Chris Adamo
Can America return to greatness post Obama?
By Chris Adamo
Though the event was barely mentioned in American media, Raouf Abdel-Rahman was executed on June 18 by ISIS ("Islamic State") rebels in Iraq. With all the turmoil and bloodshed in that nation, the death of any single individual might seem inconsequential. However, it was he who presided over the trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2006 and who ultimately passed a death sentence on him. By exacting revenge on Abdel-Rahman, ISIS and their Al Qaeda cohorts are sending a grim warning to the people of Iraq that if they ever cooperate with the West, they will be targeted for retribution.
This sad episode is but the latest of a series of disasters in which the Obama Administration has deliberately pursued a course that not only damages the standing of the United States in the present, but ensures that its diminished status will reap negative consequences for a long time afterwards. And though this particular situation primarily affected America's relations in the Middle East, other policy fiascoes have been methodically implemented in a similar manner, the end goal being to undermine the United States throughout the rest of the world, and even within its own borders.
The immediate harm inflicted on the nation in each situation is actually only a harbinger of a much more enduring set of consequences, which will likely continue to reverberate negatively for America even if the next president is intent on re-establishing the former greatness of the nation and attempts a complete turn around. This may seem an overly gloomy prognostication, and will no doubt engender those monotonously predictable charges of "racism" as the underlying motivation for the criticism. Yet the pattern is too clearly established, and too consistently followed by this administration to be the result of mere incompetence. Clearly, Barack Obama has an underlying animus against America, and is driven to inflict as much irreparable harm on the nation as he can, regardless of any established limitations on his power to do so.
Obama's ill conceived withdrawal from Iraq was never predicated or timed in response to any milestones of that nation's internal security or stability, but only in consideration of the political benefits he might reap among his liberal base of support. Such poor judgment essentially guaranteed a fairly rapid deterioration of the fledgling government and the nation's eventual descent into chaos and civil war. The immediate ramifications are obvious, namely that another nation which was temporarily a U.S. ally is now likely to become the same bastion of Islamic terrorism that it was before 4000 Americans died to neutralize the threat it posed. Far worse is that those Iraqis who assisted U.S. forces during the occupation will now be systematically targeted, ensuring that any future American efforts to normalize relations with that nation, even several years in the future, will be completely frustrated. Under Obama's watch, America is proving that it cannot be trusted to stand with such people. And the "big picture" only gets uglier from here.
Obama's unilateral 2009 decision to abandon the missile shield over Poland, which had been pledged by previous administrations, sent a similar message to the Poles, along with every Eastern European nation that has suffered with the nightmarish memories of oppression under the old Soviet Union. The United States will not prevent a return to subjugation by modern day Russia. So, like those ill-fated efforts to establish freedom in Iraq, any Polish officials who show particular defiance against Vladimir Putin now have to live with the knowledge that he may one day wreak vengeance upon them. Under such insidious conditions, even if a future American president stands up to Putin with all of the principle and resolve of Ronald Reagan, successors to that individual cannot be counted upon to maintain the backing of America. As Obama's purposeful actions continue to highlight the untrustworthy character of our increasingly erratic and unpredictable government, he creates longstanding doubts and breaches with the rest of the world that severely erode the diplomatic clout once enjoyed by our nation.
Closer to home, the effects of Barack Obama's "War on Coal" and his fanatical opposition to the Keystone pipeline highlight an effort to destroy America's energy independence, which would force us into a position of vulnerability and even subservience to those nations he has been so busy alienating. As he chokes off the coal industry, he intensifies the need for other fossil fuels (wind and solar being nothing more than platitudes for the media and gullible masses). If he can prevent Keystone from reaching completion, the Canadians will eventually sour on any effort to sell their oil to America, and will instead reroute it to the China. Nor are Canadians likely to abruptly change course and abandon a reliable customer even if a pro-America president follows Obama, since they have no assurance of consistency in U.S. policy if another leftist ideologue follows in Obama's footsteps after a term or two. In the end, our nation will be weaker, and our enemies will be stronger, which constitutes a "win/win" for Obama.
