Obama's America

In the span of a few days, two seemingly unrelated events speak more to Barack Obama's view of an America that will be diminished: Obama signed into law his healthcare legislation, and his administration reached agreement with Russia to reduce nuclear weapons.

What came to my mind was Britain's decline in the post World War II period - a decline in economic growth as the country pursued national healthcare and a broad socialist agenda and a decline in global power as it reduced its military commitments to reflect its diminished economic prospects.

And now Obama is pursuing similar policies, with likely similar effects if not reversed in upcoming elections.

Intellectually, both socialized medicine and nuclear disarmament derive from leftist ideology and policies as espoused for many decades. Financially, the higher government spending on healthcare means less money is available for military spending.

I always thought it remarkable and sad that Britain voted for economic and political decline after World War II.

I don't believe that most Americans felt that was what they voted for in 2008 in electing Barack Obama.

But it is what they got.

What's the Big Deal with the Berlin Wall?

Barack Obama is apparently too busy to attend the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall that marked the collapse of the Soviet Union's empire in Eastern Europe, the reunion of East and West Germany, and two years later the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was the defining moment that ended 45 years of Cold War, and with it the specter of a nuclear holocaust, with freedom, and America, securing one of the greatest victories in history.

Germany naturally regards the fall of the Berlin Wall as a great event in it history, and the 20th anniversary celebrations will include various notables, including Mikhail Gorbachev.

But incredibly, it won't include Barack Obama.

The administration claims he is too busy - but he isn't too busy to fly to Europe to lobby for Chicago's Olympics bid nor is he likely to be too busy to go to Oslo to claim his Nobel prize.

So for this great event in American, and world, history, being too busy can't possibly be the real reason for Obama avoiding the celebration.

I think the real reason is that Obama is doing another favor to Russia, for whom the fall of the Berlin Wall led to the Soviet Union's shattering defeat and dissolution. Obama is keen, even desperate, to bend over backwards to appease Russia in the hope it will help pressure Iran.

So far, Russia has repeatedly said it doesn't support sanctions against Iran. So even if you believed double-crossing Poland and the Czech Republic over missile defense, making it harder for Georgia to join NATO, and now avoiding the Berlin Wall celebration were good ideas in order to secure Russia's support on Iran, we aren't even getting the pay back for our efforts.

And we are betraying fundamental American values and interests in the process.

Georgia, RIP

The EU has produced a whitewash report on the war between Russia and Georgia, saying both sides were at fault. In particular, the report said Georgia started the war by firing the first shot.

But the report said Russian troops entered Georgia before being fired at. So according to European diplomats, Russia can invade another country by marching across its border, and as long as it holds its fire until the invaded nation responds, the fault lies with the invaded nation.

This obscene report is designed to avoid antagonizing Russia, since amongst other things, the country supplies a significant portion of Europe's supply of natural gas.

So notwithstanding Europe's worries about global warming, it is so concerned with protecting its gas supplies that truth, justice, and freedom in Georgia take a back seat to good relations with Russia.

Russia Wins Again

Barack Obama keeps on handing victories to Russia on important matters. The latest victory is Obama's decision to abandon plans to place missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic to defend Europe against a missile attack from Iran.

Although the system would have had only 10 interceptors, far too few to thwart a Russian missile attack, Russia felt threatened by the system. So Obama has accommodated Russian pressure, at the expense of our allies who took risks to help defend the region.

Obama's decision comes on the heels of Russia announcing it won't support sanctions against Iran. Perhaps with this gift, Russia will change its mind.

This incident also highlights that bombing Iran is not just the only viable alternative to stopping its nuclear activities, but that the price we are paying to try to stop them through diplomacy keeps on growing.

Russia to Obama: Nyet

Russia opposes Iran sanctions, after the Obama administration's "reset" of relations was designed to elicit Russia's support on issues of importance to America, such as Iran. On missile defense in allies Poland and the Czech Republic and on Georgia, Obama has suggested policies to help Russia while hurting our friends.

And Russia has rewarded Obama's efforts by saying it won't back new sanction on Iran, which has been the cornerstone of Obama's Iran policy.

As I have said, that leaves us with one viable option: bomb Iran now.

Russia 2, Obama 0

Joe Biden has softened America's position on the importance of Georgia joining NATO. Whereas George Bush strongly favored NATO membership for Georgia, Biden recently said that he favors "Georgia's continued independence and autonomy" and that joining NATO was a "decision for Georgia to make."

Diplomats have interpreted these verbal nuances as a marked shift in the U.S. position, in apparently a further attempt by the Obama administration to placate Russia. Throwing Georgia to the Russian wolves, and weakening our commitment to building a European defense system against Iranian missiles, begin the path of giving Russia two important victories.

That's quite an accomplishment for the first few weeks of the Obama administration. Just imagine what the President can do in four years.

Russia 1, Obama 0

Joe Biden signaled today in a speech in Munich that the Obama administration may be willing to negotiate with Russia over the missile defense system we plan to deploy in Poland and the Czech Republic. The purpose of this limited defense system is to protect Europe from ballistic missiles fired from Iran, while Russia fears such weapons could neutralize its nuclear arsenal.

Russia aids Iran with weapons, nuclear technology, and favorable votes on the UN Security Council, and is now constraining our ability to supply our troops in Afghanistan, then suggests it can help America on these matters so long as we help them with their concerns over the missile defense system.

Unless the Obama administration believes it will end up destroying the Iranian nuclear and ballistic missile programs with a military strike, this is shaping up as a win for Russia and a loss for us.