CITIZEN BECK 1/25/10

[Your Uncle Sam]

CITIZEN BECK

25

JANUARY

2010


PART ONE


PART TWO


PART THREE


PART FOUR


PART FIVE


PART SIX

[Gordon Ray Kissinger]

President Obama's First year

THE WRITING WAS ON THE WALL

"Makor Rishon" weekly, January 15, 2010

Ambassador (ret.) Yoram Ettinger

Exec. Dir. "Second Thought"

I am not surprised by President Obama's performance -
since January 2009 - in face of unprecedented and simultaneous
economic, social, national security challenges, domestically and
internationally.

I am not surprised by President Obama, who was elected to
the most difficult and complicated post - during a most unstable
period internally and externally - in spite of his obvious lack of
experience and superficial world view.

I am not surprised by President Obama's policy toward the
Jewish State and toward the Arab-Israeli conflict, which is a
derivative of his world view that was fully displayed during the 2008
campaign.

I am not surprised by President Obama's performance - the
writing was on the wall for those who were ready to read it!

Obama was elected at the peak of an economic meltdown, the
extent of which has not been determined. Millions of Americans have
lost their homes, unemployment is around a 26 year record 10%,
under-employment is 17%, the budget deficit is the worst since the
end of WW2, hundreds of banks have collapsed, the real estate bubble
burst, private consumption and investment have dipped beyond
expectation, the social security and the medical insurance systems
are severely threatened, taxes are rising and government's
involvement in the economy is expanding. Obama is increasingly
identified and burdened with the economic crisis - which was not
caused by him - and the steps taken to solve the crisis.

Obama prefers to be preoccupied with domestic challenges,
which will determine the future of the USA and of his presidency.
However, as expected, he is sucked into the lava of Islamic terrorism
and religious, territorial, tribal, ideological and power struggles
throughout the globe. While Obama extends his hand to rogue regimes,
Islamic terrorism stretches its hand into the US mainland,
exacerbating a sense of insecurity and reawakening the question:
"When - and not if - will the second shoe fall?!" Islamic terrorism
has intensified its operational, political, financial, ideological
and logistical involvement in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe,
the USA, Latin America and Australia.

Pakistan persists in its double-role of the most critical
base of Islamic terrorism on one hand and counter-terrorism on the
other hand. In fact, Islamabad could be taken over by terrorists
along with its nuclear arsenal. India's restraint in the face of
Islamic terrorism may be suspended, reigniting the endemic conflict
with Pakistan. The US war in Afghanistan could be Vietnamized and
the war in Iraq is far from a conclusion. The possible evacuation of
US troops from these two arenas could add fuel, not water, to the
fire, further destabilizing the region and the globe.

Syria has provided safe haven for anti-US Iraqi
terrorists. Iran supports and incites Persian Gulf and global
terrorism, while upgrading its ballistic and nuclear capabilities,
which would agitate the Gulf, the Middle East, the US, Europe and the
entire world. Nuclear North Korea has been a source of unexpected
threats. Russia and China have never hidden their imperial
aspirations, which have gravely concerned their neighbors in East
Europe and Asia. Mexico is facing a lethal challenge from drug
cartels, which have expanded their internal wars into Texas, Arizona
and California. Venezuela and Cuba collaborate with enemies and
rivals of the USA, who may thus gain access to Washington's backyard.
And, that's an incomplete list of external challenges preoccupying
Obama.

President Obama is facing these challenges with a world
view, which was enunciated during the 2008 campaign and in three
major speeches at Cairo University (June 4, 2009), the UN General
Assembly (September 23, 2009) and West Point Military Academy
(December 1, 2009).

In contrast with the US ethos, Obama does not believe in
the moral, economic and military exceptionalism of the US or in the
destiny of the US to lead the battle of Western democracies against
rogue regimes. He views the US as a power-in-retreat, which abused
its dominance. Therefore, he systematically apologizes to Muslims,
in particular, and Third World societies in general, investigates the
conduct of CIA agents in their war against terrorists and is closing
down the Gitmo detention camp. He does not define the world as an
arena of confrontation between free societies and terror
organizations and states, but as a platform of engagement between
rivals who must comprehend that covenants and accords are preferable
to wars and that their common ground exceeds that which separates
them.

Obama is convinced that military force does not solve
conflicts and that the era of military balance is over. Therefore,
he cuts the budget of military R&D and missile defense, does not
replenish military inventories consumed in Iraq and Afghanistan, does
not expand US armed forces despite expanding threats and initiates
agreements to reduce the arms race, even when this advances Russian
interests.

Obama's Administration refrains from using the terms
"international terrorism," "Islamic terrorism," (because "Islam is
part of America.") or "Jihadist terrorism" (because "Jihad means to
purify oneself or to wage a holy struggle for a moral goal.").
According to Obama, there are no terrorists, only "extremists,"
"man-made disasters" and "isolated cases" such as Al-Qaeda and
Taliban. Terrorism is considered a challenge for law-enforcement
officials rather than for military personnel. Moreover, terrorism
constitutes, to an extent, a Third World reaction to abuse and lack
of respect by the Western World. Therefore, terrorists benefit from
the rights of civil law offenders. And, when there is no moral
clarity, there is hardly battle field clarity.

