As you have probably heard by now, a former Soviet satellite country, Ukraine, has fallen captive to the kind of protests that ran rampant throughout the Middle East over the Arab Spring and Summer.
?Cheers for democracy, and for equal representation from peaceful protestors could be heard and seen on millions of television sets all across the United States, and all across the globe.
But then, the sunny skies turned dark, and firing squads could be seen in the distance. Protestors were killed, shot down by riot police armed with live ammunition. A government crackdown akin to Tiananmen Square could be seen unfolding, all in real time.
Out of fears for his own safety, the leader of Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, fled. Chaos ensued as the parliament granted the power of the presidency to a new leader, political dissidents were released from jail, and soldiers from Russia invaded.
The Russian flag flew high in the streets of two Ukrainian cities as Russian soldiers cut deeper into the country. Even today, Russia has secured an all-important naval base where new troops could be deployed to.
And what was Washington’s response?
On Friday, President Barack Obama took to the podium in the White House Press Room and eschewed stern warnings against any country that tries with force to remove Ukrainian sovereignty. “The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine,” Obama said.
But was the world listening?
It has been two years since Obama declared, “Assad must go!” And it has been two years since he drew his now infamous “Red Line,” that Assad dare not cross by using chemical weapons.
But alas, he did cross that line, and still today thousands upon thousands of Syrians lay dead in the streets. Upon closer glance, the Assad regime is no different from Hitler’s, as he seeks to destroy entire swaths of his own people.
Across the globe, the OPEC nations laugh as Americans agree to pay hundreds of dollars per barrel of oil, when the most natural gas in the world lays beneath their feet. Iran continues to enrich uranium, and fails to agree to allow weapons inspectors into new sites, the Chinese continue to steal American jobs with manipulated currency and limited to no labor laws, and Venezuela erupts in protests over a government that has massacred its people. But what is the Obama administration’s response to all of this?
No Keystone XL Pipeline, no drilling on public lands, and ensuring that permits be harder to get than ever before. Oh, and let’s not forget Solyndra.
Continue to keep taxes incredibly high, and drive business owners and their companies overseas and right into China’s hands. Create a health care law that also increases taxes and regulations on employers and that destroys business—again pushing jobs overseas.
Just ignore Syria altogether—it’s the other side of the world, who cares anyways?
Leave the planning committee for the G8 Summit to be held in Sochi, but don’t even consider kicking Russia out of the G8, let alone the United Nations.
Call the prime minister of Israel a nuisance.
Continue to allow farmers to be exploited by the incredible genetically modified organism companies that have desecrated American jobs, farms and farmers.
Reduce the size of the military, and cut soldiers’ benefits.
Oh and let’s not forget, host one of the most expensive State Dinners in history for the French Prime Minister who is unlikely to win reelection in the next few years.
So really, is it a surprise that the world isn’t listening to a word this president has said?
In my last article I pondered the reasons behind Obama’s incredible failures domestically, but none resonate as deep as his foreign policy blunders.
This president has overseen the destruction of American alliances and the weakening of American power abroad, and that is indisputable fact.
He has been outmaneuvered on the world stage by China and Russia so many times that it is getting hard to keep track.
But it’s come to a point where no one seems to care what this administration thinks. It won’t protect its own citizens and diplomats, a la Benghazi and Fast and Furious, and it refuses to act when serious humanitarian disasters catch fire all across the globe. No wonder his approval rating is at a record low.
Do you agree with Charley or do you think US foreign policy has been rightly cautious? Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
