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Quick Analysis

Obama’s unjustified optimism

A realistic assessment of international dangers facing the United States and its allies was completely missing from the President’s State of the Union Address.

Unfortunately for Mr. Obama, a number of serious incidents this week splashed icy cold water on his assessment that the world had turned a corner on issues such as terrorism and global relations.  Consider just a few specific items that apparently the Commander-in-Chief wasn’t briefed on or didn’t care to discuss:

  • As talks with Cuba prepared to commence, a Russian spy ship docked in that island nation, another entry into the growing Russian, Chinese, and Iranian military presence in Latin America.
  • In Argentina, a prosecutor who is reviewing Iranian involvement in a past terrorist attack was found dead just before he could testify.
  • In the African nation of Namibia, discussions are underway to develop a Chinese naval base in the Walvis Bay area.
  • In Yemen, often cited by the White House as a Middle Eastern success story, militant Shiites invaded the Presidential palace.
  • The Russians have developed new and more potent missiles, part of a massive military buildup that in some areas violates past arms accords.
  • China continues its own extraordinary military buildup, continuing at a pace faster than either the U.S. or the U.S.S.R. did at the height of the Cold War.
  • Terrorists control more geography than ever in the Middle East, and are poised to make gains in Afghanistan as well.
  • North Korea and Iran continue on with their nuclear and missile development programs as well.
  • All of this occurs as the United States and its allies continue to underfund their own militaries. With clearly no threat from the west, what justification can Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea provide for their vast weapons programs and aggressive tactics?

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It is increasingly difficult to understand Mr. Obama’s foreign policy views.

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Obama’s community college plan: Is it education or politics?

The White House has unveiled plans  to make the taxpayers pay for community college tuition:

“…[T]he President is unveiling the America’s College Promise proposal to make two years of community college free for responsible students, letting students earn the first half of a bachelor’s degree and earn skills needed in the workforce at no cost. This proposal will require everyone to do their part: community colleges must strengthen their programs and increase the number of students who graduate, states must invest more in higher education and training, and students must take responsibility for their education, earn good grades, and stay on track to graduate. The program would be undertaken in partnership with states and is inspired by new programs in Tennessee and Chicago. If all states participate, an estimated 9 million students could benefit. A full-time community college student could save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year. In addition, today the President will propose a new American Technical Training Fund to expand innovative, high-quality technical training programs similar to Tennessee Tech Centers that meet employer needs and help prepare more Americans for better paying jobs. These proposals build on a number of historic investments the President has made in college affordability and quality since taking office, including a $1,000 increase in the maximum Pell Grant award to help working and middle class families, the creation of the $2,500 American Opportunity Tax Credit, reforming student loans to eliminate subsidies to banks to invest in making college more affordable and keeping student debt manageable, and making available over $2 billion in grants to connect community colleges with employers to develop programs that are designed to get hard-working students good jobs.”

A number of salient questions must be raised regarding the concept, not the least of which is affordability.  With the nation’s debt doubling during the current Administration and now standing at over $18 trillion, with vast new amounts being added each year for the foreseeable future, is this new federal expense affordable at all?  With U.S. taxes already excessive, can the taxpayers be burdened further?

Critics have raised other issues. The Las Vegas Review-Journal notes: “It’s a curious proposition because affordability is not a barrier to enrollment in community colleges, unlike four-year universities. The president’s plan says community college costs about $3,800 a year, although the College Board reports average annual tuition at community colleges is $3,300. Either of those figures might seem high for low-income families, but the figure represents a full course schedule. About two-thirds of community college students attend part-time, because they also work. Plus, students can qualify for financial aid to offset what is already a good value.”

