One of my normal rounds when looking at the news is the UK Telegraph, along with severalother British papers. An internationalal view of American and world affairs, not to mention the U.K.’s nanny state-ism, their dhimmitude, and their failures with socialized medicine. And, particularly after Obama dissed them when Gordon Brown came to visit, exasperated by Obama’s visit to England, they do not seem to be buying into HopeNChange. In many cases, they are getting down-right acerbic. Consider Gerald Warner. He has already published one story which called Obama a pantywaist and a surrender monkey. Now, he does it again – Barack Obama and the CIA: why does President Pantywaist hate America so badly?
If al-Qaeda, the Taliban and the rest of the Looney Tunes brigade want to kick America to death, they had better move in quickly and grab a piece of the action before Barack Obama finishes the job himself. Never in the history of the United States has a president worked so actively against the interests of his own people – not even Jimmy Carter.
Obama’s problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail.
That is why he opened Pandora’s Box by publishing the Justice Department’s legal opinions on waterboarding and other hardline interrogation techniques. He cynically subordinated the national interest to his partisan desire to embarrass the Republicans. Then he had to rush to Langley, Virginia to try to reassure a demoralised CIA that had just discovered the President of the United States was an even more formidable foe than al-Qaeda.
One thing Warner misses here: America is the big kid on the block, with the biggest stick. And one of the few which had actively been engaged in fighting Islamic terrorism and extremism. If we are out of the fight, if our agents are afraid to do their jobs, this can have serious ramifications world wide. Witness the resurgence of the Taliban in Pakistan, and their recent movements to within spitting range of the capital, and the location of so many of the countries nukes. While Obama has certainly done well in continuing the Predator strikes, the Taliban surely feels emboldened. If America’s enemies think they have a wimp in the White House, you can bet they will take advantage. Witness Hugo Chavez’s treatment of Obama, treating him like an equal. The CIA, other U.S. intelligence agencies, and federal lawyers may become so hesitant and passive that America, and other countries, will be left open to all manners of attacks.
Obama is more engaged in fighting his fellow Americans who hold different opinions. Al Qaeda is laugh their a**es off. And the hard Left should be adding their howls to the debate shortly.
Others: Hot Air, Don Surber, Pundit & Pundette, Powerline
Teach Obama got the warmest loudest welcome at Langley of ANY President. The CIA agents that are now at legal risk are going to be blaming the past administration for forcing them into breaking American and International laws. This was also what they did to the enlisted men who were following the Bush policy at Abu Ghrib. Because of your own personal hatred of Obama you give him credit for nothing, Bush refused to send more troops to Afghanistan while Obama did it very soon after taking office. Obama has given the USA new respect all over the world INCLUDING Europe. Europe hated Bush. Obama’s job approval polls are high and trending up. Anyone who is blind to the reality of this better check their own prejudices.
Fuck respect from the world, including from shit for brains dictators (I wonder if the plugins will get me?) I am more concerned with protecting American lives and property, and the CIA is not thrilled with the way Obama is now hanging them out to dry, even the ultra liberals there.