Category Archives: foreign policy

by | May 13, 2014 · 6:50 pm

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 114

A DANGEROUS TOLERANCE

Tolerance is part of the American heritage and it has served us well. There are times when tolerance is a questionable response to a dangerous situation.  There is nothing in our Constitution that tells us that we must be tolerant in the face of danger. Constantly showing tolerance for the excesses of radical Muslims is counter-productive. Jihadism or radical Islam is a threat to Americans and our way of life. They will not be satisfied until America and what it stands for is destroyed. The threat from radical Islam will not go away. It is not a fad or something that will go away if we just understand it and tolerate their hatred. Progressives led by President Obama, who also want to weaken American economic and military power, will someday understand that they, too, are marked by jihadists for elimination.

Show Muslims love, understanding, and compassion and you show them weakness and a lack of commitment to freedom and liberty, two concepts that do not flourish now and never have in any Muslim state. Muslims are not required to turn the other cheek in the presence of violence or love their neighbors or respect the weak. It appears their love and compassion does not extend outside of their faith. When the Twin Towers were brought down by Muslim terrorists, all the Arabs and other Muslims dancing in the streets of their various homelands were not al-Qaida members or jihadists. They were what progressives like think to represent moderate Muslims. These moderate Muslims tolerate and support radical jihadists by not speaking and acting to stop the senseless killing. These same moderates often support the imposition of sharia law, the mutilation of young Muslim girls, the abuse of Christian minorities and the lack of education for Muslim females.

There is nothing reciprocal about Christians showing kindness and understanding to Muslims. In America ,we allow Muslims to build mosques nearly anywhere they want. We believe in and practice freedom of religion. Name any Muslim nation that allows Christians to build churches with the freedom to convert Muslims to Christianity. There is an inherent conflict between the tenets of Christianity and those of Islam. Our leaders who have shown a decided lean toward Islam in the practice of foreign policy, need to recognize this conflict and demand reciprocity. When that doesn’t happen, which it won’t, then we have to examine the wisdom of a policy that provides freedom to a religion bent on destroying America and the West.

 

 

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by | April 14, 2014 · 10:09 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 110

IS THIS A GAME?

Yes it is, and the Republicans have not learned the rules yet. Time is running out and our team is behind. We have no offense and the defense is out coached. Coach Obama knows what he is doing but only his inner team has the playbook. To win the title for the next several generations he has to change capitalism into socialism, reduce America’s military power, give up our technology position in space exploration, give over control of much of our communications to a world body, abandon NATO, under fund the defense contractors, control energy production, expand the number of people dependent on government assistance, turn the civil service into a force to control opposition, abandon free market concepts and abolish political opposition. How is he doing?

chess boardWe are dependent on the Russians to deliver people and supplies to the International Space Station. We no longer have the booster technology or the space vehicle to conduct space missions. We were once by far the world leader in space exploration. Now we are voluntarily taking a backseat to Russia and China.  Space dominance and military power are closely coupled. Our space capability depended on skilled teams of civilians and military personnel. That capability would take several years to reconstitute. Obama can take a victory lap.

He is reducing our military manpower to below World War II levels. He knows his word on the world power stage is weak and he is okay with that. NATO nations no longer trust the United States nor do the NATO leaning nations of Eastern Europe. Power comes from capability and will, not speeches. How about armored divisions to prevent Russia from over running Europe. How? The U.S. Army does not have a single battle tank in Europe. Remember Benghazi? Our once vaunted military could not rescue or even try to rescue the embattled Americans in the Benghazi Consulate. Another victory lap for the president.

Control of energy. Without the hindering regulations from the Obama administration, we would now be a dominant energy exporter. Putin would have to develop another source of funds for his reconstruction of the Soviet Empire. Obama’s work to wreck the energy industry in America can be seen in the incredible failure to approve the Canadian pipeline, the heavy funding of alternative energy technologies that are decades away, and regulations preventing additional offshore drilling or more exploration and drilling on federal lands. Fortunately, he could not prevent the energy boom in the Dakotas. But he will try. A half victory lap here.

The economy.  The recovery is very poor in job or gross national product terms. Real unemployment is above 12 percent. Money printing by the Keynesian Federal Reserve has kept the stock market sound but has increased the gap of wealth between those who can invest and those who need income from labor. Printing 75 billion or so each month does not help our workers. His first triumph, Obamacare, is not a failure. It is right on or ahead of schedule. It was never intended to improve health care in America, only to bring in socialized medicine. Obamacare is creating so much disruption in the health services that in a year or so, the single-payer system will come to the rescue. This has always been the plan. Another victory lap is awarded.