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The student-oriented publication Turningpoint usa.net notes:

“College students will still pay the same amount on education, just not in the same way, and even if they do manage to pay a little less it will ultimately hurt them more after they get out of college because it will become increasingly more difficult to find a job as the job creators are forced to pay for their education through taxes thus making that four year bachelor’s degree worth even less. The President may act concerned about high costs but he is apathetic to the $60 Billion his proposal would place on taxpayers. When you also take into account the influx of new students stampeding through the doors to get a “free” education, universities will have to hire more professors, materials, and space to accommodate. In order for the university to pay for that, the only logical step would be to increase the cost of tuition making the final price tag for those pursuing a bachelor’s degree even costlier than before it was ‘free”.

There is ample reason to question whether the President’s proposal is actually centered on providing additional educational incentives, or is more concerned with buying support for his political party, which was substantially defeated in the last election and faces significant defections from its youth base due to the depressed job market.

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The Real State of the Union

The President will deliver the 2015 State of the Union Address this evening.

The event is, of course, more an exercise in public relations and politics than an actual analysis of the nation’s true condition.  This year, an authentic look at America’s condition would be painful. Here’s what a candid assessment would disclose:

THE ECONOMY

The United States continues to spend more in imports than it earns from exports.  This is unsustainable.  A deficit of over $39 billion was reported in the last month for which statistics have been reported. Even this troubling statistic was a marginal improvement, but it is due almost entirely to the greater availability of domestically produced energy. This minor upswing will not last if the White House’s proposed EPA regulations take effect.

The U.S.’s continued maintenance of the highest corporate tax rate among America’s key trading partners does not bode well for future gains. According to the Congressional Research Service,  “China displaced the United States as the largest manufacturing country in 2010, as the United States’ share of global manufacturing activity declined from 30% in 2002 to 17.4% in 2012.”

Despite what at first glance appears to be an improved employment figure, the reality is that America still faces significant job market challenges.  Many have stopped looking for work out of frustration, or have exhausted benefits, and are not counted in the unemployment statistics. Further, well-paying jobs have been replaced by lower-paying positions. Approximately one-third of those unemployed are in the long-term unemployed category, a worrisome trend.  The labor participation rate is the worst it has been in over three decades.

The American middle class continues to be hard hit by rising prices and lower wages. Extraordinary spending since the 1960’s on anti-poverty programs—to the tune of $22 trillion– have not lifted the poor out of poverty, but have detrimentally impacted the middle class through both taxes and reduced funds left in the private sector for job creation.

The national debt has doubled during the current administration, with no noticeable gain in employment, infrastructure, or national security. The crisis continues to worsen as annual deficits continue at unsustainable levels ($483 billion in FY 2014.)

NATIONAL SECURITY

America faces the greatest military threat since the middle of the Second World War. Unlike the Cold War, when China was tacitly aligned with the U.S., Russia, China, and Iran form an unofficial axis against the U.S.

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Both Russia and China have made massive improvements to their conventional military power, as well.

Uniquely, America faces a significant threat within the western Hemisphere, as China, Russia and Iran continue to make significant inroads in military relations with a number of Latin American nations.

Terrorism continues to be a significant and growing threat.  Islamic extremists control more territory than ever in the Middle East, and present a growing threat in Africa.  The planned withdrawal of U.S. combat forces in Afghanistan may signal the return of the Taliban in that nation.

Facing these threats is an American military significantly weakened by budget cuts, the laying off of experienced personnel, and aging weapons and equipment.

DOMESTIC RELATIONS

Unexpectedly, America, despite the election of the first black president, has experienced deterioration in race relations during the past several years.  The division between left and right has widened as well.

Free speech issues once thought fairly settled have become inflammatory, as the White House has attempted to broaden the powers of the Federal Communications Commission, surrender control of the internet to an international body containing pro-censorship members, and contradict Supreme Court decisions regarding campaign expenditures. The growth in anti-free speech regulations in academia has been explosive.

CONCLUSION

Clearly, the state of the union is troubling.  At home and abroad, the United States faces extraordinary challenges. Policies over the past several years have been guided more by ideological zeal than a candid response to reality.

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Would Martin Luther King Approve?

