My Lord, What A Freaking Mess.

My Lord, What A Freaking Mess.  I am a simple man, living a simple life, and pretty average in most respects.  I have readily acknowledged my lack of sophistry in matters of foreign policy and, like most people who venture opinion on the internet; I have occasionally disregarded that stance and assumed improperly the mantle of understanding and knowledge.  Once again, I submit that very few in or out of our government are gifted with both the intelligence and the opportunity to grasp the myriad complexities of today’s global onion.  Having said that, I can nonetheless render an opinion on the common sense quotient, hypocrisy level, and total and unabashed arrogance of those who pretend to know all there is to know about the geopolitical landscape and yet, based on anyone’s objective observations, are complete and total idiots.  I am talking about president Obama and his minions here.

It is impossible, and patently foolish, to project how historians will record today’s events in hindsight.  If nothing else, we have learned that all too often, history is written in such a fashion to reflect the agenda of the authors.  However, some things are so obvious as to be unavoidable and although they might be spun in a certain tilt, the obvious truth will out eventually.  For the record, let us consider some of Obama’s foreign policy misadventures.

·      Perhaps the linchpin in the entire Middle East mess is the failure of the Iraqi people to stand up a competent government in the wake of the Iraq war.  Sincere people can take opposing and legitimate positions on the wisdom of U.S. engagement in the Iraqi War, but there is not much left to the imagination about the conclusion of the episode.  After spending his brief time in the Senate rhetorically opposing the war and then voting to support it, once he began his presidential campaign in earnest, Obama made the Iraq War the centerpiece of all that he found wrong with the Bush foreign policy.  Once elected, it became obvious that his top priority (Obamacare notwithstanding) was to wash his hands of this particular war as soon as possible.  After the successful surge administered by the Bush administration (as opposed to the unsuccessful Afghanistan surge initiated by the Obama administration), Iraq had a stable and decent opportunity (Obama’s own words) to establish, over the long haul, a competent and decent government that might serve its people well and make it a prospective member of good standing in Middle East and the global society.  But in  his haste to end this relationship and under the pretense of sincere negotiating, the Obama administration deep-sixed the post-war Status of Forces agreement with the Iraqi government, packed up and headed home, and left Iraq to fend for itself.  Respected and experienced people on both sides of the political aisle warned that without a modicum of U.S. support, Iraq might well descend into chaos.  Ignoring this advice and once again relying on  his fairy tale and “smartest guy in the room” attitude, Obama got out of Iraq clean and quick.  The result has been a power vacuum filled by ISIL/ISIS and other selected entities pursuing their own agendas with no regard for the Iraqi people.  A reasonable argument can be made that the resulting Iraqi vortex was the spark that lit the present Middle East inferno.

·      Yesterday, White House spokesman Josh Earnest cited the Iraqi War as a major U.S. failure and compared it to the failed Soviet effort in Afghanistan.  The shamelessness of this administration knows no boundaries.  After orchestrating the downfall of the Gaddafi government in Libya, the Obama administration not only failed to help clean up the mess it created, it stranded American personnel in the middle of the chaos and carelessly cost them their lives.  This episode is precisely what the Obama administration accuses G. W. Bush of doing in Iraq and yet they simply assume that no one will see the parallels.  And…I suppose they are correct.  Perhaps if Hillary gets the Democratic presidential nod, this Libyan chapter will experience a bit more scrutiny.  Right or wrong, Obama was handed a military victory on a silver platter in Iraq and he pissed it away due to his arrogance and stupidity.  And then, in a show of astounding incompetence, he executed in Libya precisely that which he accused the Bush administration of doing.  The big difference is that Bush won the first half of the game and the second half failed because a new coach took over.  In the case of Libya, the game was a total and abject failure and the same coach presided over both halves.

·      The U.S. had two assets in the Middle East; the free and Democratic nation of Israel and the small group of west-leaning nations such as Saudi Arabia.  Not only has Obama destroyed our relationship with Israel, his glaring incompetence has frittered away any leverage or credibility we ever had with the small group of Middle Eastern countries that once stood with us.  And now, fearing the spread of the chaos they see in Iraq/Iran/Syria, they look eastward for someone to fill the power vacuum created by our pathetic president.   Who do you suppose stands ready to fill that void?

·      It is abjectly depressing to see the utter disregard displayed by Russia and Putin in their dealings with our government.  Openly ridiculing our president has become common practice for Soviet officials and it has reached the level of true embarrassment.  If Obama were teaching an Ivy League college course in foreign affairs or writing an op-ed for the Old Gray Lady, this situation might be somewhat amusing.  There is absolutely no amusement when Putin obviously reaches the conclusion that he has nothing whatsoever to fear from this president or this country, knows that the time is running out for the Obama administration, and is shoving his brutal and hegemonic foreign adventures into high gear.  What do you suppose North Korea and China are thinking?

I remain utterly dismayed at the damage this small man has wrought on our nation, both domestically and globally.  I can only pray that the cost in innocent lives can somehow be kept to a minimum and that Obama’s successor, whoever that might be, is sufficiently wise and capable to begin the long and costly process of healing this nation and all that has gone terribly wrong over the last six and one-half years.