Research Briefing

On World Stage, Obama Surrendered American Ideals, Abandoned Our Allies, And Ignored Growing Threats To Our National Security

IN 2009, OBAMA TRAVELED THE WORLD APOLOGIZING FOR AMERICAN IDEALS …

President Obama Abandoned Traditional American Leadership By Telling Europe “I Believe In American Exceptionalism, Just As I Suspect That The Brits Believe In British Exceptionalism And The Greeks Believe In Greek Exceptionalism.”  (President Obama, News Conference By President Obama, Press Release, Strasbourg, France, 4/4/09)

Obama Apologized To Latin America For U.S. Being “Disengaged.” “While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms.” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks By The President At The Summit Of The Americas Opening Ceremony,” The White House, 4/17/09) 

Obama Apologized To Europe For American “Arrogance.” “Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive …” (President Barack Obama, “Remarks By President Obama At Strasbourg Town Hall,” The White House, 4/3/09)

Obama Apologized To Muslim Nations For Actions “Contrary To Our Traditions And Our Ideals” After September 11^th. “Nine-eleven was an enormous trauma to our country. The fear and anger that it provoked was understandable, but in some cases, it led us to act contrary to our traditions and our ideals. We are taking concrete actions to change course.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks By The President On A New Beginning, Cairo, Egypt, 6/4/09)

And Blamed America For Global Economic Crisis. “It is true … that the (economic) crisis began in the U.S. I take responsibility, even if I wasn’t even president at the time.” (Marc Hujer, “Obama’s G-20 Confession,” Der Spiegel, 4/6/09)

WHILE IGNORING OUR ALLIES AND COMFORTING OUR ENEMIES

Obama Extended Olive Branch To Adversaries While Publically Confronting Strong Allie Israel. “The new administration has pushed a reset button with Russia and sent new ambassadors to Syria and Venezuela; it has offered olive branches to Cuba and Burma. But for nearly three months it has been locked in a public confrontation with Israel over Jewish housing construction in Jerusalem and the West Bank. To a less visible extent, the two governments also have differed over policy toward Iran.” (Editorial, “Tough On Israel,” The Washington Post, 7/30/09)

And Spent More Diplomatic Effort “Warning” Israel Than “Rallying The World To Stop Iran.” “[I]n its first seven months, the Administration has spent more diplomatic effort warning Israel not to strike than it has rallying the world to stop Iran.” (Editorial, “Israel, Iran And Obama,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/31/09)

• Obama Contributed To “Biggest Strains In A Decade” Between Israel And America. “Relations between Washington and close ally Israel are under the biggest strains in a decade.” (Matt Spetalnick and Jeffrey Heller, “Hopes Low For Obama-Led Mideast Summit In New York,” Reuters, 9/22/09)

Eastern European Allies Brushed Aside By Obama To Appease Russia. “The U.S. decision to back out of the missile shield agreement forged by the Bush administration -- and opposed by Russia -- has evoked memories among Poles of Cold War helplessness, of being brushed aside as casualties of great power politics … In Poland and in other nations that were part of the old Soviet bloc, the U.S. announcement played into a historical sense of uncertainty. Warsaw’s political elite spoke of a visceral fear that the Obama administration is willing to sacrifice central Europe in its eagerness to repair badly damaged relations with Russia.”  (Megan K. Stack, “U.S. Move On Missile Shield Rankles Poland,” The Chicago Tribune, 10/6/09)

Continuing Obama’s “Trend Of Courting Adversaries While Smacking Allies.” “His Administration has sought warmer ties with Iran, Burma, North Korea, Russia and even Venezuela. But it has picked trade fights with Canada and Mexico, sat on trade treaties with Colombia and South Korea, battled Israel over West Bank settlements, ignored Japan in deciding to talk with North Korea, and sanctioned Honduras for its sin of resisting the encroachments of Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Missile Offense,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/18/09)