Today we commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, who played a pivotal role in ending segregation and discrimination throughout the nation.

Thanks to his leadership, racism, both government and private, were legally eliminated.  Some may quibble about that fact, but it is a reality. Through legislation and judicial action, this stain on America’s soul was ended.  Indeed, the U.S. clearly did all it could to reverse prior offensive practices.

It is a tragic irony that after enduring slavery and segregation, African Americans are now subjected to harmful practices at the hands of those who dishonestly profess to be crusaders against discrimination. Hucksters and shakedown artists continue to attempt to revive racial hostility in order to make a living off of it.  To a large extent, the mass media has culpability by continuing to give a platform to these fraudsters, even when the falseness of their message is evident.  As Dr. King once said:

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A number of politicians, both black and white, base their careers not on bringing blacks and whites together, but on promoting and exploiting any incident to create harsh feelings. They are reminiscent of the cliché about the two-man glazier firm: One guy has the rock to break your window, and the other has the glass to replace it.

Dr. King would not approve.

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Dangers from the failed state of Mexico

When Americans think of Mexico, it is generally in the context of vast numbers of unlawful immigrants, or of a place for vacations on sandy beaches.

It is time to start thinking of that nation in a different and frightening context: that of a dangerously failed state on our border, a vacuum of power that is attracting America’s enemies. The murder several months ago of 43 teachers-in-training by drug cartels highlights the depths to which Mexico has fallen. Despite the viciousness of this atrocity, Washington has been comparatively silent, even though in parts of the Texas border area, the kidnapping, murder, and harassment of landowners within the U.S. by these cartels are already occurring.

According to the National Interest, “Since 2008, the seven main drug cartels have emerged as an existential threat to Mexico’s future. Cartels like Los Zetas, which recruit members from Mexico’s Special Forces and federal police, behave like organized paramilitaries, not ordinary criminals. They generate perhaps $30 to $40 billion a year in illicit profits. And the price has been horrendous. Between 2007 and 2012, around 47,000 Mexicans were killed in the drug war. Some estimate that the true toll is over 60,000.”

Violent crime may be the least of the threats.

The illegal drug trade provides an opening for the infiltration of the U.S.’s southern neighbor by antagonist nations across the globe. According to theJamestown Foundation, “In April 2012, authorities in the prosperous and generally peaceful Caribbean nation of Belize intercepted a shipment of precursor chemicals sent from China and apparently bound for representatives of the Mexican cartel “Los Zetas.” The shipment—sufficient to produce an estimated $10 billion in methamphetamines—highlights growing criminal ties between China and Latin America that have accompanied, but, to date, have lagged behind the exponential growth of trade and investment between the two regions.”
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The national security implications for the United States are staggering, and some are already occurring. With Russia, China and Iran’s Hezbollah aggressively seeking increased footholds in the Western Hemisphere, a failed state—especially one right on the U.S. border—represents a great prize. It is attractive as well to Al Qaeda and ISIS as a launching pad for terror attacks on American soil.

Robert Kaplan, author of a notable study on the impact of geography on world events notes, “While we have spent billions of dollars to affect historical outcomes in Eurasia, we are curiously passive about what is happening to a country with which we have to share a long land border, and whose population is close to double that of Iraq and Afghanistan combined.”

Recently, the Judicial Watch organization reported that “Islamic terrorist groups are operating in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Juarez and planning to attack the United States with car bombs or other vehicle borne improvised explosive devices (VBIED). High-level federal law enforcement, intelligence and other sources have confirmed to Judicial Watch that a warning bulletin for an imminent terrorist attack on the border has been issued… Specifically, the government sources reveal that the militant group Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) is confirmed to now be operating in Juarez, a famously crime-infested narcotics hotbed situated across from El Paso, Texas.”

