Is Obama Another Jimmy Carter?
It’s a big question that history ultimately gets to answer, a lot like that “Is Bush the Worst President Ever” one. But people keep taking a stab at it. Who can resist? The latest is from a former Indian intelligence officer, who says yes, but adds that its is not simply bad to encourage North Korea and Iran and pander to China and Pakistan. It can have dangerous consequences if lesser powers … Israel, India, South Korea, Japan … are forced to do the dirty way what a great power might have handled more deftly. Bahukutumbi Raman* at Forbes:
A series of actions taken by the Obama administration have created an impression in Iran, the “Af-Pak” region, China and North Korea that Obama does not have the political will to retaliate decisively to acts that are detrimental to U.S. interests, and to international peace and security.
Among such actions, one could cite: the soft policy toward Iran: the reluctance to articulate strongly U.S. determination to support the security interests of Israel; the ambivalent attitude toward Pakistan despite its continued support to anti-India terrorist groups and its ineffective action against the sanctuaries of Al-Qaida and the Taliban in Pakistani territory; its silence on the question of the violation of the human rights of the Burmese people and the continued illegal detention of Aung San Suu Kyi by the military regime in Myanmar; and its silence on the Tibetan issue.
Its over-keenness to court Beijing’s support in dealing with the economic crisis, and its anxiety to ensure the continued flow of Chinese money into U.S. Treasury bonds, have also added to the soft image of the U.S.
President Obama cannot blame the problem-states of the world–Iran, Pakistan, Myanmar and North Korea–if they have come to the conclusion that they can take liberties with the present administration in Washington without having to fear any adverse consequences. North Korea’s defiance is only the beginning. One has every reason to apprehend that Iran might be the next to follow.
…
Israel and India have been the most affected by the perceived soft policies of the Obama administration. Israel is legitimately concerned over the likely impact of this soft policy on the behavior of Iran. South Korea and Japan, which would have been concerned over the implications of the soft policy of the Obama administration, had no national option because they lack independent means of acting against North Korea.
Israel will not stand and watch helplessly if it concludes that Iran might follow the example of North Korea. Israel will not hesitate to act unilaterally against Iran if it apprehends that it is on the verge of acquiring a military nuclear capability. It will prefer to act with the understanding of the U.S., but if there is no change in the soft policy of the Obama administration, it will not hesitate to act even without prior consultation with the U.S.
India, too, has been noting with concern the total confusion, which seems to prevail in the corridors of the Obama administration over its Af-Pak policy.
Put another way, power hates a vacuum.
Put another way, geopolitics hates a wienie. So does history.
OK, so is Obama another Jimmy Carter? We get to watch this history unfold before our eyes, and it seems to unfold a quicker these days. My quick take. Not exactly. What we’re seeing is really a more aggressive Carterism.
Here’s Surber, hurtfully, on the greatest convergence of brilliant smartness since the Kennedy administration, and what a failure it is. I dunno, Carter was smaht. Wicked smaht.
* With apologies for butchering your name earlier, Mr. Raman.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 9:33 am on Tuesday, May 26, 2009
3 Responses to “Is Obama Another Jimmy Carter?”
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May 26th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Obama is Jimmah Cahtuh, v2.0
May 26th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Blogfather Says:
“Actually, I’m beginning to think that’s a best-case situation. . . . “
May 28th, 2009 at 5:22 am
We’re three decades on from Carter and still paying for his sins on Iran. I look at what Obama is doing and figuring we’ll get off lucky if it only takes three decades to unscrew the Obama years. I wouldn’t say Obama is Carter. I think history will note that Carter was Obama jr.