A Plague On Both Your Houses

Obama’s Critical Strategic Mistake – Libya

Ineffective, indecisive, lacking leadership, cowardly.  These are words I never thought to use to describe the President of the United States.  Yet they are descriptive of his failure in the Middle East and North Africa.  Many people (including myself) can talk of morality and the terrible horror that Gadhafi continues to visit upon his own people.  We can draw comparisons dating back almost 80 years where we have dithered while people in foreign lands were massacred for having the temerity to stand for what they believed.   We can talk about being caring human beings and concerned and “on their side.”  But talk is cheap and for Obama it seems to be free.  Even today in his press conference (was he expecting the first question to be about Libya? I was happy about that) he danced around the facts.  He mentioned that “if” Gadhafi were to go door to door rooting out protesters he (Obama) would see that as an “overreaction.”  Well, Mr. President, in Zawia yesterday it is reported that he was doing just that, going door to door and grabbing young men and hauling them off to unknown, and unseen, places.  What will you do?  Why did you not even acknowledge that he is attacking innocent civilians brutally and without mercy?  Why didn’t you acknowledge reports of massacres already happening?  Why didn’t you acknowledge that in the last 24 hours he has attacked his own cities with tanks, artillery and aircraft?  In my own view it is because you have no passion, no knowledge and no guts.

But, if we step back from all the empty rhetoric, and from the personal tragedy, the central issue from a strategic and diplomatic perspective is that by our indecision, inaction and failure to lead, we are losing the youth of the Middle East.  Which means we are losing the Middle East.  Now, many would say that the Middle East hates us anyway.  True, in some sense, but only because we have supported and continue to support oppressive, outmoded and stifling regimes.  With the recent uprisings has come a unique, possibly once in a lifetime, opportunity to not only get on the right side of history but to endear ourselves to an entire generation of Middle Eastern, moderate, democratic, youth.  And we are squandering it.  Obama is not leading, he is trying to reach consensus.  He is making a fundamental strategic mistake.

The Middle East is a developing part of the world, rich in oil reserves and not much else.  It is also dominated by youth.  It is predominantly Muslim and, as the idiotic hearings being held by Congressman King demonstrate, our relationship with Muslims at home, in the Middle East and throughout the world is at best strained.  America has significant long term strategic interests in the region and in peace in the region and therefore in our relationship with Muslim youth.  We also have a long term strategic interest in combating terrorism and hatred of the US. 

Supporting these uprisings is one strategic opportunity we have to help ourselves with Muslim youth and to enhance our power in the region. We are squandering it by sending the message we are sending in Libya.  Hosni Mubarak is probably sitting in his hotel room saying “Damn, why didn’t I just crush the protesters? The US wouldn’t have done anything and I could be sitting pretty.” That is certainly how Asad and Ahmadinejad will think and frankly that is probably similar to what the Saudis are thinking. Therein lies the rub.  If we do nothing or if we do to little to late, we will have not only squandered the opportunity but emboldened our enemies.  Gadhafi is a relatively easy target.  Ahmadinejad is not and if he becomes emboldened he will not only crush his own opposition, he may become adventurous.  Oman, Iraq could be targets.  Is that the position we want – being forced to fight Iran, when we could have prevented the venture by defeating Gadhafi?  That is just stupid.  Another word I never thought I would call Obama.

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Don Imus Fired - Shame on CBS, Shame on Al Sharpton

"The message of the ongoing Imus scandal is simple: Verbal offenses against anyone, other than conservatives or Christians or Jews, will be treated as crimes, and Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are the judge and jury."

Before I get to the quote above, let me say that Don Imus' unrepeatable statements were rude, deplorable, outrageous, wrong, stupid, misogynistic, immature, horrific, sickening, moronic, unthinking, insensitive, racist, sexist, mean spirited and practically every other epithet you can throw at them. That he should have apologized is a given. That he should have pleaded for mercy in front of African American and women's groups is unquestioned. That everyone should object, and be outraged and call him out and call the words out and bring attention to the evil that was spewed is the American way. It is the whole point of free speech.

And that is why CBS should not have fired him. People in the media should not be fired for what they say or how they say it. I said elsewhere that is a dark alley down which we are about to descend.

Which brings me to the quote above - the quote is from Tom Delay. He is a man who's politics of extremism I abhor. And CBS and Al Sharpton have put me in his corner. If CBS is firing Don Imus why isn't ABC firing Rosie O'Donnell. She after all called Christian right wingers fascists. I don't like to be called a fascist. But then I'm Jewish so I don't like to be called a big-nosed money lender either. I once slapped somebody around for calling me a kike. But I also think the ACLU was right when they defended the Nazi's right to march in Skokie.

Where are all the free speech people now? Was the ACLU just kidding? Is it really all right to fire people for what they say on radio? On TV? Is the FCC right to censor all those vulgar words? Where's George Carlin? It appears there are more than 7 words you aren't allowed to say on radio, they've just changed. Every person who called for Don Imus to be taken off the air better watch out because Delay is revving up his big guns: "What the Left is doing is not a fluke - it's a concerted strategy. And it works. So if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. That's why I am calling on conservatives to use the available media (radio talk shows, blogs, letters to the editor) to protest and demand that Rosie O'Donnell be kicked off The View." What are people going to say? It only counts if it is insulting? Well, what Rosie says is insulting to Christians. Its not political? So now we are only protecting political speech? Kiss freedom of artistic expression goodbye.

CBS and the people who put pressure on them have gone to that scary dark back alley, and it's already looking like the lurkers are ready to pounce.

Shame on you and damn you. You have done something very wrong and very bad for this country. I believe you have done something that could seriously damage the fabric of the first amendment.

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