Halloween looms and I am scared. Not of the trick-or-treaters, but of the very real monsters lurking in the world.
And of Obama. I am afraid that he isn’t scary enough. To the right people.
It’s all about America’s place in the world. Paradoxically, many consider this Obama’s strong suit. The rock-star reaction to his world tour suggests that the world loves him. And we like that. We want our country and our leaders to be loved.
The problem is that there are forces, countries, and leaders in the world who are eager to commit aggression, murder, and genocide, against their own people or their neighbors. They must be restrained. And the only thing that restrains them is their fear that stronger nations may come after them if they act too flagrantly. In the current situation, there is only one such possible power.
The United Nations was supposed to be that power. When North Korea attacked South Korea in 1950, the UN was able to serve that role. Since then, Russia, and now China, have learned how to use their veto power to immobilize the UN.
So there is no sheriff, no cop, no militia; and no citizen posse in town, if the US doesn’t lead the way. It is essential to world peace that the world’s aggressors fear America, and particularly our president.
Would they fear McCain? Yes. Obama? I doubt it.
Obama appears to believe, based on a very shallow liberal reading of history, that the US (meaning the Republican Party) is the primary source of problems in the world today. And he seems to be one of those people who believe that only misunderstandings divide the world, and that communication can fix everything.
True in some cases. But there are some tough neighborhoods in the world, and folks who are expert at taking such “diplomatists” to the cleaners.
The most immediate case in point: Iran is a strategically-positioned nation of 70 million, with immense oil wealth and military power. Its leader is Mohammed Ahmedinejad, fronting for a gang of extremist Islamic clerics. They believe – and state openly – that Israel must and will be destroyed. They hate Israel, the US, and all Western democracies; but their immediate target is Israel (our ally).
And they are developing nuclear weapons.
In other words, they are preparing Round Two of the Holocaust. In Round One, Hitler killed 6 million Jews. Israel now holds another 6 million, and Iran wants to do the same to them. With nuclear weapons, Iran could do it in a day. And after Israel, they would send their nuclear-tipped terrorist armies our way.
At the Holocaust Museum in Washington, much prominence is given to the slogan: “Never Again.” Well, it is being planned again, right before our eyes. And the whole world is…watching.
The would-be mass murderers also watch.
When Bush invaded Iraq in March 2003, the worst of the Mideast’s leaders, particularly those building nuclear weapons, took notice. Within months, fearing strong action from Bush, Libya’s ruler abandoned his nuclear weapons development program – actually gave it to the US. And we now know that Iran also suspended its program. Why? Because they feared American military power and our president’s willingness to use it.
But within two years, the Iranian leaders reconsidered. They observed that partisan opposition was hamstringing President Bush, and that he could not possibly take on another unpopular war. Iran decided that America was unlikely to take action against them. So they renewed their nuclear weapons program. Europe could communicate and diplomatise to their heart’s content. Iran feels no fear.
Simply summarized, when they were afraid of US power in the hands of a president willing and able to use it, they grew cautious and suspended their adventurism. When they decided the US was no longer to be feared, they took off again.
That’s why it is necessary for the US president to be feared. And why Obama is not up to the job.
There is a lot more history behind this. Chamberlain, Churchill, and appeasement of Hitler. Iraq, Pakistan, Arafat and Clinton. The basic lessons must, alas, be continually re-learned. And Jewish and American blood always plays a significant role in the lesson.
I know there are many other important issues in this election. But if Iran or other rogue nations are allowed to move ahead unrestrained, history may remember us only for our failure to prevent nuclear genocide.
We all want America to be loved. But we can’t afford a president for whom that is the highest goal.
The election of a feel-good politician like Obama risks a total abandonment of America’s real responsibility in the world.
A world unafraid of America? That’s scary.
I remain a lifelong Democrat. But I cannot vote for Obama.
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