The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.
© 2014 AFPHere
and
Now
opinions
Obama thrust into role as leader of West
WASHINGTON©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.
43 Comments
Login to comment
JTDanMan
Noise machie bs. Because of the US's insistence on enforcing the red line, Syria agreed to coff-up its chemical weapons.
bass4funk
It was the same Obama during last years debate that told Romney this:
“The 1980s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back because…the cold war’s been over for 20 years.”
http://youtu.be/T1409sXBleg
And who can forget this famous embarrassment from the President when Obama was talking to former president Medvedev about the "Space Missile Defense Shield."
http://youtu.be/iYGsadcBiFA
Putin was probably thinking, YES! Please elect Obama again! Also, he owes Romney an apology.
The man failed with Iran, they are still building nukes, Ok, at a more slower pace, but they haven't given up anything!
Syria, Obama had the chance to dispose of Assad, blinked and now Assad is not only deeply entrenched, that window of opportunity is long gone, it is virtually impossible to remove him, NOT only that, but we might have to help him if we don't want Al Qaeda to take over that country, on the other hand, Assad is being backed up by Hezbollah doesn't sit well in the craw either. He's still in power, that helps Russia and Iran, they still have stockpiles of the stuff and you think, they turned it all over? Of course not. Assad is NOT that dumb, neither is Putin. That entire debacle made the president look so overly stupid and pathetic, so now which poison will you pick? Either way, we will help one of these terrorist groups.
Obama has a fundamental problem for seeing the world NOT as it is, but as he would like it to be. The man didn't enforce his RED LINE with Syria, with Iran and now with Russia. Silence. He's weak, he doesn't see the urgency when it comes to foreign policy or the bigger picture. He's too busy ramming down his crappy Obamacare (which also is failing miserably and WILL continue to do so) down our throats willing or unwilling. If he would have the same fortitude and fire in his belly to deal in a harsh decisive manner from the beginning, maybe a lot would be different, maybe Putin would have thought twice before going into Ukraine. Because of this, he's lost traction, the OBL went to his head and the man became complacent, comfortable. And now the 3AM clock is ringing, so now what? Libs think if you criticize this president, you are either a racist or the race card is thrown in! All day, libs want to rehash and bash Bush on everything, but now these same libs want us to support Obama, if you don't, you're unpatriotic and yet, libs want to give him a pass on everything. If Obama would have allowed the Keystone pipeline to come through the US, not only could that get us out of this financial ruins we're in, thanks to him, but at least it would send a message to Vlad that if he wants to play strongman jerk with Natural gas and oil, then screw him, let the Europeans buy from use, but Obama is focused on Algae and other green gook! Sure, I wanted to believe in this president, I hate his polices and I personally didn't believe he has the guts to deal with foreign policy, (same goes for Hilary) but at least, I was willing to give him a chance, because he is our president, but all he did was make matters worse, everywhere! Whether libs want to take their medicine or not, they need to come to the harsh realization that this president is weak, pure and simple. He should have never cut the military so drastically, we are scaling down and Russia, Iran and China are building up, they know this, they are watching with great interest how this president responds. And it seems like libs and this president are underestimating China as well and don't thing that the possibility for China doing the same thing is some far fetched fantasy and could NEVER happen, thinking so is completely delusional!
sangetsu03
Interesting to see the look on Obama's face in the news this week, it was like a dear caught in the headlights of an 18-wheel truck. He is like a pee-wee league football player who just found himself quarterbacking in the NFL playoffs.
God help the west if Obama is the best we can do for a leader,
nath
Zounds! An American president expected to have some cajones? Astounding! Obama had no qualifications when he was elected, and his true colors are now showing. He surrounded himself with yes-men, basked in his own limelight, listened to his own voice… and now when he has to actually DO something, he's dead in the water.
Himajin
Then he shouldn't have drawn it, nor should he have declared last week that there 'would be consequences' if he isn't intending to follow through.
dcog9065
Good on Obama for leading the West's response to Russia. The EU has virtually no power with diplomatic pressure when it comes to Russia.
JeffLee
More like, please, a third term for Bush Junior! Remember the Russo-Georgia War in mid-2008, against America's ally Georgia... and Washington's hilarious response? Here's Wiki: "Bush opted for a softer option by sending humanitarian supplies to Georgia by military, rather than civilian, aircraft."
Wow, I guess Putin was really scared by that. No wonder he feels so confident in going into Ukraine. LOL.
bass4funk
Huh, did I miss something??? Maybe I fell asleep on my sofa. Where is Obama leading??!
