America: caught between Barack and a hard place

By Klaus Rohrich —— Bio and Archives April 8, 2009

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Given the tone of the Obama administration, America finds itself in a precarious position. On the one hand there is no shortage of situations that could present potential challenges to America’s interests and possibly, survival. These include a resurgently hostile Russia, a nuclear Iran, North Korean ICBM capability, Pakistan regressing into Taliban control, complete with a ready-to-fry nuclear arsenal, and an expansion of Chinese military capability that will easily surpass that of the United States.

On the other hand, there is Barack Obama continuously assuring the world that he is no George W. Bush. I think the world has come to realize that Barack Obama is no Dubya and is acting accordingly. Hence, North Korea is testing a delivery system for its nuclear weapons, the Chinese Navy is harassing the US Navy on the high seas, the Taliban, having just taken over the Swat Valley in Pakistan is eyeing the rest of that country and assisting its brethren in Afghanistan. Russia is opposing American initiatives in Eastern Europe and expanding its military capabilities to Cold War levels, while Iran is placidly continuing its march toward becoming a nuclear power. Is it really in America’s best interest to reduce military spending by any amount, much less the one-fifth the administration just announced? It would seem that in the manic euphoria over the election of Barack Obama the idea that there are still entities that wish to harm the West, and particularly America, is forgotten. And Obama’s seeming lack of understanding about world realities is putting America at great risk. Since the president has all but promised to de-claw the American military, how reluctant will Iran now be in pursuing its hegemony over the Middle East, when it was already fairly pugnacious while George Bush was still in the White House? The likelihood of Tel Aviv being rendered into a pile of cinders is much higher today than it was prior to January 20th of this year and the probability will certainly increase with every assurance on the part of the president that the Bush era is over. Similarly, the Russian Federation is getting ever more adventuresome as it realizes that Obama tends to be somewhat squishy when it comes to protecting American interests. While he is quick to tell Republican lawmakers that he can impose any program he wants because he won the election, he still appears to be in campaign mode when addressing the world. It’s almost as if Obama craves ever more adulation and is prepared to say anything to get it. But truthfully, it doesn’t really matter whether or not the world “likes” America, if American interests and American exceptionalism have to be sacrificed in order to gain popularity. Frankly, if given the choice, I’d rather be safe and secure than popular any day. America is facing a real problem in that its political leadership appears to be much more concerned with bowing to world opinion and marching in lock-step with internationalists, than in advancing the nation’s security and best interests. The fact that the country is now under one-party rule leaves little hope that this trend will reverse any time soon, which leaves the country between a rock and a hard place.