What makes a powerful nation powerful in matters of foreign relations is a clear and consistent voice. The leadership must know what they want and they must know the leverage available to them to attain their goals. A key component of this is knowledgeable intelligence operations. The ability to collect data and then to interpret and make judgments based on what you have deduced is critical. Part of the package is classic gathering through overt and covert operations. Read the papers, listen to the radio, talk to the man on the streets. Monitor by satellite, infiltrate political movements, understand the history. Organize a competent diplomatic presence on the scene. Then take what you know and integrate it into policy.
The last eighteen days in Egypt have indicated that the administration is capable of none of that. Gather the speeches of the Messiah with regard to Mubarek over the past ten days. Stay, go, extend, transition, we're behind you, we're behind the people, listen to the Army, have an election, or maybe not. The apparent desire to jump ahead of events to create the image of being influential has on several occasions demonstrated how out of touch he is.
Then the parading of the intelligence community's leadership before the nation to demonstrate their total inconsistency and incompetence is the final straw. Panetta of CIA says Mubark will step down, then he doesn't. Clapper touts the Muslim Brotherhood as secular, democratic and anti-al-Qaeda. Mueller of FBI says just the opposite.
This would be seriously laughable if it weren't so critical to world peace and stability. It's Monty Python playing out in real life.
You could make the case that intelligence is much more art than science. That has occasionally been true. But, if you make that case for Obama's handling of Egypt, how can you go back to the leftist bleat that George W. Bush lied or was incompetent in his justification for initiating war in Iraq? If you wish to accept that Bush was a bumbler, then where does that inevitably dump responsibility for this fiasco?
7 comments:
What we have here sir, is an Administration of amateurs and incompetents. The BRILLIANT Liberals elected the least qualified President in our Nations History...who then appointed his gangster mob buddies from Chicago to positions that require expertise....and we get? The loss of our Super Power Status....in 2 years.
The policy of the previous administration was to bring democracy to the region.
Can it now at last be bearing fruit?.
All they have to do is reaffirm these policies. Embarrassing for the present incumbents I know but the Egyptians and others need to see this in deeds as well as words.
A priceless opportunity may go to waste.
Can you smell it? I do believe that's the unmistakable odor of peanuts.
Oh no! Not that old fool again
Would be nice if the revolt was about the will of "The people" Unfortunately it is not, it is a relatively minor fraction of the populace that was fomented by the Obama Administrations State Department funding and educating radical activists. Im all for the People rising up and determining their fate, but in this case the Majority of Egyptians are NOT being well served.
I have to agree - though the primitive communists and the Jihadi Moslem brotherhood coming together to foment a 'people's' rebellion in Egypt is street theater writ large.
Each of them will try to screw the other immediately.
Egypt's only hope is that their military will enforce a sufficiently long waiting period before any elections - thus allowing time enough for secular political parties to form and select reasonable candidates.
Otherwise, it will be 1978/9 Iran all over again.
Six, very stale peanuts. Jimmah is probably going "Yes! Off the hook!"
The Obama track record in foreigh relations is a disaster. Honduras - Obama supported a Chavez clone. In Iran - he dithered and the Green Revolution turned red. And now Egypt. Obama's track record is clear, if you are an ally of the US, Obama will abandon you. If you are a competitor, he will bow and kiss your hand.
His actions induce more global instability. The violence will spread because the thugs of the world know the world policeman, the US, has an incompetent chief now.
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