@Jeff
Hey, IMHO both botched it! Bush messed up with Georgia, underestimated Putin as well as Obama did. But still Putin was more careful with Bush, with Obama, he's not even acknowledging him. Both on that end get a straight F-. Also, you are quoting Wiki, come on, guy....really?
Probably and Obama had just made it that much easier.
lostrune2
This is Europe's problem.
dcog9065
@JeffLee: Good point, but it's not politically correct to criticize and put down people with mental handicaps like Bush.
Rainbow_Demon
No. No it doesn't. Other leaders can fill those shoes. They just cannot prevent Obama from filling them if he so chooses.
Himajin
The headline is bizarre...he hasn't just become President and he just hasn't become aware of the fact that all eyes are on the President of the US, and that his words go around the world almost as soon as he utters them. This headline would be accurate if it were from 2008. He hasn't suddenly been 'thrust into' anything.
JeffLee
Yes, really. Is the information wrong? Because i don't recall any kind of response from the Bush administration.
How and why exactly? The Bush administration did nothing during the Russo-Georgia War. Just like it did nothing after North Korea exploded its first nuclear weapon in 2006 and while Iran started to exploit the regional power vacuum as the Iraq War bogged down in quagmire from the mid-2000s.
bass4funk
@jeff
Correct. As Obama is doing right now....Nothing.
Both presidents don't have to worry for now too much about NK. As long as they can get money and Hennessy they can be somewhat contained.
No thanks to the overwheming sectarian violence.
Vast Right-Wing Conspirator
Obama the leader of the West? God save us.
The man hadn'T led so much as a lemonade stand before he was elected President. It's hardly fair to expect him to man up now. The best we can do is hope the next two years aren'T too disastrous around the world, and vote in somebody who actually has a pair of stones.
He is the Scold of the West, but hardly a leader.
gaijintraveller
Oh dear, not good. It could lead to trouble like most of America's recent exploits.
RomeoRII
The problem here is Obama is a very, very weak leader, and Putin sees this and that encourages this kind of action.
RR
Thunderbird2
He's not my leader.
Himajin
He's a problem, isn't he!
yosun
It's not problem of Obama, the problem is this case happened in the backyard of Russia who is not Iraq kind of weak ones, suppose any US general suggest to send US force there, that guy must have his brain be checked! Can anyone tell me when the US ever send his force to against Russia near his border by any preisdents?
Mauricio
Russia with the Warsaw Pact and United States and NATO and their cold war really gave the entire world a hard time for decades and stopped other nations from advancing. Both nations should just stay within their own borders take care of their own houses and let the rest of us have some peace and quite for a change.
JTDanMan
The right has no credibility when it comes to who is or who is not a strong leader.
First, their guys suck. All of them. Bush, Cheymey, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitzes, the Grahams and the McCains were not an anomaly of what the right throws up: they were backed the whole way by the Rush Blowhards, the Charles Krauthammers and the George Wills. Even the David Brookses, until it became so obvious to all that right wing blowhards think talking tough is enough to hide the very simple and indisputable fact that though they think the solution to every problem is Look Strong, they couldn't invade their way out of dime store paper bag.
The Right is a farce. They get everything wrong, try to blame the Democrats for their failures, and with staggering lunacy claim Democratic victories as there own.
We Dems got OBL. That is fact. Obama made the call that McCain and every other chicken hawk would not have and could not have, because they lack the nerve and the imagination. This very simple fact, that Obama got OBL is so offensive to the right wing mind, that they pul a VGER out of Star Trek, and self-detonate when confronted by it. It is pathetic
And We Dems brought Syria to the bargaining table. Because We Dems know how to use force to achieve tangible diplomatic and strategic results.
The Right is joke. They have NO credibility when it comes to defense. For Gawd Sakes, they demanded and got the single most unqualified person in modern history on the Presidential ticket because she was talk and strut and no substance.
Vast Right-Wing Conspirator
Dan, I believe the SEALs got Bin Laden. Not sure what the specific political feelings of the team members were, though. Good on the president for authorizing the mission. Other than that... "their guys suck" is hardly a cogent analysis.
As for the most unqualified person on a ticket, that prize may well go to the current inhabitant of the White House. Palin, for her myriad faults, at least had some years of leadership/executive experience on her resume. As well, she wasn't at the top of the ticket. Obama was. A partially filled term as Senator hardly seems equivalent.
JeffLee
They have a legacy of being weak, lazy, and stupid in that area. It originates from the disorganized and embarrassing Fall of Saigon, to Reagan negotiating with terrorists for hostages and secretly selling terror state Iran hi-tech US warplane parts, to sending 250 Marines to their deaths in Beirut with no bullets in their rifles.