The civil service.  I always thought that the civil service was an unheralded check on either the executive or the legislature grabbing too much power. Wrong. President Obama has taken less than six years to turn the IRS, HHS, DOJ, EPA, DHS, DOE, and parts of the intelligence and military staffs into active supporters. Nothing Obama does can be investigated by the government or the media. Congress doesn’t even understand what’s happening. Yes, Speaker Boehner, it is a game and you are losing badly. Learn the rules and do what your job calls for. The president earns another victory lap here.

If you can clear your head and look at what is happening and has happened, it should be clear that President Obama’s train did not wreck. He just needs to pass on his mantle to another progressive Alinksy-ite to build on what he has done. Could that be Hillary?

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by | April 10, 2014 · 6:06 pm

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 109

 BACK TO AMERICA

Let’s pretend it’s November 10th, 2016. Hopefully the American people elected Republican president. We do not want to hear any “them and us” rhetoric nor anything about “saving the middle class.” We want the government to get out of the way of the middle class so those people can help themselves, as they are fully capable of doing. We do not want to hear any speeches with a class warfare message. No “fair shots” or “leveling the playing field” or “income equality” or excuses for American excellence or military power. Nothing should be delegated to internationalism and no more whining about global warming nor cap and trade.

Here’s what needs and should be on his or her agenda for the first year of his or her presidency to get America back on the right track (or at least off the wrong track that Obama put us on for the past eight years):

— Focus on the economy, and part of that is dealing with Obamacare. Most of it has to be destroyed. The next president should want to make sure all Americans have access to medical care that offers things like no cancellations for pre-existing conditions and allows sons and daughters to remain on their parent’s policies until age 26. People should own their health insurance polices, so they can take them from job to job. The IRS should be removed from the health insurance field and so should HHS. Insurance companies will be allowed to trade across state lines. Tort reform will be part of the plan. States will have most of the responsibilities. Beyond a few necessary functions the national government will have no health insurance management responsibilities. The new health legislation will be series of bills passed and implemented on a step-by-step basis.

–Immigration will be dealt with in the same way. There are enough bipartisan votes to deal with immigration one piece at a time. First the border is fixed so thousands of people crossing the border illegally is stopped without being killed. Better leadership at the top level of border enforcement is a must and a new justice department is part of the fix. We will not deport millions of people who have been here for years nor are we going to break up families. However, those who break our laws, commit crimes, or belong to a violent gang are out of here.

–A new bipartisan tax structure should be ongoing in the first hundred days. The speaker and the majority leader should select a bipartisan committee of senators and representatives who are not from the no-compromise ideologue wings of either party. Spending needs to be put under control and a growth-friendly tax policy is a way to start. The tax policy will include everyone. It is not a healthy economy that has less than half of its citizens paying all the federal income tax load. Cutting out loopholes, phasing out subsidies, allowing U.S. companies to bring wealth home without penalty, abolishing death taxes, and a tax code the average citizen can understand must all be part of tax reform.

–The energy policy will get rid of the regulatory baggage that is killing the energy industry. Some oversight is required, but minimal. At the end of the president’s first term, America can be a significant energy exporter and thousands of well-paying jobs can be created.

–A bill should be introduced that prohibits bailouts of private industries. There is a process for that already and it is called bankruptcy. The Federal Reserve is one area that may need more regulation. It is essentially a system of private banks that function without sufficient oversight.

–Social welfare programs gradually need to be brought into a solid financial status. A number of incremental small changes will have enough bipartisan support to pass without a inter-party battle.

–The education system is broken but it is not the job of the federal government to manage education. That function is left to the states and localities. Charter schools or vouchers to parents will be encouraged.

–The military force needs emergency funding to build up the force level, provide new weaponry, take better care of veterans, and improve the ability now to move and support military power. Strength and peace are linked.The G.I. Bill that provides college tuition linked to years served should be reinstated. Many nations, like Putin’s Russia, respect only strength. No more wimpy rhetoric coming off teleprompters. There is a real war with terrorism going on, so we should call it that.

–Foreign policy should be a function of the people assigned to the Cabinet. It should support democracy everywhere and resist totalitarian governments of all kinds, including those run by extremist clerics. It should be clear that unless Muslim nations accept Israel as a nation, they can not count America as an ally.

–Environmental policies should be based on strong scientific evidence, not on the ideology of bureaucrats.

–A bipartisan group of politicians, industry people, and academics should be called upon to validate or cancel current regulations.

–Judges should be nominated to our national courts who have demonstrated they adhere to Constitutional and existing laws when making decisions.

What do you think?

