What Exactly Does Obama Want To Do With “More Flexibility” On Missile Defense And The International Scene If He’s Reelected?

“AFTER MY ELECTION I HAVE MORE FLEXIBILITY”

Obama Reassures Russian President That He Will Have More Flexibility On Missile Defense After The Election

 “In A Private Conversation About The Planned U.S.-Led NATO Missile Defense System In Europe, President Obama Asked Outgoing Russian President Dmitri Medvedev For Space On The Issue.” (Brianna Keilar, “Open Mic Catches Obama Asking Russian President For Space On Missile Defense,” CNN Politics, 3/26/12)

President Obama To Russian President Medvedev: “After My Election I Have More Flexibility.”  PRESIDENT OBAMA: “On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this, this can be solved but it’s important for him to give me space.” PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV: “Yeah, I understand. I understand your message about space. Space for you…” OBAMA: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.” MEDVEDEV: “I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir.” (Jake Tapper, “President Obama Asks Medvedev For ‘Space’ On Missile Defense — ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility,’” ABC News, 3/26/12)

Obama’s Message To Russia On Missile Defense: “Let Me Get Reelected First…Then I’ll Have A Better Chance Of Making Something Happen.” “In their joint statement to reporters here, President Obama and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev spoke carefully about continuing discussions on the sensitive issues of European missile defense. But in an unscripted moment picked up by camera crews, the American president was more blunt: Let me get reelected first, he said, then I’ll have a better chance of making something happen.” (David Nakamura And Debbi Wilgoren, “Obama Tells Medvedev Solution On Missile Defense Is Unlikely Before Elections,” The Washington Post, 3/26/12)

Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes Calls The Comments “Rhetoric.”  “When asked to explain what President Obama meant, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications Ben Rhodes told ABC News that there is room for the U.S. and Russia to reach an accommodation, but ‘there is a lot of rhetoric around this issue — there always is — in both countries.’” (Jake Tapper, “President Obama Asks Medvedev For ‘Space’ On Missile Defense — ‘After My Election I Have More Flexibility,’” ABC News, 3/26/12)

The Exchange “Could Expose Obama…To Criticism That His International Security Agenda Is Being Compromised By A Reelection Calculus.” “The exchange was a rare glimpse of a world leader speaking frankly about the political realities he faces back at home. It could expose Obama, who was in Seoul for a nuclear security summit, to criticism that his international security agenda is being compromised by a reelection calculus.” (David Nakamura And Debbi Wilgoren, “Obama Tells Medvedev Solution On Missile Defense Is Unlikely Before Elections,” The Washington Post, 3/26/12)

“FLEXIBILITY” FOR WHAT? MORE VICTORIES FOR RUSSIA AS THE U.S. COMPROMISES ON KEY SECURITY MEASURES?

President Obama Killed A Missile Defense Agreement In Europe Aimed At Countering Threats From Iran And North Korea

In A “Move Likely To Cheer Moscow And Roil The Security Debate In Europe,” Obama “Told East European States He Is Backing Away From Plans For An Anti-Missile Shield There.” (Peter Spiegel, “U.S. Shelves Nuclear-Missile Shield,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/17/09; Jana Mlcochova and Gabriela Baczynska, “U.S. Backs Away From Missile Shield In Europe,” Reuters, 9/17/09)

The Deal Was Made To Scrap Missile Defense In Europe In Order To Secure Russia’s Approval For Sanctions Against Iran. “The Administration’s likelier motive for scrapping the interceptors is that it hopes to win Russia’s vote at the U.N. Security Council for tougher sanctions on Iran. Maybe the Russians have secretly agreed to such a quid pro quo, though publicly they were quick to deny it following yesterday’s decision. And as Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov has noted, Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin benefits by keeping the Iranian crisis on a low boil, because the threat of a Middle East crisis drives energy prices up while putting U.S. interests at risk. Russia also likes spooning out dollops of diplomatic help at the U.N. in exchange for material Western concessions. This time, the concession was missile defense.” (“Obama’s Missile Offense,” Wall Street Journal, 9/18/09)

• Obama Told Medvedev He Would Delay Deployment Of U.S. Missile Defense System If Iranian Nuclear Efforts Were Suspended. “President Obama sent a secret letter to Russia’s president last month suggesting that he would back off deploying a new missile defense system in Eastern Europe if Moscow would help stop Iran from developing long-range weapons, American officials said Monday. … It said the United States would not need to proceed with the interceptor system, which has been vehemently opposed by Russia since it was proposed by the Bush administration, if Iran halted any efforts to build nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles.” (Peter Baker, “Obama Offered Deal To Russia In Secret Letter,” The New York Times, 3/2/09)

Obama’s Compromise Undermined The Entire U.S. Nuclear Shield And Strengthened The Kremlin’s Hand. “The U.S. decision also undermines the credibility of the U.S. nuclear defense umbrella. The Bush Administration sought to develop a global defense posture in part to reassure allies that they don’t need their own nuclear deterrent, even as rogue regimes seek nuclear arms and the missiles to deliver them.” (Editorial, “Obama’s Missile Offense,” Wall Street Journal, 9/18/09)