US conservatives talk loudly but when it comes to action, everything they attempt falls apart and ends up in shambles. And then they start crying like little French girls, as the Dems try to repair all the damage.
Bellpeppers
Obama can only be a leader to his group of bootlickers. They make him look good no matter what he does. As for real world leader/bad boys (like Putin), he has no chance. His BSing skills won't be of any use.
JTDanMan
I just love seeing the Right, lost in their furious anger, confusion and desperation, actually praising Putin as a "leader"
See how far the worms have spread.
No serious person can either bleat the Republican taking points or the damn party as anything other than a hate cult.
Vast Right-Wing Conspirator
Dan, you fail to see that this is not a partisan political issue. Asserting that other presidents/politicians may have been worse than the current ones is not relevant. It's a very weak argument if all you can do is fingerpoint and stammer, "but..but... but the OTHER guys were worse..."
The current president is failing in this test of his nerve and guts. THAT is the most important thing.
bass4funk
And there were failures, admitted and acknowledged, it is not a secret, but sometimes, when you deal with democracy, you have to make a deal with the devil, happens all the time, happened for thousands of years and will keep on happening.
Well, that is NOT true, the US had a strong foot in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Obama was the one that didn’t want to old up and ensure a proper SOFA agreement with either countries, thus you now see a slide back to what these countries were and worse. Many military analysts have said this time and time again. Gates also eluded to that Obama was weak and never even believed in his own strategy, but would allow a surge and allow men and women to go out in the field and die, just to prove a point that he has the fortitude to engage in a military conflict.
You can thank the British for that.
Very true, however, Putin was very careful around Bush, he didn’t show him the disrespect he is showing Obama and he knew Bush wouldn’t rule out using military force. Obama, he read his card, he sized him up and he knows Obama is far to weak, to stupid to oppose him in any way. Had Obama been more of a strong assertive leader, he could have at the very least given Putin a bit of angst or slight apprehension if going into the Ukraine is worth the effort. But Obama didm’ project that image. Putin took him to the cleaners. So would I had I been him.
True, I will give you that, but with a Republican President that is NOT afraid to use the military, the Russians would take a second think before doing anything rash.
@JTDan
So where is Obama strong, EXACTLY where. Obviously, Putin is laughing at him, the whole world doesn't take him seriously. Obama spent 90 min. the other day, trying to talk Putin to leaving the Ukraine, seriously?
First, their guys suck. All of them. Bush, Cheymey, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitzes, the Grahams and the McCains were not an anomaly of what the right throws up: they were backed the whole way by the Rush Blowhards, the Charles Krauthammers and the George Wills. Even the David Brookses, until it became so obvious to all that right wing blowhards think talking tough is enough to hide the very simple and indisputable fact that though they think the solution to every problem is Look Strong, they couldn't invade their way out of dime store paper bag.
So you just bloviate about Bush once again? What is with Dems that you guys cant rid of your Bush obsession? You guys tow the liberal partisan line, never admitting that this guy is nothing but a joke. Now, the whole world knows it and if you don't believe me, just read every newspaper. So let me ask you, it would be presumably an indisputable fact that Obama and as well as the entire Democratic party has pretty much destroyed the country within if you are so willing to excoriate Bush and give Obama a pass. I will say, Bush was on a roll to ruin relations internationally with many of our allies, but Obama did a "double for your pleasure." NOT only did he destroyed relations with our closest allies, but embolden our enemies and in the process, is destroying America as well.
What?? The left are the saviors of the world now all of a sudden. So let me ask you, is Iran quaking in their boots, how is Assad these days? And Vlad is going about his business in the Ukraine and doesn't even acknowledge that Obama is even present. Democratic victory at its best ROFL
He called. 90 min. Of loose hot air. The KGB agent vs the Community organizer, pathetic! How'd that ever happen that we got stuck with this guy? Oh, and OBL was caught with the advisory help from Bush, just to let you know, so give him thanks to as well.
So much so that NOW because Obama didn't follow up on the SOFA agreement with Iraq and with Afghanistan, Al Qaeda is flooding the country once again, they control now more than 45% of the country and many of the fighters are with the Syrian opposition army, so if we want to stop Al Qaeda from becoming a much bigger threat than before, we have to probably align ourselves with Assad, who is backed by Hezbollah and Iran, Yeah, nice work, but as you say, "you Dems own it."
So what great war historically have the Left won on numerous occasions and how many?
