reputation. Obama has been busy rebuilding fractured relations with India – a vital partner, being shadowed by the Chinese. Pakistan is probably the scariest place in the world, with so many competing factions – but they are in a strong position to take advantage of China and America’s competing interests – since Pakistan represent a strip of land that the Chinese are eyeing as a more direct route for Oil and other goods. Hence India becomes vital bulwark against instability.

There are real advantages to having a really smart and very decent human being – who understands other cultures – as America’s representative. As a multi-cultural individual I know that he is not some freaking idiotic jingoistically prattling on about American exceptionalism—the rest of the world picks up on this, and that is why Obama remains hugely popular overseas. having a President not being held in contempt by other Countries certainly helps America’s foreign policy. As the New York Times reports:

The amity between the two leaders was palpable from the start as Mr. Modi broke with protocol to greet Mr. Obama at the airport with a warm handshake and hug. During their later public appearance, Mr. Modi referred to the president as “Barack” and thanked him for his “deep personal commitment” to their friendship. In a toast at a state dinner Sunday evening, Mr. Obama returned the favor, calling Mr. Modi “my partner and friend.”

Mr. Modi’s reference to Mr. Obama by his first name drew notice. “It’s never been done before in India, to my knowledge,” said Baijayant Panda, an Indian lawmaker. “This is clearly sending signals to a lot of people, a lot of heads of government that matter.”

President Obama even got some movement from India on climate change – quite an achievement considering the USA has very little moral authority on the issue – especially since the Stupidparty stubbornly refuses to accept any Science on the matter, which turns the USA in to a bit of a laughing stock.

So Obama to the disgust  of  the “Vulcans” has avoided making numerous aggressive mistakes. The Vulcans think all this lack of war, lack of successful attacks on U.S. soil – this is caused by weakness. We should attack Syria by supporting nebulous rebels who may or may not have a constructive or credible governance plan, may or may not be better than the existing regime. We should increase sanctions against Iran, in a manner designed to appease the Israeli lobbyists and to promote military attacks during ongoing diplomacy (similar to the Iraq War, where even with Hussein ready to leave, that was not enough – only war was enough). In fact because Obama is clearly not in Netanyahu’s pocket it is now apparent that there has been secret correspondence between Obama and Khomeini -thus increasing the chances of Iran taking a more moderate position. The anti Obama, anti peace factions are so desperate that they (John Boehner) have invited Netanyahu, an international  pariah, to address Congress – a treasonous action that will backfire against Netanyahu and the traitors within the Stupidparty congress.

 Attack China, blow up North Korea, ignore Nigerian sovereignty; we should take back the Crimea – before even considering the historical nuances or exploring the obvious strategy of unbundling Putin from his supportive billionaire Oligarchs or otherwise weakening the Russian economy to make imperialistic ambitions absurdly financially burdensome. Yes, this is made harder to do because of a myopic energy policy. Yes, thinking is hard, oftentimes time-consuming work, but searching for constructive solutions should be conducted before killing people. Killing people usually means creating more enemies – as family, friends, and compatriots tend to find such actions unforgivable.

I do not pretend to know the solutions, (except on the topic of Oil). These issues are extremely complex, not simply diplomatically but morally. That is why we hope the president we elect will be wise enough to pick competent advisers. We presume they will motivated by decency rather than oil, by introspection and curiosity rather than parochial arrogance. That was why George Bush, Jr. was given some latitude as he planned his invasion of Iraq. 

But we should not be giving any weight to war criminals or to the very architects of the disastrous foreign policy pursued 2000–2008. The next time I read a piece from Dick Cheney, expecting any insight, it would have to be about conditions within the U.S. penal system. Until that happens, and should America’s foreign policy statements be anyway reflective of  Cheney and his cabal, such statements will always be subject to ridicule, and heeding such calls would be mankind’s loss— because the USA is so capable of being a force for good—Obama is doing his best, but is up against staggeringly absurd headwinds domestically as he has to handle a variety of storms from around the world—most of which would not be an issue if the American people had listened to Jimmy Carter’s energy speech back in 1977. But he lost, and oil interests have been dictating foreign policy ever since.

Obama gets Zero credit – for having made some extraordinary non populist deft moves. This is another sign of a politician with a rare moral and intellectual compass surviving being wrapped in a electorally created straight jacket— a man spiritually ahead of his times, head and shoulders above faux Christians and the rest of not just the Stupidparty, but many Democrats guilty of low attention spans and false equivalence. 

History will surely look back and conclude that rarely has a Democratic Country had a better political leader than they deserve.