Bart Marcois, a dear friend who spent many years serving our country in the Middle East as a Foreign Service Officer, gives a reasoned opinion in recent opinion page of The Daily Caller.
It is well worth the read.
Violent extremists stormed America’s embassy in Libya yesterday, killing four innocent people, including our ambassador, Chris Stevens. Killing diplomats is one of the most provocative acts of war, and this is the first time in decades that an American ambassador has been killed. What emboldened our enemies enough to commit this evil act?
When a lawless mob of Islamist extremists used reports about a film that is insulting to Islam as an excuse to overrun the American Embassy in Cairo, our government issued a statement condemning … the film. While the protesters were sitting brazenly on the Embassy walls, openly mocking Obama (chanting, “Take a picture, Obama; we are all Osama”), did the American government condemn the lack of host government protection or the violation of our sovereign territory? No — they apologized that the film “hurt the religious feelings of Muslims.”
This pusillanimous reaction symbolizes the Obama administration’s failure; it also marked the path toward the murder of Chris Stevens.
When extremists in Libya saw their brethren in Cairo successfully humiliate America, and pay no price for it, they knew it was open season on Americans. They followed suit, but were more violent, and did not stop at replacing and desecrating the flag. Obama’s reaction to the killing echoed the statement from Embassy Cairo: he condemned the killing, but was more specific in his condemnation of the people who made the film. His soft answer will jeopardize the lives and safety of our other diplomats everywhere in the world.
And what was our president doing yesterday afternoon while this was unfolding? A radio interview with a Miami DJ known as “The Pimp with the Limp.” When asked how he was doing, our commander-in-chief answered, “Blessed and highly favored.” He said how honored he was to be on the show: “You’ve got Pitbull and Flo Rida and all these guys just beating a path to your door.” That is how he chose to spend September 11, and what he did while our Embassy was occupied.
People who govern most countries in the world understand that leadership requires respect. We should have earned the love and gratitude of most nations, but no wise leader expects to receive it, or bases foreign policy upon it. A wise leader knows that the world stage includes actors who understand only respect, or fear. Obama is not that leader.Statements that condemn free expression rather than actual violence are more evidence to the world’s worst actors that our president does not respect our country or our rights. For every wild extremist offended by an utterly tasteless and offensive film, a dozen more people in these countries look to America as a beacon of hope, expressly because we allow free expression. They too are offended by the film, but they recognize that the same free market of ideas that produces that trash also allows the greatest innovations and ideals in human history. They need us to stand against the forces of ignorance and stimulus-response politics that they see in their countries, not to capitulate to them. Among the ironies I witnessed during my Middle East service was a protest in Jordan against U.S. policy toward the Palestinians, after which nearly 40 percent of the protesters lined up at the American Embassy to apply for visas.
They understand freedom; what they don’t understand is our failure to defend it.
Barack Obama began his presidency by touring the world, apologizing for America. He ignored the winds of change when they blew most fiercely in Iran, and stood by while government thugs ruthlessly shut down democracy protests. But when those winds blew through the capital of one of our greatest allies in the region, he metaphorically pushed Hosni Mubarak out the window, into the storm. He “led from behind” while Libyans rebelled against Qaddafi, waiting while our natural allies among the rebels were slaughtered; waiting until Islamist forces stepped up to provide the arms and ammunition we refused to supply.
He refuses to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. In an attempt to defuse critics of his inaction, he has jeopardized intelligence operations by leaking confirmation of U.S. involvement in successful covert actions to slow down Iran’s nuclear engineering.
In Syria, while Obama dithered, he presented Americans with a false dilemma between doing nothing, and sending in troops on the ground. Other nations and forces defied America’s incomprehensible universal arms embargo, and supplied weapons to their allies. Subsequently, their allies are dominating the battles, while our allies have bandages and radios.
Foreign leaders study our political news and understand our electoral cycles. They know that a Romney administration, like the Reagan administration after Jimmy Carter, will bring a more robust defense of American interests. They are jockeying for leadership and power before the new sheriff comes to town.
