Over
and over again I’ve written about what President Barack Obama should
do. Now the voters have given him a whole new chance. He could take it
and change his policy. I don't believe he will do that but let me lay
out both what he's been wrong and what he should do, just in case Obama
is seeking a different approach.
What
he did in the first and will do in the second term: Foster
revolutionary Islamism in Egypt, the Gaza Strip, Syria, Tunisia, and
Turkey.
What
he should have done and should do now: Do what Franklin Rooosevelt did
in 1941 and Harry Truman in 1947 and George Bush in 1990. Lead an
international coalition that will systematically fight against a
totalitarian enemy. Today, that means revolutionary Islamism. The loose
coalition should include Europe, anti-Islamist Arab regimes (Morocco,
Algeria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Arab states) and
pro-democratic opposition movements (Turkey, Lebanon, Iran, and Syria).
What he did….: Support Islamist opposition groups
What he should have done….: Support anti-Islamist and moderate opposition groups
What
he did….: Pressed Israel to reduce pressure on the Hamas regime in the
Gaza Strip and helped bring an Egyptian regime that backed Hamas.
What
he should have done….: Supported a reformed—not overthrown—Egyptian
regime and Israel in opposing Hamas and subverting its rule.
What
he did….: Gave support and aid to the Muslim Brotherhood regime in
Egypt despite lip service to defending women’s and Christian rights and
the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
What
he should have done….: Clearly condition aid on Egypt to protecting
women, Christians, and moderates; take a strong stand on the regime’s
permitting cross-border attacks on Israel and gutting the peace treaty.
The Obama Administration has, and will have, no credibility with an
anti-American extremist and antisemitic Egyptian government.
What
he did: Celebrate the Turkish regime as a great example of democracy
and moderate
Islam. Did nothing as that regime went into a non-shooting war with
Israel, backing Hamas, Hizballah, and Iran; rewarded Ankara with special
treatment, including letting it organize the Syrian opposition.
What
he should have done….: Without provoking a conflict, use U.S. leverage
to press Turkey’s rulers to change their policies. No rewards without
their help in promoting U.S. goals. Be suspicious of the regime’s
intentions and note its suppression of democracy within Turkey.
What he did….: Accepted the Lebanese government dominated by Hizballah and backed by Iran and Syria.
What
he should have done….: Back the moderate Lebanese opposition that
opposed the regime in order to combat the Iran-Syria bloc.
What
he did….: Backed the Muslim Brotherhood in Syria’s civil war and did
not interfere with weapons going to Salafist groups as long as they were
not al-Qaida affiliates.
What he should have done….Support moderates and anti-Islamists in Syria against both the Islamists and the regime.
-----------------------
We
need your support now most of all. Things are going to get worse in the
Middle East; good information and positive influences on the issue are
going to be scarcer.
To make a tax-deductible donation to the GLORIA Center by PayPal: <https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=ET6RUW2JGHGGW>
By credit card: <http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com> and click Donate button.
Checks: "American Friends of IDC.” “For GLORIA Center” on memo line.
Mail: American Friends of IDC, 116 East 16th St., 11th Fl., NY, NY 10003.
For tax-deductible donations in Canada and the UK, write info@gloria-center.org.
Please be subscriber 30,143 (among more than 50,000 total readers). Put email address in upper right-hand
box: http://www.rubinreports.blogspot.com
------------------------
What
he did….: Acted as if all of Libya’s problems had been solved; tried to
please the regime and show his niceness by not intervening to save
Americans in the September 11 Benghazi attacks.
What he should have done: Know that the US is involved in an ongoing conflict in Libya and there will be more attacks in future.
What he did: Nothing.
What
he should have done: Investigate the Benghazi incident seriously and
honestly (his choice for chief investigator, former State Department
hack Thomas Pickering, is an opportunist who will write whatever the
White House wants), get those responsible and make sure that nothing
like that has ever happened again. Perhaps an apology to the families of
those killed would be in order.
What
he did….: Pushed the “peace process” for two years though then he did
get the idea it wouldn’t work. He also opposed, albeit starting far too
late, Palestinian Authority (PA) unilateral statehood bids. But will he
continue that revised policy into a second term?