Obama’s Engagement Policy Strengthened “Authoritarian Regimes.” “[T]he ‘axis of engagement’ states that President Obama sought to butter up diplomatically in his first year in office. The authoritarian regimes in Russia, Venezuela, Iran and China all became more repressive in 2009, according to Freedom House measures. America’s attempts to play nice didn’t make the other side any nicer …” (Editorial, “Democracy’s Wane,” The Wall Street Journal, 1/12/10)

OBAMA SENT MIXED SIGNALS BY CUTTING IMPORTANT NATIONAL SECURITY TOOLS AND DITHERING ON TROOP REQUESTS …

Obama Held Marathon Of 8 Meetings With National Security Team Before Making Decision On Afghan Strategy. “President Obama met Wednesday with his national security team, the latest in his series of meetings on the best way forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan … This is the eighth in the series of meetings Mr. Obama has had on drafting a new strategy in the turbulent region ...” (Mark Knoller, “Obama Talks Afghanistan With National Security Team,” CBS News, 11/11/09)

Afghan Delay “Accomplished Little Except Hand The Initiative To The Enemy.” “On Afghanistan, far from being clever, his faint-hearted attempt to talk round Congress, manage his squabbling officials and twist the arm of Hamid Karzai, the vote-rigging Afghan president, has arguably accomplished little except hand the initiative to the enemy: his generals have an uphill struggle.” (“The Quiet American,” The Economist, 11/26/09)

• European Leaders Grew Frustrated With Obama’s Lack Of Leadership. “Afghanistan and Pakistan are being shaken by attacks, and the Taliban is dictating the course of the war. US President Obama has been silent about the situation for far too long and European countries like Germany and France are correct to demand better American leadership on the issue of Afghanistan.” (Claus Christian Malzahn, Editorial, “We’re Waiting, Mr. President,” Spiegel Online, 10/29/09)

And Requested Major Cuts In Missile Defense Spending. “President Obama’s FY10 budget request includes $9.3 billion for missile defense programs -- an amount that, Republicans are quick to point out, is $1.2 billion below FY09 levels.  “I can’t conceive of cutting missile defense when you’ve got [North] Korea shooting off missiles,” McKeon said. “It’s ludicrous to me” (Megan Scully, “Republicans To Oppose Missile Defense Cuts In Authorization Markup”, Congress Daily, 6/15/2009)

• Clinton Secretary Of Defense William Cohen: Cutting Missile Defense “Sends The Signal That We Do Not Take The Threats Of Rogue Regimes Seriously…”  “Reducing the funding commitment to our missile-defense system by $1.4 billion, as the Obama administration has done, sends the signal that we do not take the threats of rogue regimes seriously …  Cutting missile-defense funding at this critical juncture sends the wrong signal to both our adversaries and our allies. It would embolden North Korea, Iran and other rogue states to pursue missiles of increasing range.” (William Cohen,Op-Ed, “COHEN: No Time To Cut Missile Defense,” The Washington Times, 5/28/09)

FAILS TO UNDERSTAND HOW TO FIGHT AMERICA’S WAR ON TERROR, TREATING ENEMY COMBATANTS AS COMMON CRIMINALS …

Obama Administration Sees War On Terror Through Law Enforcement Mentality.  “More broadly, the Administration’s law enforcement mentality is also part of the problem. Its instinct is to attribute every terror incident to a misguided individual—”an isolated extremist,” as the President initially said of Abdulmuttalab—as if al Qaeda sympathies require a membership card and monthly meetings. Hasan and Abdulmuttalab are charged with being jihadists bent on murder who were encouraged or facilitated by other jihadists. This is the way the terror threat is evolving, with virtual recruitment over the Web of radicalized individuals from sanctuaries that change as opportunities arise.”  (Editorial, “Obama’s Security ‘Breach’,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/31/09)

Obama’s Insistence On Civilian Trials For Terrorists Provide Valuable Information To “Terrorists Across The World.” “One certain outcome is that an open civilian trial will provide valuable information to terrorists across the world about American methods and intelligence. Precisely because so much other evidence may not be admissable, prosecutors may have to reveal genuine secrets to get a conviction.” (Editorial, “KSM Hits Manhattan—Again,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/14/09)