Obama considers the UN as the quarterback of international
relations and the bureaucracy of Foggy Bottom as the luminaries of
foreign policy. He aspires to move closer to the European state of
mind and world view, while the world is in a dire need of a US
Marshall and not for a European cop. Hence, Obama aims at minimizing
unilateral initiatives and maximizing military, legal, political and
environmental multilateralism. He has joined the vehemently anti-US
and anti-Israel UN Council on Human Rights, which was boycotted by
Bush. Furthermore, he awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to
Mary Robinson, who headed the Council on Human Rights and led the
racist anti-US and anti-Israel UN "Durban Conference."

Obama's attitude toward the Jewish State has been a
by-product of his aforementioned world view, of his non
Judeo-Christian background and of his inner circle associates and
friends at Harvard University and in Chicago, who have been critical
and hostile toward Israel. The principles of "moral equivalence" and
"evenhandedness" have underlined his policy toward the Arab-Israeli
conflict. He does not regard Israel as a strategic, let alone
unique, ally and is hardly a supporter of US joint defense and
commercial projects with Israel. He does not rush to defend Israel at
the UN and views the Jewish State as part of the exploiting Western
World and the Arabs as part of the exploited Third World.

Obama has adopted the sophisticated line of Arab
propaganda, claiming that the moral foundation of Israel is the
Holocaust, which resulted in ushering Jews to a newly acquired home,
while uprooting Palestinians from their own home. He perceives the
Palestinian issue as the crux of the Arab-Israeli conflict, the root
cause of anti-US Islamic terrorism and the chief trigger of Middle
East turbulence. His prescription for the resolution of the
Arab-Israeli conflict is an Israeli withdrawal to the 1949/67 Lines,
the uprooting of Jewish communities in the Golan Heights, Judea and
Samaria, the repartitioning of Jerusalem, the negotiation of the
return of the 1948 Arab refugees to the pre-1967 Israel and the
exchange of land. President Obama is intent on clipping the wings of
the Jewish State morally, strategically and territorially. However,
that is not a top priority for him. He would not confront Israel's
friends on Capitol Hill and in the public if they are mobilized
against his prescription. Does Obama have the power to overcome such
a pro-Israel alliance and impose a solution on Israel?

Voters in the US elected Obama to office, in spite of his
lack of experience domestically and globally. Instead of reading the
writing on the wall, US voters entertained the delusion that an
"attractive cover" meant an "instructive book." However, Obama's
conduct since January 2009 has led to the collapse of his attractive
image. For example, a majority of Americans oppose higher taxes, an
expanded budget deficit and bigger government, which have become
Obama's trade mark. 60% of the US public believes that the US is
moving in the wrong direction. Support for Obama has declined from
65% in January 2009, to less than 50% in January 2010 - the steepest
presidential decline since 1975.

From a consensus-builder candidate in 2008 he has emerged
as a controversy-promoting president in 2009. From a moderate
candidate he has transformed into a liberal president, while only 20%
of the American public consider themselves to be Liberals. From a
coattail candidate, who received the Independent vote and swept
Democrats to a major victory in both congressional chambers, he has
become an anchor-chained president, who has distanced Independents
from the Democratic Party, has energized the Angry White Vote and
could drag Democrats to defeat in November 2010. The Democratic
failure in November 2009 and public opinion polls for the spring
primaries and for the November 2010 election, suggest a major
Republican tailwind. As a result, a number of prominent Democratic
legislators have announced retirement. Therefore, as we approach the
November 2010 election, and as legislators are growing more attentive
to their constituents, moderate and conservative Democratic
legislators are distancing themselves from President Obama.

While Obama is perceived as a President who strays away
from the American consensus, Israel benefits from a consensus
support. "Joe Six Pack" and "Lunch Pail Mabel," conservative and
liberal America, Jews and Christians, Republicans and Democrats do
not view Israel as a classic foreign policy issue, but as an internal
Judeo-Christian American issue, which is bonded with the USA through
shared values, mutual threats and joint interests. Israel is largely
regarded as a peace-seeking democratic militarily-able ally,
surrounded by enemies who reject American values. US public opinion
polls position Israel as the fourth or fifth most favorite ally with
66%-70% support, compared with the Palestinian Authority, which is at
the bottom of the list along with Iran and North Korea. The key
factor of support for the idea of a Jewish State - since the 17th
century - has been the US public and its representatives on Capitol
Hill. Most initiatives enhancing the US-Israel relationship
originated in Congress, many times following a struggle against an
opposing Administration. President Obama's world view suggests that
such struggles could be intensified during the next few years.

The writing is on the wall!