In October 2011, President Obama stated that the last American troops would leave Iraq by the end of the year. “Today,” he chortled, “I can report that, as promised, the rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year.” He celebrated “another season of homecomings,” stating, “Our troops will definitely be home for the holidays.”
Just a few months later, Obama would campaign on the slogan that al Qaeda was on the run. On November 1, 2012, just days before his re-election, Obama stated, “Thanks to sacrifice and service of our brave men and women in uniform, the war in Iraq is over, the war in Afghanistan is winding down, al Qaeda has been decimated, Osama bin Laden is dead.”
The war in Iraq may be over. But thanks to President Obama, it was lost. And our erstwhile allies are paying the price as al Qaeda regains a strong foothold in the country, taking over the major cities of Mosul and Tikrit and promptly engaging in mass beheadings. Approximately half a million Iraqis have now fled Mosul, attempting to run to Kurdistan. In total, al Qaeda-connected terror groups now control 10 to 15 percent of the country. Terror is worse in the country than it has been since 2007, before President Bush’s troop surge.
President Obama and his allies desperately wanted another Vietnam in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many on the left still see America’s purposeful self-defeat in Vietnam as a sort of moral moment, despite the utter carnage that followed in Cambodia. Taking the “imperialistic” United States down a peg is the highest priority. Betraying our allies is merely an afterthought.
Afghanistan. President Obama’s solution to the Iraq problem: let’s do the same in Afghanistan. He has now laid out yet another timetable, with a full withdrawal of US troops in the works. He has no plan for transitioning security to the Afghans, who are incapable of handling their own security at this point. And to make matters worse, Obama has decided to begin freeing as many terrorists from Guantanamo Bay as possible, including Taliban leaders responsible for coordinating with al Qaeda before 9/11.
Israel. President Obama hates the state of Israel, so it is no surprise to see him undercutting it yet again – this time, by totally legitimizing the terrorist group Hamas. American taxpayers will now be sending their paychecks to the Palestinian unity government, run by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, and Islamic Jihad. “Based on what we know now,” said State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, “we intend to work with this government.” This means taxpayer dollars paying terrorists.
Iran. By signing onto a faux nuclear deal with the Iranian regime, President Obama has dramatically undercut – for a second time – any Iranian opposition to the Islamist dictatorship. In 2009, President Obama did nothing while the government of Iran gunned down protesters in the streets. Today, Obama works with that same government, proclaiming that he has achieved peace in our time, loosening sanctions while doing nothing to stop Iran’s nuclear development.
Ukraine. The Ukrainian coup against Russian-friendly President Viktor Yanukovych was initially celebrated by the White House. But when Russian strongman Vladimir Putin sent troops into Crimea, rigged an election, and began threatening Eastern Ukraine, the United States went largely silent, except for levying ineffective sanctions on specific individuals. Unsurprisingly, the Ukrainian public reacted by replacing Yanukovych with Russian-friendly Petro Poroshenko, who is seeking closer relations with Moscow. Poroshenko has openly stated that he is doing so because no one is willing to guarantee Ukraine’s security against Russia.
President Obama’s consistent agenda has been to weaken the United States and our allies in pursuit of a more “balanced” global power structure. The result: our allies creep toward the door, looking for new friends to protect themselves. Or they become victims of their enemies. Or both. And America grows ever weaker.
Ben Shapiro is Senior Editor-At-Large of Breitbart News and author of the new book, The People vs. Barack Obama: The Criminal Case Against The Obama Administration (Threshold Editions, June 10, 2014). He is also Editor-in-Chief of TruthRevolt.org. Follow Ben Shapiro on Twitter @benshapiro.
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