Decisive Action Necessary To Show American Strength

Freedom Weekly Front Page

  While our president touts his telephone and his pen, the Russians have drawn a sword.  President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin have seemingly been at odds since Putin assumed office in 2012.  Now the two world leaders’ bickering egos are recreating a seemingly bipolar world where two countries with common enemies are quickly turning against one another.  The two leaders wish to project images of strength.  The problem arises for the US with the weakness of Obama’s indecisive foreign policy.  The empty chair presidency, his failed domestic policies, and an obscure number of scandals at home make President Obama much weaker than Putin.  Russia does not have to be our enemy, but the perceived weakness of the Obama administration is putting world balance at risk.  The Cold War ended, but generational resentment and US inaction still play obvious roles in our relationship with Russia.  

  President Obama’s domestic policies have their obvious failures; however the administration’s foreign policies are in even more disarray.  President Obama has long advocated reaching out to America’s enemies.  The President went on an Apology Tour, where he essentially apologized for everything America has done to and for the world.  He even mocked opponent Mitt Romney in a 2012 debate for saying our greatest geopolitical foe is Russia.  Just a few months prior, he told then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev he would ‘have more flexibility after the election.’  Yet again, Obama has proven himself wrong.  Our enemies are now stronger, fear us less, and pose a greater threat to worldwide stability.  Russia has become our greatest geopolitical foe.  And the President is quickly running out of options on how properly deal with Putin.

  The increasing tensions between Obama and Putin were first visible after the Boston Marathon bombing.  Russia warned us about the Tsarnaev brothers, yet was blamed by the Obama administration for vague reports.  Then, at a 2013 G8 summit, the leader of the Free World and the leader who wrestles bears in the near-nude refused to use the hotel gym at the same time.  Over time, scandals such as NSA spying on foreign leaders further increased US-Russia tensions, prompting an editorial from Putin which bashed not only our president, but our entire country.  Even the Olympic Games in Sochi became a hotbed for controversy; from Russia’s harsh anti-gay laws to security issues and contingency problems.

  Many thought the climax of recent tensions with Russia was the conflict in Syria.  Obama drew a red line, yet failed to follow through with any meaningful action.  Meanwhile, Putin took the opportunity to brand himself as the shirtless world hero. 

In true KGB style, Putin neglected the atrocities committed while self-serving Russian interests.  Bashar al-Assad is still in power, civil war is still raging, and only 11% of Syria’s chemical weapon stockpiles have been removed.  Russia essentially won in the absence of a strong American president.

  Obama’s lead-from-behind foreign policy is now taking root with the recent violence in Ukraine.  As clashes between pro-Western and pro-Russian movements spilled blood in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, the President offered only rhetoric of America’s support for Maiden, who are the pro-Western protestors of a corrupt pro-Russian government.  Even after a ceasefire in Kiev, as well as installing a new government, clashes in the pro-Russian peninsula Crimea continue to destabilize Ukraine.  Putin is an opportunist.  Russia is invading Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula with Russian troops and war machines.  President Obama spoke out against Russia’s violation of Ukrainian sovereignty, saying ‘there will be costs.’  The Kremlin certainly recognizes the language in Obama’s speech.  It was the same rhetoric accompanied by an obvious lack of action that made America look weak and indecisive on the world stage.

  Putin argues that Russia has a right to defend established Russian military bases on the peninsula; however the incited riots and Russian troops on Ukrainian streets are making Ukraine look more like the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.  Like President Obama now, Jimmy Carter took no decisive action in the early stages of the Soviet invasion. Afghanistan was then occupied by the Soviets for 9 years.  The lesson here is that history repeats itself unless we act otherwise.  Obama’s indecisive and feeble foreign policy that lacks clear and concise action may be putting America at greater future risk. 

  Russia does not have to be our enemy.  However, President Obama can no longer lead from behind.  The constant exchanges of rhetoric between Obama and Putin followed by Obama’s lack of decisive action have made our enemies less fearful of consequences.  By allowing the Russian military buildup in Ukraine, the administration would simply be allowing the former Soviet bloc to reassemble itself.  President Obama needs to send a message to Moscow: the US is not an enemy, but will not allow Russia to once again reign fear upon free people through overly aggressive military action.  America is not necessarily the world police, but like it or not, our nation must act to defend the ideals of freedom, liberty, and justice throughout the world, or tyranny will prevail.  Engrossed in his domestic policies, President Obama may believe he has a telephone and a pen to thrust his ideals upon Americans.  What the President needs to remember is that sometimes a sword is needed to defend the defenseless throughout the free world.

Published: Freedom Weekly March 5, 2014, Vol. 004 Issue 005