That's for d*** sure, NO arguments here!
JTDanMan
Wipeout
When righties try to defend Palin, they are losing.
McCain's choice of her for VP convincing proof that the Republican is broken.
Everyone outside of the Republi.., er, "independent conservative, "bubble" knows this.
The right's refusal to distance themselves from her means one thing and one thing only:
They will continue to lose elections in all but the most conservative, gerrymanderd House seats.
bass4funk
She's not running for anything, nothing to lose. One thing she could see and that she could see Obama was being hoodwinked from vlad.
Why are you still talking about 2008, at that time Yosemite Sam could have won. Republicans, were toxic then as how Democrats are toxic now.
NEWSFLASH!! From the looks of things now, you guys are probably going to have to bid Adieu to the Senate soon.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2014/02/20/computing_democrats_risk_of_losing_the_senate_121640.html
http://www.politico.com/story/2014/01/democrats-2014-election-strategy-102832.html
Their calculation is uncomplicated. With only so much money to go around in an election year that is tilting the GOP’s way, Democrats need to concentrate resources on preserving the chamber they have now. Losing the Senate, they know, could doom whatever hopes Barack Obama has of salvaging the final years of his presidency.
You can spin it any way you want to, but no matter how much make up you put on a pig, it's still and always will be a pig. For the Dems to keep a hold on the Senate a miracle would have to happen and since you guys don't believe in such things, it probably won't happen.
bass4funk
@wipeout
The British didn't dream up the war in Afghanistan. It was an American war, to extract vengeance for 9/11 and divert attention from the uncomfortable and highly embarrassing fact that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals, and three more were from Middle Eastern countries that supposedly have a good relationship with the US.
No, but they divided the Middle East, which by definition means, they screwed it up by regulating and deviding various tribes,
And yet, you talk about Bush, but fail to mention how Afghanistan was Obama's war, the war that should've been fought. That's a fact.
Without us, they'd all be speaking German.
falseflagsteve
`Bass4funk
No, the Americans joined in the war at half time when the Germans had decided not to invade Britain and were concentrating on the Easter Front.Also the countries they invaded were not forced to speak German.
bass4funk
@falseflag
Somewhat true, in the beginning, but had the US not intervene in the war, Hitler had a grander vision for his future Germania where every country that was annexed would have to speak German as a main language.
bass4funk
The reasons for the US entering in Afghanistan and the Russians were completely different. So basically, when the US realized that OBL was hiding out in Afghanistan, we should've just let him go and NOT do anything about it.
The US doesn't have an empire. Afghanistan would've been managagle if Obama would've followed the SOFA agreement that was already in place, but he chose to cut and run without realizing the longterm repercussions. But how would a community organizer realize that?
bass4funk
I get your point, but we had every right to dispose that tyrant, unlike the interest of what the Russians were trying to do. It was a known fact that Saddam was allowing Al Qaeda train in Iraq and that was a threat that the US wanted to thwart. I don't want to try Iraq on this thread. If I had been president, I probably would have handled it differently, but still I would've gotten rid of both, the world is a better place, you can at least admit that.
sfjp330
@bass4funk,
Is America really in a position to be lecturing other countries about "breaking the rules" or "violation of sovereignty" when insisting for so long that the rules don't even apply to U.S. The actions in Iraq, in a sense, codified the law of the jungle in global affairs and validated the worldview of Russian leader Putin, that in foreign affairs there's no right and wrong, just strong and weak. Iraq eroded away any moral high ground the U.S. can claim. What is more, Iraq revealed the U.S. as a paper tiger, a superpower whose reach far exceeds its grasp. That's the real lesson that the rest of the world took from that debacle.
bass4funk
I think the US can lecture, because if you look at "breaking the rules" who broke the rules first, it wasn't the US that decided to launch an invasion just for the sake of boredom or to impose suffering on another nation. I have always believed as a supporter of the war and as a person that was there covering it was the right thing to do. My problem was the politics about the whole thing. Russians aggressions are completely different as Putin is trying to ANNEX another sovereign country and claiming it as essentially his. Come on guy, please don't compare US terror prevention to Russia's conquest of aggression.
edbardoe
Actually, Obama was facing a likely election defeat in Congressional elections this fall. The tendency for voters to rally around the leader in office, may have him sending a thank you note to Putin. As for Crimea as a part of Ukraine, actually only since Khruschev gave it to a Ukraine that he ruled anyway. Even in the USSR breakup, Russia has held onto the bases for its navy there. Now that Ukraine is a bankrupt welfare state, wonder how that vote will go with the Crimeans.