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by | April 2, 2014 · 7:45 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 107

OBAMA’S YARD SALE

Anyone have trouble with getting or using domain names on the Internet? I’m not much of a computer or Internet guru but I was always able to get a domain name and use it. I have a very simple and attractive webpage.  There is no problem with the Internet phone book now. President Obama can’t seem to fix any problem or issue. Now he has turned his remarkable management ability to deciding America should turn over control of the “Internet’s phone book” to the United Nations. Why does he think he even has the authority to turn over a large part of American communications to a group of United Nations members who don’t like America and like seeing our power reduced?Internet_globe

What is the upside? I can’t think of any, and he hasn’t told the people why he is even thinking of such an anti-freedom action.  He’s already shown he doesn’t like American power and is working  constantly to reduce it. Taking the military down to ridiculous numbers is just one of many actions  that demonstrate his intent  to reduce our power on the world stage. The list is long and includes:

  • paying the Russians to deliver supplies and crew to the space station
  • making a shambles of foreign policy in Iraq, Syria, Russia, Iran, China, and North Korea (to mention our enemies).
  • Our friends and allies no longer trust our commitment  and are rapidly losing respect.

Everyone knows that President Obama is a very far left politician. That’s why he flies the progressive banner. Part of the progressive ideology is working toward “one-world government.” Here everything that matters must be turned over to some international organization. An early first transfer is giving away the Internet by having its phone book, the management of domain names, given to the UN for no known benefit. The management of Internet domain names by the U.S.government is not broken. There have been no cries of complaints or abuses of phone book power.

But  there will be. Nations who get the responsibility for managing domain names will have the power to penalize enemy nations, limit access, and devise rules and regulations for the assigning and use of domain names. Might they also use their position on the Domain Name Committee to censure use of the Internet in their own nations? How Obama’s plan extends free speech and sets an example for allowing free speech in all nations is unknown.

The worst for last: Will we be able to get control/management of the Internet’s domain phone book back to America if Obama is successful in turning it over? I think not. This is not an inconsequential act. Just ask former President Clinton.

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by | March 9, 2014 · 9:21 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 105

LAW AND ORDER

Law and order is a wonderful concept. Our way of life depends on the police and courts of the cities, states, and nation to meet their responsibilities of keeping us safe and our republic functioning smoothly. Throughout our history there has been no or little conflict between the forces of law and order and those of our war fighting forces. Other nations have had to learn to manage the conflict. The British forces in Ireland had to augment their colonial struggle against the Irish and the guerrilla fighters in Malaya. The French in Algiers. The Germans against the underground opposition in occupied Europe. The list goes on.

In America, we had no such experience. Until the Twin Towers came down we had no need to change our ways of keeping our population safe and our property secure. Years before, during my tenure in the White House as a special assistant to President Reagan, we were getting close to the limits of using law and order tactics against terrorism. In one meeting in the Oval Office, I remember briefing President Reagan on our plans to combat terrorism. In that period, airplane hijackings, urban bombing, kidnapping were the tools of terrorism. My briefing explained how we were focusing the forces of law and order on identified individual terrorists with the intent of capturing them, no matter where they were hiding, and bringing them back to America for trial.

Now that seems like a very conservative approach. But it was pushing the envelope then and there was serious resistance to violating international law from high level officials. Had I been wiser about looking into the future, I would have included in my briefing that we needed to start working on a more aggressive approach to the growing threat of terrorism. We were already past the comfort zone of using traditional tools of law enforcement.

Instead of focusing on a few dozen active terrorists, we now are threatened by thousands. Instead of a handful of terrorists awaiting trial in our system of justice, there have been hundred of terrorists captured. Most of them are captured on the battlefield; there is seldom evidence that can pass our rules of acceptance for use in our justice system. There is even a problem of where to hold them. The Obama administration has made it a cornerstone of their ideology to close Guantanamo Bay as a place to hold terrorists and provide them with a trial by military tribunals. Our attorney general and the president do not recognize that we are fighting a war against terrorism and the capabilities and rules of evidence required by our courts are not suited for trials of terrorists who are not American citizens and who were captured on the battlefield, fighting for no nation state and wearing no national uniform. I don’t even believe that the rules of the Geneva Convention were meant to apply in these cases.

So now we have the son-in-law of Osama bin Laden being tried in a New York court. Why? Is Eric Holder a control king? Do he and the president want to cut the military justice system out? Do they want to control the information that comes out in trials? It certainly cannot  be on moral grounds. These are the same people who brag about killing terrorists with drone strikes. Being an American citizen doesn’t provide protection from drone strikes. Where is the due process and trial procedures there?  The American people deserve an explanation from the president re his policy of pretending there is no war on terrorism and his practice of giving foreign terrorists who have been caught trying to kill us access to a justice system that until now has been part of our constitutional rights reserved for citizens and legal residents. I suspect the motivation for such madness  is part of the extreme left progressive ideology followed by our civilian leaders. The core of this ideology is that if we show kindness and compassion to our enemies they will cease attacking us.

Not in this world.

By the author of the Jack Brandon novels. http://www.facebook.com/factsandfictions | @factsfictions80

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