The Rodney Dangerfield Foreign Policy of President Obama

Rodney Dangerfield was a great comedian. His stich was “I can’t get no respect.” No matter what he did, he couldn’t get no respect. That’s President Obama’s foreign policy. No matter what he does, he gets no respect. He started his foreign policy with 1) an apology tour, 2) a reset with Russia, 3) pulling anti-missile defenses out of the Czech republic and Poland, and 4) returning the Churchill Bust to Great Britain. He wanted a foreign policy based on respect and moral principles. An aide said the President believed in “leading from behind.” The President also exercises “Strategic patience.” The President in a West Point Speech on May 29, 2014 said “might doing right.” America’s duty “is not only to protect our country, but to do what is right and just.” Flash forward to today. The President held a conference of Arab States last Tuesday at Camp David. Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates attended. King Salman of Saudi Arabia did not attend. Bahrain’s King Hamad Bin Isa al-Khalify attended a horse show in England with Queen Elizabeth. Only Kuwait and Qatar sent their leaders. The purpose of the conference was to manifest support for the Arab countries. The President informed the leaders prior to the Conference that the United States will not sell F-35’s to them. No respect! The President in June 2014 said we should look to Yemen as a model for trouble spots. He said in September that Yemen was a successful strategy. The Houthis, backed by Iran, toppled the Yemeni government. No respect! He constantly shows disrespect for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not to mention Speaker of the House John Boehner. The Speaker responded by inviting the Israeli leader to address Congress over the objections of the White House. No respect! The President asked Congress for an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUFM) February 11 against ISIS. Congress has not acted on it. No respect! The diminutive Russia President Vladimir Putin sized up President Obama. He responded to the reset by seizing Odessa and more of Ukraine. No respect! The President sent MRE’s to the outgunned Ukrainian forces. No wonder President Putin has no respect for the President. China and Russia refused to support the Obama Administration in a United Nations condemnation of Syria’s President Bashar Assad. No respect! Of course, President Obama drew a red line in the sand against President Assad if Syria used chemical weapons in its civil war. President Assad responded several times by using chemical weapons. The red line disappeared in the sand. No respect! China has been building four islands in areas it claims of the South China Sea. The United States mumbles about sending ships and planes to the area. China warned against “taking risky and provocative action.” No respect! Iran seized the Maersk Tigris in the Strait of Hormuz and harassed other vessels, including an American flagged ship. No respect! Iran warned Saudi Arabia and the United States against intercepting this week a vessel headed to Yemen with “relief supplies.” The warning was to not “spark a fire.” The Obama Administration is negotiating with Iran over its nuclear weapons program. The Administration announced an agreement in February. Ayatollah Khamenei trashed it. No respect! The President can fool himself, and perhaps some of the American people. Not the leaders or dictators of the world. They don’t act on respect, but real politic. They know Susan Rice and Ben Rhodes, his national security advisors, are political hacks. They have no respect for him. Nor do they fear him.