Barry Rubin points to the cold truth the decadent Gnostic elites don't want to see:
...All this brings us to Lech Walesa, revered leader of Poland’s struggle against both Soviet and Communist tyranny. He has now taken the unprecedented step of going to Illinois to endorse a Republican candidate for governor there. The candidate is a Polish-American but still this is an amazing thing for Walesa to do. It is a signal of how truly upset he is and he is far from being alone.
During his visit, Walesa said:
"The US does not lead morally or politically anymore. The world has no leadership. The United States was always the last resort and hope for all other nations. That was the hope, that whenever something was going wrong, one could count on the United States. Today we lost that hope."
Why did Walesa say such a thing? Obviously, there is a general worry throughout many countries about the weakness of the Obama administration. But there’s more:
--Poland had gone out on a limb to accept American defensive missiles, nominally against Iran but really as a sign of U.S. commitment to protect Poland from Russia.
--Not only did the Obama administration change the plan (which is justifiable regarding the anti-Iran defenses argument but not the wider and real strategic purpose) but it did so without consulting the Polish government which was only informed at the last minute.
--The decision was announced on September 17, 2009, which everyone in Central Europe knew was the 60th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland, followed by the annexation of eastern Poland to the USSR.
It was a triple slap in the face of Poland and every nation which regained independence from Soviet tyranny.
But that’s not all. Everyone but the Central Europeans seems to have forgotten an open letter sent to Obama last July by 22 top Central European figures, including 7 former prime ministers or presidents, and 9 former foreign or defense ministers begging him not to abandon them. Walesa was one of them.
The letter stated:
“We know from our own historical experience the difference between when the United States stood up for its liberal democratic values and when it did not. Our region suffered when the United States [accepted Soviet domination over it] And it benefited when the United States used its power to fight for principle.”
Six months later there has been no change. The Obama administration didn't even deign to respond to this distinguished group with a reassuring answer.
Not only is the Obama administration failing to stand up for liberal democratic values—and I mean here not just advocating democracy abroad but even more importantly supporting democratic friends and opposing expansionist dictatorships—but arguably it is not even standing up for U.S. interests.
4 comments:
Wow! I didn't know about that letter from Eastern European leaders. Amazing! NOT amazing that The One has ignored it, though. I'm pretty sure the next three years will be one of a lame duck in the Oval Office. He hasn't got the kind of stuff required to project American power and principles to the rest of the world.
The Obama administration is a train wreck. They -- and most of the U.S. -- don't realize it just yet. But we all will, sooner or later.
Truepeers, so glad to see you making this observation. Like so many similar observations, it will drop off the radar all too soon.
It speaks so many volumes not only about presidential lack of focus or incompetence, but also national asleep-at-the-wheel, if that makes sense. The signs are all there; but if we lose sight of what is true and honorable at all in this world, then we must turn our cards back into the Humanity Union, having more or less willfully ignored those signs. (Thinks me, anyway.)
Louise, Eowyn,
Obama reminds me a bit of FDR and his betrayal of Poland to the Russians at the end of WWII. I'm sure that is also on Polish minds. FDR also believed in substituting some new kind of internationalism, focused on the UN and its vague promise of some ideal world, for the European empires that had previously structured much of global interaction. FDR in effect created power vacuums that were not filled by peace and harmony but by assertive forces in the cold war with its many little hot wars among the "proxies" of the superpowers.
Once again America is helping to create power vacuums; but this time we don't even have the relative stability provided by the recognition of allies and proxies. It's a worrying time. One creates peace by showing a willingness to defend it, and not by dreamy idealism.
"One creates peace by showing a willingness to defend it, and not by dreamy idealism."
Nail on head.
Post a Comment