The Washington Times notes that Mexico, along with Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia recently purchased Chinese arms. “A joint Mexico-China statement said Mexico pledged not to interfere in China’s affairs on Taiwan and Tibet.” The move is part of increased closeness between Mexico and China. The Wall Street Journal recently noted that China has become the largest financier for Venezuela, a nation whose government is rabidly anti-American.

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Successes and Failures of Government

What, exactly, should governments, at any level, be doing in return for all those taxes they collect?

That’s one of the key questions in American politics, and the public is very sharply divided in its response.  Many, perhaps most, believe in the more traditional purposes: providing protection from international threats from abroad, and from criminals within. Operating a justice system, to insure that citizen’s rights are maintained and disputes are settled peacefully. Insuring that basic infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, are safely maintained. Taking the steps necessary to provide the foundation for future peace and prosperity.

Since its founding, Washington has been largely successful in these traditional endeavors. With limited exception, the nation has largely been held safe from the incursions of enemies. It has grown from thirteen states to fifty. The most prosperous economy on the planet was developed, largely through the entrepreneurial spirit of the population with minimal government interference. Crime, though enduring highs and lows, has been kept to tolerable levels. Injustices such as those resulting from slavery, sexism and segregation have been weeded out.

Some nontraditional programs, Social Security and Medicare, have proven hugely popular and generally successful.  But storm clouds loom ahead.  Washington didn’t provide for “locking up” and reserving funds for future expenses.  Social Security may prove insolvent within the next thirty years, and Medicare will also face financial hurdles.
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But the same rate of achievement cannot be cited in its other nontraditional endeavors. Despite trillions spent on antipoverty programs, the poverty rate remains largely unchanged since the advent of Lyndon Johnson’s “War on Poverty.” Attempts to legislate certain market practices have led to unforeseen and unwanted results.  Consider the Community Reinvestment Act from the Carter era, a measure which was strengthened during the Clinton presidency.  While the intentions were good—attempting to provide more access to home ownership—the measure was the most significant factor in the Great Recession of 2007, from which America still seeks to recover.

Nontraditional approaches to traditional responsibilities have proven equally worrisome.  Public education, once the pride of most communities, has steadily deteriorated in quality as it has become increasingly politicized and subjected to mandates for goals unrelated to pedagogy. Border patrols have become increasingly burdened with restrictions also based on politics. While initial environmental actions were successfully in cleaning up the air and water, subsequent measures based on theories more involved in ideology than hard science have accomplished little except raising costs, hampering the economy, and interfering with property rights.

The debate over the proper role of government will continue. Hopefully, however, a candid review of the impact of many nontraditional activities will allow voters and elected officials alike to make decisions based on the success or failure of their actions.

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U.S. Should Deport Radical Immigrants Who Fail To Assimilate

Shortly following the Muslim extremist attacks in Paris, France’s Le Monde Diplomatic publication noted: “A crucial battle has begun, one that will define the lines of division in French society. Some would like to see a divided Europe, and a standoff between different sections of the population defined by national origin, culture and religion.” Canada’s Globe and Mail noted:  “The terrorists who struck in the heart of Paris on Wednesday were not mentally imbalanced or socially marginalized. They were highly organized assassins who believe the West should live under a caliphate governed by strict Islamist law, and that blasphemers should die. It has been reported that they spoke flawless French.”

While some might contend that France’s relations with its Muslim citizens are dissimilar to America’s, the reality is more disturbing.

Traditionally, the United States, a nation comprised of immigrants, adhered to the concept of a melting pot. Each new wave was expected to follow most of the existing political and cultural norms, but was welcome to improve and diversify those norms with their own contributions of ideas and traditions. They did, and America has been immeasurably enriched as a result.

But in the late 20th Century, that concept began to change, and support for this “melting pot” practice began to give way to the multicultural “gorgeous mosaic” concept, in which immigrants, rather than assimilating and adding their own contributions, retained their ancestral heritage and formed distinct groups.