The damage wrought by the unconstitutional excesses of Obamacare (Chief Justice Roberts' empty words notwithstanding) have set the stage for virtually unlimited government intrusion into every aspect of the lives of Americans. And the flagrant abuses of power exhibited by the IRS against "enemies" of the Obama regime represent the initial phases of an iron-fisted eradication of justice and constitutionally guaranteed rights.
Even before the dubious and hardly spontaneous "surge" of illegal alien adults and children, Barack Obama made it abundantly clear that he sees the massive influx of "immigrants" as a boon to his party, vastly increasing the political leverage it can wield. Here again, the aim is to drastically shift the demographics of the nation to the point that the pro-America conservative base is overwhelmed numerically and thereby rendered irrelevant.
Of course no discussion of the consequences of the Obama agenda would be complete without mention of the unprecedented economic contraction that has befallen this country. After six years of continual recession and dropping wages (and despite countless "recoveries" regularly reported on the nightly news), America's formerly indomitable economic engine is sputtering to a stall. In contrast to those adoring crowds of sycophantic college kids who cheered for him in 2008, the hideous reality of his promise to "fundamentally transform "America" is now obvious for all to see.
With the nation in such dire straits, the 2016 presidential election cycle carries enormous consequences which far outweigh those of any previous election. Of course it would be disastrous to install a like-minded and equally unscrupulous Obama successor who might continue to carry his torch. On the other hand, a Republican, who lacks the courage or vision to draw back the pall of leftist socialism and statism that is descending upon our nation, or whose resolve to do so can be shaken by Democrat/media attacks that will surely ensue, may accomplish little more than to thoroughly dispirit the conservative base, thus enabling an eventual continuance of the nation's downward plunge.
The Conservative opposition no longer has the latitude to attempt to merely "cut its losses." Rather, any leader of the conservative movement must recognize that the window of opportunity for bold and decisive action is indeed open, but will not remain so indefinitely. That individual must seize the moment and engage the liberal opposition with determination and resolve equal to their venomous distortions and accusations of malicious intent. Anything less will be tantamount to political surrender to the agenda of the left, and may put our nation past the tipping point.
© Chris Adamo
June 26, 2014
Though the event was barely mentioned in American media, Raouf Abdel-Rahman was executed on June 18 by ISIS ("Islamic State") rebels in Iraq. With all the turmoil and bloodshed in that nation, the death of any single individual might seem inconsequential. However, it was he who presided over the trial of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein in 2006 and who ultimately passed a death sentence on him. By exacting revenge on Abdel-Rahman, ISIS and their Al Qaeda cohorts are sending a grim warning to the people of Iraq that if they ever cooperate with the West, they will be targeted for retribution.
This sad episode is but the latest of a series of disasters in which the Obama Administration has deliberately pursued a course that not only damages the standing of the United States in the present, but ensures that its diminished status will reap negative consequences for a long time afterwards. And though this particular situation primarily affected America's relations in the Middle East, other policy fiascoes have been methodically implemented in a similar manner, the end goal being to undermine the United States throughout the rest of the world, and even within its own borders.
The immediate harm inflicted on the nation in each situation is actually only a harbinger of a much more enduring set of consequences, which will likely continue to reverberate negatively for America even if the next president is intent on re-establishing the former greatness of the nation and attempts a complete turn around. This may seem an overly gloomy prognostication, and will no doubt engender those monotonously predictable charges of "racism" as the underlying motivation for the criticism. Yet the pattern is too clearly established, and too consistently followed by this administration to be the result of mere incompetence. Clearly, Barack Obama has an underlying animus against America, and is driven to inflict as much irreparable harm on the nation as he can, regardless of any established limitations on his power to do so.