Soft answers to provocations have produced a climate in which America is neither feared nor respected, nor even loved. Protesters feel safe scaling Embassy walls, and host governments allow it with impunity. If soft answers to the provocation in Cairo led to four innocent deaths in Libya, what will come of the soft answer to those deaths? Who will protect the rest of our diplomats — or our citizens, or our interests — when our president is more worried about soothing hurt feelings and bantering with a DJ than about American security and lives?
We need a leader who values our history, our freedoms, our leadership of the world; who will defend our interests without embarrassment or apology. Barack Obama has shown — again — he is not that leader.
Bart Marcois was a career Foreign Service Officer, serving in four Middle Eastern countries. He was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Energy for International Affairs.
Conservative advocate, husband, father of six, grandfather of 18. Author, conservative blogger, and retired investment banker.Enjoy my family, my mountain home, political and philosophical discussions, golf and travel.
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Excellent essay. Too bad the media won’t take this angle…
Great article!
Who’s in charge?????? Clearly, incompetent Obama outsourced the national security, foreign affair responsiblity leadership to the lefty so called “journalists” in the expenses of American people. If you follow what’s going on today, the lefty media were running the show all day long covering Obama’s lack of leadership.
This’s absolutely unacceptable losing innocent American citizens this way. Something is seriously wrong in these incidents. Unless, the securites got an order not to respond in force, com’n, my house is well protected than these embasies. Again this happened on the day 9/11 anniversary, these countries securities are still unstable and no one was in charge to stop them? Pathetic!!!
Folks, if this doesn’t make you angry, nothing will. Nov 6, we MUST replace the incompetent Obama and put a new commander in chief, Gov Romney!!
The liberal democrats hit Mitt very hard today by his leadership and strength but he is what America really need now,Mitt is the most qualify for president in the America history,wake-up America,don’t sleep with the liberal medias that just care about themselves(selfish) and ignored the debt,the deficit,the 23 million unemployment,the 47 million American on food stamp,the high gas price, high food price, and other bad things that happened on Obama watch and he has no ideas to solve even make it worse.
It is so plain that Obama is the worst President in American history. With Woodrow Wilson in the mix, that is really saying something! American lifes are being lost while this sorry excuse for a leader pretends to be actually working for solutions to the problems that are everywhere—solutions readily available but always unavailable to him and his minions. Oh may enough American people wake up to remove this blight on the Presidency, enough to override the fraudulent voting by the Democrat machine that will be engineered in the event of a really tight election. It’s bad enough that the ignorant will join with the uber-liberal progressives to vote for this hypocritical liar but add in the “dead” count, etc.,and the Constitution loving people will have to outnumber the radical left almost two to one to save our Nation.
Thomas,
Thank You! for soon to be President Mitt Romney for the leadership he showed us in Obama’s absence leadership, immature foreign policy. I’m already feeling safe under Prez Mitt Romney presidency. Let me ask you this, how we get respected the USA Prez, commander in chief showing the entire world a pic horse around with a pizza shop owner, power lifted pic in front of a major newspapers?
What was surprising for the entire world is the lack of Obama leadership, this Prez has ZERO experiance dealing 101 security issue such as guarding the goddamn embassy with military, US securities. This admin disconnected from reality. This admin can’t even tell the FACTS what we’ve been witnessing in the ground. It’s very frurstraing me the level of incompetency of this Prez and admin. How even miss the obvious??
I missed W Bush soooooo bad. Duh, this’s 101 security awarness, W used to give out warning every year before 9/11 anniversary around the world where US interests at.
The attack was not even in Tripoli, this’s Benghazi the place where it supposed to be a friendly place for USA. This it tell us how Obama foreign policy is weak and imature. Egypt is one of our Billion dollar+ friend, almost 2000+ mobs rushing in the US embassy violating us by replacing US flag and this admin response started with tweet an apology? Give me a f…. break. Let me tell you this, democracy is not one size fits all. Hillary is the worst Sec of state in the entire history. Replacing Gadafi and Mubark brought more uncertainity to the region, chaos, bloodshed, christians are getting killed or fleeing.