This new idea caught on significantly within the educational community. As noted by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development : 

“In recent years, many educators have supported multicultural education as a way to deal with global interconnectedness and America’s increasingly multiethnic population. What is disconcerting is that educators have yet to agree on what multiculturalism really is or how it might affect curriculum and teaching…

American education has traditionally been assimilationist. Educators with this view believe that studying other cultures is worthwhile in that it leads to better relationships among ethnic groups and enables the dominant culture to select and adopt significant non-Western cultural accomplishments.
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“Assimilationist educators might support bilingual education, but not primarily so that students might maintain and appreciate their own language and culture. Instead, assimilationists value bilingual education as the quickest way for non-English-speaking Americans to become literate in English.

“In the 1990s, programs to incorporate all groups into a single culture are likely to try to meet the needs of individual students and accommodate their idiosyncratic backgrounds. Educators structure activities in such a way that all newcomers eventually melt together in the pot.

“Assimilationists know, however, that their position is under attack. They fear the strength and solidarity of cultural pluralism, and sometimes they sharply deplore what they see as its end result. Jarolimek (1988), for example, declared: “Ironically, the once popular concept of America as a “melting pot” is now sweepingly derided by intellectuals at a time when it is closer to reality than before…. Teaching an attachment to one’s own ethnic identity should be kept within reasonable limits.”

The growing “multicultural” trend will produce the same results in the United States as it has in France.  A nation has the right to maintain its own ideals and culture. If it fails to do so, it soon will cease to exist in any recognizable form. This can be accomplished without violating, in anyway the freedoms of its recent immigrants.

Indeed, many immigrants came to America to escape the oppression, bigotry, and hatreds of their native lands. This is extraordinarily relevant in the case of Muslims.  A devastating history of inhuman subjugation of females, harsh religious absolutism, and political authoritarianism are the hallmarks of most Islamic-dominated nations. These values are not compatible with the west, and need not be tolerated.

The United States and other western nations opened their doors to Muslims.  Unfortunately, a powerful contingent within that specific immigrant community came not seeking to join with their new communities, but to dominate them and impose upon them the bigotry, oppression, and narrow-mindedness of their native lands.  The reality of this threat must be acknowledged and acted upon, and appropriate steps must be taken.

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The Beleaguered Middle Class

According to a recent Pew Research Center report federal data indicates that the typical wealth of middle-income families was basically unchanged in 2013, remaining at about $96,500.

Combined with Pew’s 2012 study,  in which 85% of self-described middle-class adults said it was more difficult than it was a decade ago for middle-class people to maintain their standard of living, it is clear that middle income Americans continue to face tough times. “Their downbeat,” notes Pew, “comes at the end of a decade in which, for the first time since the end of World War II, mean family incomes declined for Americans in all income tiers. But the middle-income tier—defined as all adults whose annual household income is two-thirds to double the national median —is the only one that also shrunk in size, a trend that has continued over the past four decades.”

It is not coincidental that throughout the past half-century, $22 trillion dollars (not including Social Security or Medicaid) have been taken out of the U.S. economy in the form of taxes for an unsuccessful War on Poverty. That’s more than three times the cost of all U.S. military wars since the American Revolution, according to the Heritage Foundation.
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WallStreetCheat.com  notes “The struggles of the middle class have been well documented and oft-reported. Faced with a tough economy — including hard fights for jobs, adequate pay, and adjustments to compensate for the Affordable Care Act — members of what is supposed to be America’s backbone are finding that the post-recession world is more difficult than many imagined…Jobs that were lost to the recession have returned, but are paying a fraction of what they were previously. Essentially, everyone has had to make sacrifices to return the country to economic prosperity. But the sacrifices have been levied on those in the working class almost exclusively.”

By de-emphasizing free enterprise growth in favor of government programs, the means with which generations of Americans from the earliest days of the nation’s history until the middle of the twentieth century pulled their way out of poverty and into the middle class was handicapped.

