No more ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ foreign policy

By SUSAN S. BROWN
As truth’s brilliant light breaks through the fogginess of mistruth as to the reason behind the violent anti-American sentiment currently burning its way across the globe, one thing is for sure: An Internet YouTube video is not the culprit, and those who say it is are either seriously misinformed, trying to deflect blame, delusional, lying — or a little of each.
Of all the terrible scenes portraying the violence this past week, the picture most concerning is that of the video’s creator — an American citizen protected by our Constitution’s First Amendment — being ushered away by federal agents purportedly due to a potential parole violation. Sure. Got it. Or, maybe... it was an attempt to throw red meat to those in the Mideast region who seem to wear their religious sensibilities on their sleeves, since repeated apologies have not worked... Just thinking out loud here.
Let’s be honest; the Obama administration’s “Mr. Nice Guy” approach has failed miserably; those teethed on bloodshed view congeniality as weakness rather than strength. As a result, the Mideast region burns today with a raging fire kindled by fear and uncertainty because, as former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice so eloquently stated during the recent Republican National Convention, the world no longer has an answer to a most pressing question “Where does America stand.” Every which way but loose, it seems.
In the past, America has always stood against evil regimes and ideologies, and stood for, as Ms. Rice said, “free peoples and free markets.” Because we have an administration that wishes to stand on all sides of every issue, the world is more dangerous than it was when everyone clearly understood our position.
Attempting to have it both ways eventually forces us to either stand for our founding principles or reject them — as recently happened when the Obama administration made the preposterous decision to sacrifice our First Amendment rights on the altar of political correctness. For the unaware, the administration recently asked Google to remove the YouTube video from the Internet. Thankfully, Google refused. In so doing, the Obama administration sent a loud and clear message to Muslim extremists that our Constitution is subservient to their extremist beliefs.
The leader on the ground, Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif, story doesn’t mesh with the White House’s canard regarding the video. el-Megarif told Al Jazerra he believed the attacks on the embassy in Libya were preplanned by “experienced masterminds” quite possibly connected to al Qaeda. From the BVD bombing attempt, to the failed Times Square bomb plot, and the Fort Hood massacre, the Obama administration has tried to paint a picture that Islamic extremism is a non-issue.
Sure, bin Laden’s dead (and GM’s alive, lest we forget), but getting one heckova lucky opportunity to sign your name to a military operation does not sound foreign policy make.
During his Cairo speech in 2009, Obama promised his leadership would be better than his predecessor’s. Obama vowed, “I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect; and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition.” One look at the flags, as dark as the Jihad they represent, rising across the Middle East will tell you who appears to be winning.
The world longs for and urgently needs American leadership but it is missing in action. The gut-wrenching scene at Joint Base Andrews last week of four American flag-draped coffins holding the remains of patriots savagely murdered in Benghazi is proof-positive as to how badly the world needs to know where America stands.
Susan Stamper Brown is an opinion page columnist, motivational speaker and military advocate who writes about politics, the military, the economy and culture. Email Susan at writestamper@gmail.com or her website at susanstamperbrown.com.
This column has been edited by the author. Representations of fact and opinions are solely those of the author.
Published in The Messenger 9.21.12

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