What
he should have done: Realize the peace process isn’t going anywhere and
understand that’s because PA intransigence and the Hamas challenge that
is radicalizing even further Palestinian policy. When the PA subverts
U.S. policies be willing to pressure and criticize it.
What
he did….: Said he supported the rights of Christians and women from
(Islamist) repression. But he never did anything about it, zero. Cozied
up to Syria and Iran at the very moment they were violently suppressing
dissidents at home and opponents abroad.
What
he should have done: Genuinely work to protect the rights of Christians
and women as well as the lives of moderates by using leverage.
What he did….: Said that al-Qaida was defeated.
What
he should have done: Understand that al-Qaida is not finished by any
means. And its partner the Taliban is still going strong. But this issue
made less difference since U.S. policy did fight al-Qaida any way.
What he did….: Continued the withdrawal from Afghanistan and tried to cut a deal with the Taliban.
What
he should have done: Continued the withdrawal from Afghanistan but
follow a realpolitik policy and set into place a strong set of
patron-client relationships with those willing—albeit for their own
interests—to keep the Taliban from taking power. The problem is that
once U.S. forces are out the regime is likely to collapse and possibly
give way to a revolutionary Islamist, anti-American government.
What
he did….: Although the U.S. government conducted drone strikes and the
killing of Usama bin Ladin, unilaterally, it generally continued to pour
money into
Pakistan despite its lack of cooperation, activity as a major sponsor
of terrorism, and institutionalized anti-Americanism, persecution of
Christians, and the spread of radical Islamist ideology.
What he should have done: Move away from Pakistan and rebuild relations with India.
What
he did….: Forbade an honest discussion of the enemy and threat in the
U.S. military; minimized or denied attacks like the one at Fort Hood
were terrorist.
What he should have done: Let the U.S. military educate its people to the actual threat instead
of forcing them to pretend otherwise.
What
he did….: Put tough international sanctions and on Iran and keep the
possibility of an attack against nuclear institutions on the table. He
will try to make a deal with Tehran letting it do limited enrichment and
drop sanctions in exchange for promises not to develop nuclear weapons.
The choice is up to Tehran as to whether to negotiate a deal or simply
use talks as one more stalling technique while continuing to hurry
toward getting deliverable nuclear weapons. When Iran does get nuclear
weapons he won’t do anything, including never supporting an Israeli
attack.
What
he should do: If he wants to negotiate, first gain
credibility in Tehran by being tough on Iranian interests everywhere in
the region—he’s doing this in Syria--and bargain toughly rather than do
anything to get a deal. When Iran does get nuclear weapons put in place
a really tough containment system that would counter Iran’s subversion
and terrorism, give strong backing to the internal opposition, and
squeeze Iran to the maximum extent. If an honest assessment shows an
Iranian plan to attack Israel or if Tehran seems likely to give nuclear
bombs to terrorists, the U.S. government should support an Israeli
attack. By not being credible, Obama makes more likely Iran’s obtaining
nuclear weapons and that outcome leading to war.
Shall we go on? Well, the U.S. government will go on doing these things for the next four years.
Barry
Rubin is director of the Global Research in International Affairs
(GLORIA) Center and editor of the Middle East Review of International
Affairs (MERIA) Journal. His latest book, Israel: An Introduction, has just been published by Yale University Press. Other recent books include The Israel-Arab Reader (seventh edition), The Long War for Freedom: The Arab Struggle for Democracy in the Middle East (Wiley), and The Truth About Syria (Palgrave-Macmillan). The website of the GLORIA Center and of his blog, Rubin Reports. His original articles are published at PJMedia.
Professor Barry Rubin, Director, Global Research in International Affairs (GLORIA) Center http://www.gloria-center.org
The Rubin Report blog http://rubinreports.blogspot.com/
He is a featured columnist at PJM http://pajamasmedia.com/barryrubin/.
Editor, Middle East Review of International Affairs (MERIA) Journal http://www.gloria-center.org
Editor Turkish Studies,http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~db=all~content=t713636933%22
--
No comments:
Post a Comment