In the past few weeks I have taken President Obama to task on his actions regarding the economy and spending. I disagree with the path that he has chosen but with that said I also want to thank him when he does something I think is long over due.
This past month Mr. Obama has reached out his hand to Castro in Cuba, Ahmadinejad in Iran and to a lesser extent Chavez in Venezuela. I know many feel this is wrong, but we have tried the "ignore and isolate" policy on all of these nations for decades now and it hasn't produced a single positive result.
By definition, insanity is to repeat the same action and expect a different result and that has been the diplomatic approach of the United States towards these countries. If we are to regain our position as a leader of the free world then we need to establish we can lead by methods other than threats and military action. I say this because the world knows our military is pushed to it's limit right now and isn't capable of handling another full scale outbreak, plus with the dissecting and removal of our industrial base over the last decade we are no longer capable of being self reliant in times of emergency.
There is a saying" Keep your friends close and your enemy's closer" and I believe this is the approach Obama is taking. I liked it when he said he'd do it during the debates and I like it now.
Thank you President Obama for living up to this campaign promise.
Well said.
ReplyDeleteI also like that he is speaking to them as if they are equals. Everyone knows who is holding what power. Treating them like they are spoiled children only puts their back up. These leaders rule with a strong hand over isolated nations. They will do what they have to do to save face in front of their people. Extend them a free hand instead of imposing a bunch of conditions that make them look bad. Once they have a taste for what the world offers them, they will want to keep it.
Sanctions can be a nice thing to try, but at some point they become counterproductive. They hurt the citizens and increase the power of the leaders.
China is a great example. Not too long ago I worried about them as a military threat. They were powerful and isolated, and had the largest standing army in the world. Instead of further sanctions, we tried bringing them into the global economy. It may have worked a little too well, but I think it has been better than what likely would have happened.