End Game

The violence against US interests across the middle east is growing and shows no sign of slowing until the US takes effective action.  Unfortunately, President Obama has taken a foreign policy of apologizing for the actions of this country ahead of scolding the actions of the terrorists who have attacked and killed US personnel around the middle east.  The attacks are not isolated since they all obviously were planned to commence around the 11 year anniversary of 9/11.  The attacks were aided by the rampant anti-american sentiment around that part of the world.  On top of all that, the Obama administration has adopted a policy of complete abandonment of Israel in all diplomatic matters.  It all came to a head recently when President Obama declined the request of Prime Minister Netanyahu to meet regarding the increasing threats to Israel and US interests in the Middle East.  It begs the question why the President would coddle terrorists and abandon our closest ally in the region.  So what is the end game for America and the Obama administration?



There is little doubt that the unrest and power struggle in the Middle East poses a clear and present threat to both Israel and the United States.  It is feared by many political pundits that the Administration's pandering to radical Islam  is emboldening the mob and terrorists to act against the US without the fear of retaliation and accountability.  This strategy has clearly failed at dealing with the unrest and quelling the violence that has now claimed a US Ambassador and a number of embassy staffers.  The mobs and terrorists will continue to push the Administration until they act or back down.  A liberal pundit, Kirsten Powers recently, admonished the administration for their reaction and noted that they were taking on the policy of a battered wife that continually made excuses.  This comparison mimics the State department's stance that the actions of an obscure film maker are the fault of the US and that the citizens of the world have a fundamental right not to be offended, especially those in the muslim community.

Roots of inaction:

What is the motivation for such an ineffective policy?  There are a number of sources that informs the decisions that a policy maker formulates.  For the case of President Obama, his influences range from his intellectual mentors, friends, and over reaching progressive ideology.  Whether you subscribe to the narrative put forth by Dinish D'Souza in his book The Roots of Obama's Rage or you just look at the actions of this president you begin to realize that these actions fit in to a larger world view.  Based on the evidence put forth by D'Souza, Obama's view of the US is that of a power rich and virtue poor nation that has the responsibility to pay for the sins of its past by redistributing its power and resources to the underdeveloped world which includes the Middle East.  This coincides with the prevailing progressive view that the US owes reparations to the 3rd world for exploiting them for centuries.  D'Souza uses the theme of anti-colonialism to describe this view and appears accurate based on most of the actions by President Obama during his presidency.

The current situation in the US sets up a perfect scenario for Obama to achieve power redistribution to the 3rd world.  First, the US is in a major budget and debt crisis which provides cover for the Administration to cut back on the protection of US interests overseas.  This includes security forces and aid to countries who solidify our role in the Middle East, i.e. Israel.  As Rham Emmanuel stated that you never want to let a crisis go to waste because many on the left love to use fear to push an agenda that they otherwise would stand against.  As foreign interests and security are weakened, they then can pull the US military back and effectively tie their hands with directives to cease combat operations and implement timetables for strategic pullouts of the Iraq and Afghanistan theaters.  The third step is a policy of appeasement towards the middle east and assurance that further US retaliation for aggressive actions will not occur.  This includes the empowerment of the radical Islamic mobs that threaten our interests but do not face retribution from the US.  These mobs and terrorists have the conviction of their beliefs and do not have any fear of retribution from the Obama administration.  This poses a massive threat to the US and our security especially as Iran continues to build nuclear weapons and arming terror militants around the world.

End Game:

The end game for Obama is a world that includes the US in a diminished role more as a facilitator then leader.  His reluctance to take a lead on major foreign policy issues supports this hypothesis along with his neutered approach to Iraq and Afghanistan.  It is very likely that in the near future, military conflicts between Israel and Iran and a weakened US presence is the direct result.  The political and military clout that the US carries has always been to the great equalizer in the middle east and now there is question whether the US even realizes that fact.

Resolution:

Given that Obama has a worldview that is counterproductive to progressing the interests of peace and US power in the world, the proper resolution to this problem is contrary to almost everything that the Administration has done so far.  The liberal use of drone attacks against terrorists are on of the few things they have done right so far and that must continue far in to the future.  Next, the US government must communicate on no uncertain terms that they consider an attack on our embassy an act of war.  They must investigate and if there was any involvement by the host country, then strong economic and possible military action will follow.  The US must also finish the job in Iraq and Afghanistan to ensure the fledgling democracies there continue to grow and the terrorists can not claim any sort of victory.  It is crucial to our cause that we fight back against the forces of terror and stop their influence.  As unpopular as it may be, another surge of forces may be necessary to finally turn the tables on these battle fronts.  A lot of these solutions are based on the intelligence that only the highest members of our government control and thus it is impossible to get too specific on the proper actions. 

The administration must also 1. Attend regular intelligence meetings 2. meet with Israel and other allies regarding Iran and 3. take decisive action regarding Iran and other terror threats.  The drama with Iran has now reached the home stretch and the US and Israel must make their own decisions based on self preservation.  Iran has already opened up battle fronts against the west in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as openly called for the complete destruction of Israel.  Economic sanctions have failed due to the reluctance of Russia to comply which diminishes their effect.  The US should conduct a full economic, social, clandestine, and military operation against Iran that will accomplish some key objectives.  The economic sanctions will reduce their productive capability and put political pressure on their leaders (unlikely this will effect much change alone).  Social unrest instigated from the inside (ability of US on this front is purely speculative) will cause Iran's leaders to focus internally and in some cases expose themselves for outside attack.  Clandestine services (Mosad, CIA, etc) will conduct operations to destroy the military infrastructure and set back their military and economic capabilities.  Finally the US must issue a warning the cease and desist any military operations or loose the facilities forever.  Depending on their response, the US and Israel must then move forward with strong and unified action.

The middle east is in disarray and a strong America and its allies are the only counter balance that can ensure the region remains stable.  The Obama administration will take the necessary steps to ensure this because of his predisposed views on US power.  It is to the detriment of the country because as he wants the world to see America as an equal, the terrorists and rogue nations will only see a target.