Decision To Put Christmas Day Attempted Bomber In “Civilian Tribunal” Denied U.S. Intelligence Agencies Valuable Information. “Abdulmutallab was … in a civilian tribunal where the first step was to get him a lawyer who promptly put an end to his disclosures … The point is less where Abdulmutallab will eventually be prosecuted than what use could have been made of him as an intelligence source. No consideration whatsoever appears to have been given to where Abdulmutallab fits in the foreign contingency operation ...” (Michael B. Mukasey, Op-ed, “What Does the Detroit Bomber Know?” The Wall Street Journal, 1/6/10)

Administration Made “Major Analytical Mistake” In Underestimating AQAP. “[T]he U.S. government did not believe that AQAP posed a significant, real-time security threat. That was a fundamental reason why intelligence derived from Yemeni sources about on plots against the U.S. hatched in Yemen did not set off alarm bells… This is a major analytical mistake.” (Marc Ambinder, “The Administration’s Big Mistake,” The Atlantics’ “Politics“ Blog, 1/7/09)

And White House Slated Major Cuts For National Counterterrorism Center Budget.  “The highly touted intelligence fusion center at the heart of the nation’s counterterrorism establishment was preparing for deep budget cuts across 2010, senior intelligence officials said. According to one official, who asked not to be identified because intelligence budget matters are classified, the administration and Congress slashed the budget for the National Counterterrorism Center by at least $25 million.” (Marc Ambinder, “NCTC Was Slated For Deep Budget Cuts,” The Atlantic’s “Politics” Blog, 1/5/09)

AND SACRIFICED AMERICAN PRINCIPLES OF DEMOCRACY & HUMAN RIGHTS ON WORLD STAGE

Obama Gave Human Rights Groups “Reasons To Be Concerned.” “Meanwhile Obama has given ‘human rights fundamentalists’… other reasons to be concerned. His secretary of state all but told the Chinese during her initial visit to Beijing that human rights would not be a priority in our relationship. Meanwhile, in Darfur, Obama has proceeded with glacial caution. It took him nearly two months to appoint a special envoy, suggesting that Sudan was not the priority it should have been; and now that the envoy is in place, there have been indications that Obama intends to take a conciliatory posture toward Khartoum.” (Richard Just, “‘We Can’t Just Do Nothing,” The New Republic, 8/27/09)

Obama Made Overtures To Repressive Governments While Ignoring Dissidents, Prisoners. “Rebuffing the Dalai Lama is part of a pattern … support for Iranian democrats has been hesitant. Overtures to repressive governments in Iran, Cuba, North Korea, Venezuela, Syria and Egypt have generally ignored the struggles of dissidents and prisoners in those nations … the Obama era is hardly a high point of human rights solidarity.” (Michael Gerson, “A Cold Shoulder To Liberty,” The Washington Post, 9/23/09)

And Sacrificed Some U.S. Principles To Achieve Personal Objectives. “But critics on the left and right have accused the president of sacrificing some of the U.S. principles he has publicly celebrated on behalf of a diplomacy that administration officials often describe as willing to accept progress if a perfect outcome is not possible.” (Scott Wilson, “Shared Interests Define Obama’s World,” The Washington Post, 11/2/09)

Washington Post Editorial Says Obama Has “Put Democracy Promotion … On A Back Burner.” “In the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, the Bush administration correctly judged that an absence of political freedom was contributing to the growth of Islamic extremism ... For a time it pressed Arab governments for democratic change, and it made some headway in Egypt before retreating in its final years. The Obama administration, in contrast, appears to have put democracy promotion in the region on a back burner.” (Editorial, “‘Free To Speak Out’ In Egypt,” The Washington Post, 1/4/10)

And Unlike Past Presidents, Failed To Stand Up For Human Rights In China.  “The White House did not even stand up for itself when it came to the question of human rights in China. The president, who had said only a few days earlier that freedom of expression is a universal right, was coerced into attending a joint press conference with Chinese President Hu Jintao, at which questions were forbidden. Former US President George W. Bush had always managed to avoid such press conferences.” (Gabor Steingart, “Obama’s Nice Guy Act Gets Him Nowhere On The World Stage,” Spiegel Online, 11/23/09)