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Aircraft Carrier to be sold for one cent

In the same month that the U.S. will not have an aircraft carrier available for duty in the eastern Pacific for the first time since the end of World War 2, an iconic aircraft carrier with a distinguished service record and a significant cultural role is scheduled to be sold for scrap, for the total sum of one cent. The move also comes at a time when there is considerable discussion over the lack of appreciate within academia and the media for American history.

According to a group seeking to salvage the historic ship,

“In less than three weeks, the USS Ranger – the supercarrier prominently featured in the famed movie ‘Top Gun’ – is scheduled to be towed from Bremerton, Washington to be dismantled and disposed of in Brownsville, Texas. Top Gun Super Carrier of Long Beach, Inc., a new, well-funded group charged with exploring a viable second life for the ship, is seeking an emergency donation hold to allow sufficient time to present options for preservation. The USS Ranger was built in the 1950s and served in every American war since, before being decommissioned in 1993 following the Persian Gulf War. ‘Right now, we just want a stay of execution,’ said recently appointment project manager, Michael B. Shanahan, AIA. ‘As a brand new team charged with repurposing the USS Ranger, we want to work with Navy, NAVSEA and City of Long Beach for the best possible outcome. We know that saving the USS Ranger would have significantly more far-reaching economic, historic and social benefits than scrapping it. This is our last chance to stop the loss of an irreplaceable cultural and historic asset.’

“As time runs out for the USS Ranger, Top Gun Super Carrier of Long Beach, Inc. is orchestrating a ‘Hail Mary’ attempt to save the ship via public support. An online petition is being circulated for names that will be submitted to the Navy/NAVSEA officials and congress. A social campaign has also been implemented via Twitter and Facebook and the hashtag #SaveTheRanger. The public is asked to bring additional awareness to the effort with the hashtag and petition link.

“Top Gun Super Carrier of Long Beach, Inc. is currently exploring a permanent berth for the USS Ranger in Long Beach Harbor, California where it will serve as cultural heritage site, experiential destination, and self-sustaining commercial attraction. Returning and former vets are anticipated to comprise 55 to 60 percent of the hundreds employed. The new team –established only three months ago – has received endorsements and significant funding commitments to transition the USS Ranger into enterprise modeled after the USS Midway in San Diego, which generated $150 million in revenue during its first three years of operation, more than 250 percent of what was originally anticipated for the ship.

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“A different (now dissolved) USS Ranger Foundation attempted to repurpose the USS Ranger as museum ship and multipurpose facility on the Columbia River in Fairview, Oregon. The Navy rejected the plan in 2012 due to its failure to meet Phase 2 requirements to donate a carrier.

“We understand NAVSEA’s fiduciary responsibility to salvage the ship and minimize ongoing storage costs,’ added Shanahan. ‘However, sparing the ship now presents NO financial risk to the federal government.’ Top Gun Super Carrier of Long Beach, Inc. would be responsible for securing all the costs and expenses of reinstating the donation hold, mothballing, relocating, and establishing a permanent berth. In the unlikely chance that the endeavor fails, Top Gun Super Carrier of Long Beach, Inc. is required to post a bond – up front – to cover the cost of towing ship to the designated scrapping location. No tax dollars would be used in preserving the USS Ranger.

“On Dec. 22, 2014, the Navy paid $.01 to International Shipbreaker of Brownsville, Texas, to tow and scrap the USS Ranger. The final voyage is anticipated to begin in several weeks, and the tow is expected to take 5 months from the inactive ship’s maintenance facility in Bremerton, through the Strait of Magellan, and finally to Brownsville. International Shipbreaker is expected to make a profit for the dismantling of the ship.

“The USS Ranger was built in 1957 in Newport News, VA, and was the seventh Ranger to serve America. The current Ranger served in the Pacific, fighting in Vietnam (earning 13 battle stars) and was retrofitted into a modern war ship just prior to its essential service in the Persian Gulf, where it flew more combat missions than any other carrier. Approximately 141 sailors and Marines died on Ranger during her 36 years of service to America, through 1993. In 1983 Ranger rescued Vietnamese refugees adrift in a boat for ten days in monsoon storms in the South China Sea. Bob Hope entertained Ranger’s crew at sea at Christmastime. The USS Ranger served as an important filming location for ‘Top Gun’ and ‘Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.”