What’s Obama’s plan now? Dispatching shrniks to the middlleeast region, couch disscussion about their western feelings? kekekeke
Strong Military=Strong Defense=Gov Romney!!!!
Why do you need tolie to make your point. It was not our embassy, but a consulate in a different city. There was no rioting there. This was a planned siege by al Qaida, which has happened to every American president in one form or another for the past two decades – there was an early attempt at the World Trade Center, the Cole attack, the embassies in east Africa, 9/11, and this. Al Qaida looks for opportunities and plans very detailed attacks with precision military moves.
You want to say that Obama is weak and ineffective, say it based on the numerous things in his real record. Making things up just blunts the real opposition.
It is easy for someone in the US to pontificate about the Middle East without having ever been there, or met and talked to a variety of Muslims, especially those from the dirt-poor dictatorships that were Egypt, Libya, and Yemen (yes, Libyans are dirt poor, Khadaffi kept allof the oil wealth within his favored tribes and cronies and the military that supported him and everyone else lived on what amounts to a few hundred dollars a year). These people are manipulated by “extremist” religious leaders, just like the serfs in the Middle Ages went trooping off on Crusades allover Europe and the Middle East because one pope or another had a cause (one crusade was against Catholic Poland because the pope favored Catholic Germans!).
Alternate-reality much? Romney finally showed his complete lack of critical-thinking skills on the biggest stage of all. Add a failure to admit he was wrong. November 5th is hopeless for the GOP, sorry but statistics tell us that the Governor is a couple months from retirement. PresIdent Obama through the next 4 years, followed by Julian Castro for 8. Thor bless America.
I’m afraid that no matter who gets elected obama might have brought about enough internal division that a war amongst ourselves might arise after the elections. Scary.
I do believe his lack of leadership has weakened us in the eyes of other countries and we are starting to see the results of that.
Puting us into extreme debt, economic turmoil, joblessness, foreclosures, 47 million on foodstamps, business closures, racial tensions, etc… has definitely put us in a decline as a nation. SAD SAD SO SAD
Dear John – appreciating your perspective and comment, and not knowing if you have lived in the Middle East for any duration, but please note the OpEd piece was written by Bart Marcois who served as a Foreign Service Officer in the Middle East for 14 years; he is very well connected to many in the Middle East and is fluent in both language and culture. I will take Bart’s insights over any others that you might offer.
Thomas,
Just fyi:-the film was made a YEAR ago, genius. What a coincidence this just happend on 9/11 anniversary? Of course, you need a little critical thinking to do analyze all these in your part.hehehehe
No wonder, this Prez gave himself incomplete grade. This Prez is not qulified on foreign policy issues at all. The cluless Prez Obama DO NOT UNDERSTAND our relationship with Egypt. Empty suite doesn’t know Egypt is an ally or enemy and yet he sends 2 billion dollar tax payers money. Why he’s sending the money then? just b/c he shares the same name, Hussien with them? hehehehe
Thomas, you even know damn well our relationship with Egypt and where the country is located (i hope, you do).
I want Gov Romney-soon to be President Mitt Romney to give us daily briefing to let us know the TRUTH around the world so, we won’t sit in the dark.This Prez doesn’t understand a thing. Very scary!!
Mr David,
LOL! Interesting comment. I agree. i’m still laughing……
Wake Up Call,
Thomas GENIUS(hehehe) cannot handle the TRUTH!
The Thomas Factor is very important for ALL Romneyites in this site and anywhere else, though. As soon as you see his name, read his comments, you’ll remind yourself how important is this election. I’m not sure Thomas is Obama supporter, though (as far as i know his candidate is not born yet). He’s just a pro govt, a regulation FREAK and also Thomas is stuck in French revolution era.
One LOve for Gov Romney!!