Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Maureen Dowd, "Why Not Debtors’ Prison?": The Queen of Snark Declares that Obama Has a Foreign Policy

In her latest New York Times op-ed entitled "Why Not Debtors’ Prison?" (http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/opinion/dowd-why-not-debtors-prison.html), Maureen Dowd would have us know that Romney and Ryan "haven’t spent time thinking and speaking a lot about foreign policy" and take their marching orders from "their neocon advisers." Regarding Obama, Dowd declares:

"At least the president has a foreign policy."

Obama has a foreign policy? Oh really.

Where is there any mention by Dowd of Obama's inane escalation of American involvement in Afghanistan? Hundreds of American soldiers have laid down their lives for this blunder, which is currently costing the US $6 billion per month.

Why doesn't Maureen say anything about Obama's courtship of Syrian President and mass murderer Bashar al-Assad? Do you remember how Senator John Kerry befriended this monster at the behest of Obama? Do you recall how Hillary declared in 2011, "There is a different leader in Syria now, many of the members of Congress of both parties who have gone to Syria in recent months have said they believe he's a reformer" (see: http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-3460_162-20047627.html)?

And where does Maureen refer to Obama's unconscionable conduct during the Green Revolution? When Iranians took to the streets in July 2009 to bring down the Ahmadinejad regime, Obama, wishing to cozy up to the mullahs, did nothing as protesters, calling out his name, were gunned down, imprisoned and tortured. What did Obama gain by turning a blind eye to these outrages? Tehran has raced ahead with its nuclear weapons development program, notwithstanding Obama's conciliatory posture throughout much of his first term, leading to the current imbroglio involving Iran and Israel.

Consider also Obama's refusal to honor his promise to acknowledge Armenian genocide; his profound friendship with Turkey's Erdogan who has thrown a record number of journalists into prison; his demeaning bow to Saudi King Abdullah; his kowtowing to China notwithstanding devastating human rights abuses in that country; his ejection of the Dalai Lama out of a garbage strewn side door of the White House; his joyous embraces with Chavez and Qaddafi; his shameless attempts to mollify Russia's Putin (e.g., the open microphone gaffe when speaking with Medvedev) without receiving anything in return; his alienation of Poland and the Czech Republic in order to appease Putin; his denigration of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu when speaking with Sarkozy (yet another open microphone gaffe); and the list continues ad infinitum.

Dowd further observes:

"And on the day world leaders gathered at the United Nations, President Obama’s only high-level sit-down in New York was with the ladies of 'The View,' teasing, 'I’m just supposed to be eye candy here for you guys.'

Romney said he was very troubled that Obama went on 'The View' and skipped meeting other leaders, especially Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.

Netanyahu did not deserve a meeting and neither did President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt."

So you need to "deserve" a meeting with the One. Well, I believe that after an Egyptian mob earlier this month attacked the US embassy and burned its flag, Obama should have met with Morsi and read him the riot act.

Regarding a meeting with Netanyahu, Obama would have been wise to put personal differences aside in order to discuss a coordinated approach to the Iranian nuclear menace, which German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledges as a threat not only to Israel but to the entire world (see: http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/09/17/238533.html).

But Obama was too busy having fun on "The View" and "The Late Show with David Letterman."

Obama has a foreign policy? If so, perhaps the Queen of Snark would care to enlighten us as to its virtues.

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