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Long overdue: An explanation of Obama’s military and diplomatic strategy

Why hasn’t there been more disclosure on the reasoning, goals, and strategy behind the dramatic shift in American military and diplomatic policy during President Obama’s tenure?

The White House has thoroughly altered the manner in which U.S. national security is maintained. It has also radically amended relations with friend and foe alike. These historic changes have failed to a devastating degree, which makes the lack of explanation about them all the more worrisome.

Substantial reductions have been made in defense budgets, key operative personnel have been cut, major programs have been altered and numerous changes have been made in military leadership positions. The latest information regarding major alterations, as reported in the Washington Free Beacon, reveals that “The U.S. military is set to shutter 15 sites across Europe and reduce the number of active personnel stationed in these areas…This latest realignment follows a series of significant reductions in Europe that have greatly reduced the U.S. military presence there.”

This move comes in the wake of the 2014 withdrawal of American tanks from Europe, the 2015 inability of the Navy (due to budget cuts) to have any aircraft carrier presence in the eastern Pacific for a substantial part of this year, and the elimination or significant reduction of plans for the development of defenses against the growing missile threat not only from major current nuclear powers, but from North Korea and Iran as well.

As America has cut its defense spending, Moscow and China have significantly increased theirs, and North Korea and Iran have moved swiftly to enhance their nuclear capabilities.

With the increased confidence that comes from a more powerful military, Russia has invaded Ukraine and threatened Eastern Europe, both with its strengthened conventional forces as well as with its newly emplaced Iskander short range nuclear missiles which it has stationed along its western border. It has continuously threatened European airspace with fighter aircraft, and it has militarized the Arctic. It has initiated nuclear bomber and submarine patrols off the eastern, western, and southern U.S. coasts.

China has moved aggressively against almost all of its oceanic neighbors, even stealing offshore resources from the Philippines. Obama’s early withdrawal of troops from Iraq gave rise to the opportunity for ISIS to move in, and a similar move with potentially similar results is underway in Afghanistan.
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Throughout the globe, Islamic extremism has been on a significant upswing.

Russia, China, and Iran have all significantly increased their military relations with Latin American and Caribbean nations.

Equally notable changes—and failures– have occurred in Washington’s diplomacy.  There has been a dramatic shift in Washington’s relations with allies and adversaries.

Relations with the United Kingdom were endangered as a result of the President’s surrendering of British nuclear information to Moscow during the New START treaty negotiations. Relations with Israel have reached an all-time low, at a time when that embattled nation truly needs a solid ally. When a portion of the Philippines exclusive off-shore economic zone was occupied by the Chinese Navy, the U.S. did nothing either diplomatically or militarily, although Washington subsequently agreed to a token increase of military aide and cooperation with Manila, after the crisis had passed.

While estranging old friends and allies, Washington has attempted to endear foes.  It essentially agreed to the Kremlin’s terms on nuclear weapons and anti-ballistic missile systems. It has softened sanctions on Iran without any meaningful gains. It has opened up relations with Cuba, again without obtaining anything worthwhile in response. It has not responded in any significant manner to Beijing’s massive and unprecedented cyber-attacks on American military, governmental, and civilian infrastructures. It has encouraged Arab Spring movements that have strengthened al Qaeda, while toppling the pro-U.S. regime of Hosni Mubarak. Interestingly, the one Arab Spring movement it did not endorse was the “Green Revolution” in Iran which had as its target the vehemently anti-U.S. regime in Tehran.

An explanation of the logic and intentions behind Mr. Obama’s comprehensive and failed national security and diplomatic policy is long overdue.