Author Topic: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?  (Read 760 times)

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rangerrebew

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Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« on: August 23, 2014, 10:27:13 am »
 
Forbes 8/20/2014 @ 6:10AM 1,406 views

Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?

This story appears in the September 8, 2014 issue of Forbes.


PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ATTITUDE to the rest of the world could be summed up in the motto of Mad magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman: “What–Me Worry?” Obama genuinely believes that U.S. actions around the world for decades have made things worse, not better; that we have been a malignant influence; and that other than powwowing at international confabs and kowtowing to the pretensions of the UN, the less the U.S. does overseas, the better. Even a cursory look at history would demonstrate that U.S. passivity is a green light for dangerous behavior that ultimately affects our very safety. Too bad the President never took a look at what happened in the 1930s and 1970s, when Washington was seen as the capital of a weak, declining power.

Currently we have a lot of worries–some very serious ones–and this President and his officials have shown little appreciation for what they’ve wrought and little knowledge of how to deal effectively with the crises now unfolding.

–The Middle East. Obama has vowed not to send American ground forces back into combat in Iraq. That, to him, would be a catastrophic admission that his happy words about Iraq during his 2012 campaign were a fraud. There is an extraordinarily evil force called the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) arising in the region. ISIS has seized large chunks of Iraq and parts of Syria in the name of establishing a new caliphate of murderous extremism.

 
The question is not whether we should go back into Iraq, but how we are going to defeat this malevolent force. If ISIS succeeds, it will create a safe haven for global terrorism against the rest of the world, in particular the U.S. and American citizens everywhere. We saw what al Qaeda did from its base in Afghanistan before 9/11. Giving Kurdish militias sufficient arms to defend their territory and conducting air strikes to stop ISIS from carrying out genocidal plans against Christians and others are necessary stopgaps–but only that. The fundamental questions remain: What are our plans for destroying this threat? Does the President have any plausible ideas, short of fighting on the ground?

Sadly, Obama is equally bankrupt on ideas to prevent Iran from getting the Bomb and stop its march to amass a formidable armada of long-range ballistic missiles. If Iran obtains or makes it to the brink of developing nuclear weapons, Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be sorely tempted to do the same.




–Afghanistan. The bad guys here know Obama desperately wants out, and they’re ready to move to seize power as soon as we leave. The demoralized Afghan government knows it, too. Again, the White House seems not to remember where it was that Osama bin Laden plotted 9/11.

Moreover, an ugly turn in Afghanistan will have a deleterious impact on neighboring Pakistan, a profoundly troubled, nuclear-armed state in which Islamic extremists are becoming more powerful. The reality of al Qaeda and its ilk gaining control of a country with nukes would be horrific.

Again, the President has no real strategy to deal with this.

–Ukraine. The Administration must do more than send happy meals to Kiev. Armed conflict is a very real possibility. Vladimir Putin has taken the measure of our President and feels he can effectively take control of independent Ukraine and perhaps seize more territory to boot, without lasting consequences.

We should be sending massive arms shipments to Ukraine, as the country–or most of it–will fight to maintain independence if it has the tools to do so. Remember, Ukrainian noncommissioned officers were the backbone of the Soviet army.

We will also face the probable need to station NATO forces, including Americans, in Poland and the Baltic states: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. All are NATO members, and we are bound by treaty to defend them. Stationing forces in these states–which would serve as trip wires–would probably be the only credible deterrence to Russian machinations.

On the economic front we can not only help prevent a collapse but also strengthen Ukraine. As I explained in an Aug. 15 forbes.com post: “Ukraine should immediately implement a currency board, under which the hryvnia would be tied directly to the dollar.”

President Obama may wish to ignore the world. Alas, it won’t ignore us.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveforbes/2014/08/20/is-alfred-e-neuman-making-u-s-foreign-policy/
« Last Edit: August 23, 2014, 10:28:50 am by rangerrebew »

Offline aligncare

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2014, 12:23:46 pm »
Let's not forget, Americans voted for this clown twice. Apparently, in the modern era, cool trumps competent.

"I'm down with the brotha"

"Golly, Harriet, it's time we voted for a Negro. Let's show our friends we're broad-minded."

Offline GourmetDan

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2014, 04:05:55 pm »

I think I'd rather have Alfred E. Neuman making U.S. Foreign Policy...


"The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left." - Ecclesiastes 10:2

"The sole purpose of the Republican Party is to serve as an ineffective alternative to the Democrat Party." - GourmetDan

Oceander

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2014, 05:28:42 pm »
Nah.  Even Alfred could do better than the bozo in the White House.

Offline Fishrrman

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #4 on: August 24, 2014, 12:07:17 am »
Nah.  Even Alfred could do better than the bozo in the White House.

Well, how 'bout we toss him out, and give the job to Joe Biden?

Offline PzLdr

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #5 on: August 24, 2014, 01:32:57 pm »
Alfred E. Neumann at least had the self-awareness to know his own limitations. Alfred E. Obama, not so much.
Hillary's Self-announced Qualifications: She Stood Up To Putin...She Sits to Pee

Offline 240B

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2014, 02:09:09 pm »
Let's not forget, Americans voted for this clown twice. Apparently, in the modern era, cool trumps competent.

"I'm down with the brotha"

"Golly, Harriet, it's time we voted for a Negro. Let's show our friends we're broad-minded."

Very true. The people who voted for Obama did not vote for "Obama". They couldn't have. He is the man with no past, no qualifications, no credentials at all. What could they possibly have been voting for if they were voting for Obama's past, or lack of any past.
 
No. There is no question that the Blacks voted for their 'Black brother', no matter what. The Leftists voted for their 'Commie brother', no matter what. And the average White people voted for "the clean articulate negro", to feel good about themselves.
 
Nobody voted for Obama because of his qualifications, experience, or accomplishments, because his simply doesn't have any of these.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists.

rangerrebew

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2014, 03:22:21 pm »
 
Nobody voted for Obama because of his qualifications, experience, or accomplishments, because his simply doesn't have any of these.

Are you suggesting being a community organizer and editor of a student paper aren't good qualifications for a president? :silly:

Offline 240B

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Re: Is Alfred E. Neuman Making U.S. Foreign Policy?
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2014, 03:37:22 pm »
Are you suggesting being a community organizer and editor of a student paper aren't good qualifications for a president? :silly:

You left out that he was a "Constutional Law 'Professor'" because he guest lectured at a college a few times (a gig given to him by a fellow traveller) so he could raise some spending money while on the street.
You cannot "COEXIST" with people who want to kill you.
If they kill their own with no conscience, there is nothing to stop them from killing you.
Rational fear and anger at vicious murderous Islamic terrorists is the same as irrational antisemitism, according to the Leftists.