‘Armed Peace’: U.S. Needs Bolder Strategy in South China Sea to Stop Beijing
The Obama administration authorized the U.S. Navy to conduct “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea.
The Obama administration authorized the U.S. Navy to conduct “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea.
To respond to Russia’s military campaign in Syria, first, we have to be realistic about the facts on the ground. Iraq and Syria, for all practical purposes, are failed states.
On July 2, the Wall Street Journal carried an article by Shawki Allam, the Grand Mufti of Egypt, who claimed that “violent extremists” are distorting the true purpose of fatwas and thereby, the true meaning of Islam. He goes on to extoll the virtues of Muhammad’s many roles – calling him a divine inspiration, social reformer, military leader, statesman, and also a Mufti.
Under President Obama’s stated policy to fundamentally transform America, our influence on and leadership of the free world has not only been diminished but openly challenged by the likes of China, Russia and Iran. Our unilateral disarmament has only compounded the problem. Furthermore, our allies don’t trust us, and our enemies don’t fear us. That is the worst possible combination.
The five senior Taliban Commanders released from Guantanamo (GITMO) in exchange for the return of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl are set to be freed from their “luxurious” confinement in Qatar effective June 1. These five hard-core terrorists are Mullah Norullah Noori, Abdul Haq Wasiq, Mullah Mohammad Fazl, Khairullah Khairkhwa and Mohammend Nabi Omari. They were classified as some of the most dangerous Taliban commanders held at GITMO, according to Thomas Joscelyn of The Long War Journal.
The recent January drone strike on a compound in Syria that killed an American al-Qaeda leader, Ahmed Farouq, with dual Pakistani citizenship, regrettably also killed an American aid worker, Warren Weinstein, who was being held hostage as well as an Italian aid worker, Giovanni LaPorto.
The movement of the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier accompanied by the USS Normandy, a guided missile cruiser from the Persian Gulf region, to a position off the coast of Yemen could change the dynamics of the Yemen sectarian civil war.
When President-elect Obama declared that he was going to “fundamentally transform” America, not many Americans understood what that meant. They certainly did not understand that he did not believe in America’s exceptionalism and greatness. They were also unaware of his past Marxist indoctrination, blaming America for many of the world’s problems. Therefore, anything that undercuts and withdraws America’s power and influence is seen as being objectively progressive. This is fundamental to understanding why President Obama shows empathy with American’s enemies, e.g., Iran, Cuba, Russia, and China.
While America continues to face an expanding national security threat, President Obama has great difficulty in identifying the enemy that has been at war with the United States for over 35 years.
Symbols matter throughout the world, but no more so than in the Middle East. Like it or not, with President Obama’s no-show in Paris, the Ummah (Muslim world) will likely interpret his absence as another subtle message that he stood with the Islamic Jihadis who were defending the Prophet Mohammed. The Obama Administration is now in full damage control mode by admitting it made an “error.” Was it an error or deliberate?