• “In Eastern And Central Europe…The United States May No Longer Be A Reliable Guarantor Of Security.” “In Eastern and Central Europe, there has been fear since the administration canceled long-planned missile defense installations in Poland and the Czech Republic that the United States may no longer be a reliable guarantor of security.” (Robert Kagan, Op-Ed, “Allies Everywhere Feeling Snubbed By President Obama,” The Washington Post, 3/17/10)
• Obama Administration Missile Defense Cut “Will Be Hailed By The Kremlin As A Big Victory.” “The U.S. move on the shield — due to be announced later on Thursday but already flagged by Czech and Polish officials — removes at a stroke the biggest outstanding obstacle to bilateral relations between the former superpowers and will be hailed by the Kremlin as a big victory.” (Michael Stott, “Demise Of U.S. Shield May Embolden Russia Hawks,” Reuters, 9/17/09)

Obama’s Flexibility Allows Russia To Continue To Protect Regimes In Syria And Iran

Russia Vetoed Security Council Resolutions To Crackdown On Rogue Regimes. “Then there’s Russia’s veto of a Security Council resolution to sanction Syria and its continuing arms sales to the regime of Bashar Assad. Moscow also resists putting any new pressure on Iran’s nuclear bomb makers.” (Editorial, “Our Friends The Russians,” Wall Street Journal, 12/5/11)

Russia Provided Syrian Dictator Assad “With Weaponry That Makes It Dangerous For the U.S. To Implement A No-Fly Zone.” “With respect to Syria, Russia has provided the dictator with weaponry that makes it dangerous for the United States to implement a no-fly zone to prevent Bashar al-Assad from bombing his own people. And, Russia has sold Assad anti-ship cruise missiles. ‘These arms will make it possible to defend Syria’s entire coastline against a potential attack from the sea,’ a source told the Associated Press.” (Joel Gehrke, “Obama And Putin Agree: ‘Reset’ Was ‘Successful,’” Washington Examiner, 3/9/12)

And Gives Iran The “Space” It Needs To Race Forward With Its Nuclear Program

Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program Advanced Under Obama. “Iran has taken two more steps toward producing a nuclear weapon. According to a report released Friday by the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has begun to use a new, more advanced centrifuge to enrich uranium, which could allow it to produce bomb-grade material in a much shorter time period, should it choose to do so. It also has begun installing centrifuges in a facility dug into a mountain near the city of Qom, which could be nearly invulnerable to a U.S. or Israeli air attack.” (Editorial, “The Undimmed Danger Of Iran’s Nuclear Program,” Washington Post, 9/6/11)

Obama Administration Exempted 11 Countries From New Sanctions “Intended To Punish Countries That Continue To Buy Oil From Iran;” China, India And South Korea Were Not Included. “The Obama administration on Tuesday exempted Japan and 10 European nations from the prospect of biting sanctions intended to punish countries that continue to buy oil from Iran, but it left open the fate of other major importers, including China, India and South Korea. The sanctions, ordered by Congress late last year to intensify diplomatic and economic pressure over Iran’s nuclear activities, have put the administration in the difficult position of threatening to punish some of the United States’ closest allies while it seeks to squeeze Iran’s main source of hard currency.” (Steven Lee Myers, “Sanctions Over Iran Oil,” The New York Times, 3/20/12)

• Iran “Portrayed The Exemptions As A Win For Iran,” Calling Them An “Overt Retreat” By The U.S. “Iranian officials portrayed the exemptions as a win for Iran, despite the fact that the countries were explicitly exempted because they had begun weaning themselves off Iranian oil. Fars News headlined its story on the sanctions, ‘U.S.A. backs down against Iran.’ ‘Such a move is an overt retreat from their earlier stances,’ the head of the parliament foreign policy commission, Aladin Borujerdi, told the Iranian Students News Agency. He said it was ‘due to decisive stances taken by the Islamic Republic’ defending its nuclear program.” (“Iran Claims Victory After U.S. Exempts Countries From Oil Sanctions,” Los Angeles Times, 3/21/12)

THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME OBAMA’S OPEN MIC COMMENTS HAVE EXPOSED HIS MISPLACED FOREIGN POLICY PRIORITIES

Hot Mic Caught Obama And French President Nicolas Sarkozy Expressing Irritation With Israeli Prime Minister

Obama And French President Sarkozy Were Caught On An Open Mic “Expressing Their Exasperation” With Netanyahu At The G20 Conference. “President Obama and his French counterpart, Nicolas Sarkozy, were reportedly caught in a candid moment expressing their exasperation with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu – with the French president referring to him as a ‘liar.’” (Tucker Reals, “Obama Sarkozy Reportedly Fed Up With Netanyahu,” CBS News, 11/8/11)

• “‘I Cannot Bear Netanyahu, He’s A Liar,’ The French President Was Heard To Say.” (Tucker Reals, “Obama Sarkozy Reportedly Fed Up With Netanyahu,” CBS News, 11/8/11)
• “Mr. Obama Sympathizes With Sarkozy’s Frustration, Saying, ‘You’re Fed Up, But I Have To Deal With Him Every Day.’” (Tucker Reals, “Obama Sarkozy Reportedly Fed Up With Netanyahu,” CBS News, 11/8/11)
• Watch Obama Get Caught On Hot Mic With Sarkozy Complaining About Israeli Prime Minister