After Jimmy Carter, there was Ronald Reagan
How many of you are old enough to remember this video?Jonathan Tobin describes the decrepit foreign policy legacy that Barack Hussein Obama is bequeathing to the United States:
The conceit of American foreign policy for the last seven years has been the notion that Obama’s faith in outreach to Islamists, his dedication to multilateral diplomacy, and his aversion to conflict would transform America’s image in the world and leave it a better place. But that has turned out to be only partially true. Obama may claim that Iran or Russia are acting out of weakness, and that ISIS is merely the JV of terrorism, but the rest of the world knows better. Though George W. Bush made some big mistakes (though he kept America safe in the years after 9/11) and was reviled in some quarters, his America was not thought of as weak. Unfortunately, the catastrophe in Syria and Iraq is just the first indication of what happens when America is not only perceived as a paper tiger but actually acts out of weakness. We can only guess at what new horrors will arise as that situation unravels but the rise of a newly strengthened post-nuclear deal Iran will only worsen the situation for American allies in the coming years.
Nor can we leave the Israel-Palestinian conflict out of the discussion of his legacy. The president was sure that the resolution of that century-old war could only be achieved by creating more daylight between the United States and Israel and he was unceasing in his efforts to create more of it. But far from encouraging the Palestinians to negotiate a two-state solution or pushing the Israelis to take new risks for peace, all he accomplished there was to encourage the Palestinian leadership to be even more resolute in their refusal to make peace since they believed America no longer had the back of the Jewish state. Indeed, in just the last week, the administration’s reflexive even-handed approach has caused it to equate the fate of Israeli victims of terror with that of slain terrorists. Can it be any surprise that Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas has become the leading inciter of terror while enjoying the enthusiastic support from Obama as a champion of peace. The president inherited a stalemated peace process. But on his watch, he did what many thought was impossible in 2008 since the conflict has actually worsened and peace is even more unlikely that it was then.
The true Obama legacy abroad has nothing to do with the peace that he craved to make between Israelis and Palestinians or in the wars that he believed himself to be ending. The aftermath of his presidency will be one in which American power and prestige fall to its lowest point since Jimmy Carter. U.S. allies are isolated and weakened while its foes such as Iran and Russia are embarked on the sort of adventurism not seen since the 1970s. But the president is right about one thing. He has changed the world. Just not in the way he or his adoring fans ever dreamed it would happen.Read it all.
But Jimmy Carter was followed by Ronald Reagan, a strong President who restored the United States' position in the world.
Who will follow Barack Hussein Obama?
Shabbat Shalom everyone.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, US presidential campaign 2016
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:31 PM
3 Comments:
Ronald Reagan abandoned Lebanon to the terrorists.
Ahhh, but we had Jimmy the Jew hater when we were Democrats....thanks to him, we became Republicans literally the next day!. Sadly it was just when my Parents of Blessed Memory died....and to this day I remember how much it hurt that they never could know that we had become Republicans. Myron was in the Army stationed in Boston.
Yes, Jimmy Carter was a foreign policy moron, but Reagan's Laffer Curve tax theories were a balloon waiting to pop. The prosperity promoted in the video was made poaaible by selling the country to the Chinese by creating a massive budget deficit. Read David Stockman's book on Reaganomics. It's an eye opener. He saw the whole thing as an insider. In America, we are still suffering its effects. Meanwhile, our roads are falling apart and our bridges are rusting away.
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