Obama's ill conceived withdrawal from Iraq was never predicated or timed in response to any milestones of that nation's internal security or stability, but only in consideration of the political benefits he might reap among his liberal base of support. Such poor judgment essentially guaranteed a fairly rapid deterioration of the fledgling government and the nation's eventual descent into chaos and civil war. The immediate ramifications are obvious, namely that another nation which was temporarily a U.S. ally is now likely to become the same bastion of Islamic terrorism that it was before 4000 Americans died to neutralize the threat it posed. Far worse is that those Iraqis who assisted U.S. forces during the occupation will now be systematically targeted, ensuring that any future American efforts to normalize relations with that nation, even several years in the future, will be completely frustrated. Under Obama's watch, America is proving that it cannot be trusted to stand with such people. And the "big picture" only gets uglier from here.
Obama's unilateral 2009 decision to abandon the missile shield over Poland, which had been pledged by previous administrations, sent a similar message to the Poles, along with every Eastern European nation that has suffered with the nightmarish memories of oppression under the old Soviet Union. The United States will not prevent a return to subjugation by modern day Russia. So, like those ill-fated efforts to establish freedom in Iraq, any Polish officials who show particular defiance against Vladimir Putin now have to live with the knowledge that he may one day wreak vengeance upon them. Under such insidious conditions, even if a future American president stands up to Putin with all of the principle and resolve of Ronald Reagan, successors to that individual cannot be counted upon to maintain the backing of America. As Obama's purposeful actions continue to highlight the untrustworthy character of our increasingly erratic and unpredictable government, he creates longstanding doubts and breaches with the rest of the world that severely erode the diplomatic clout once enjoyed by our nation.
Closer to home, the effects of Barack Obama's "War on Coal" and his fanatical opposition to the Keystone pipeline highlight an effort to destroy America's energy independence, which would force us into a position of vulnerability and even subservience to those nations he has been so busy alienating. As he chokes off the coal industry, he intensifies the need for other fossil fuels (wind and solar being nothing more than platitudes for the media and gullible masses). If he can prevent Keystone from reaching completion, the Canadians will eventually sour on any effort to sell their oil to America, and will instead reroute it to the China. Nor are Canadians likely to abruptly change course and abandon a reliable customer even if a pro-America president follows Obama, since they have no assurance of consistency in U.S. policy if another leftist ideologue follows in Obama's footsteps after a term or two. In the end, our nation will be weaker, and our enemies will be stronger, which constitutes a "win/win" for Obama.
The damage wrought by the unconstitutional excesses of Obamacare (Chief Justice Roberts' empty words notwithstanding) have set the stage for virtually unlimited government intrusion into every aspect of the lives of Americans. And the flagrant abuses of power exhibited by the IRS against "enemies" of the Obama regime represent the initial phases of an iron-fisted eradication of justice and constitutionally guaranteed rights.
Even before the dubious and hardly spontaneous "surge" of illegal alien adults and children, Barack Obama made it abundantly clear that he sees the massive influx of "immigrants" as a boon to his party, vastly increasing the political leverage it can wield. Here again, the aim is to drastically shift the demographics of the nation to the point that the pro-America conservative base is overwhelmed numerically and thereby rendered irrelevant.
Of course no discussion of the consequences of the Obama agenda would be complete without mention of the unprecedented economic contraction that has befallen this country. After six years of continual recession and dropping wages (and despite countless "recoveries" regularly reported on the nightly news), America's formerly indomitable economic engine is sputtering to a stall. In contrast to those adoring crowds of sycophantic college kids who cheered for him in 2008, the hideous reality of his promise to "fundamentally transform "America" is now obvious for all to see.
With the nation in such dire straits, the 2016 presidential election cycle carries enormous consequences which far outweigh those of any previous election. Of course it would be disastrous to install a like-minded and equally unscrupulous Obama successor who might continue to carry his torch. On the other hand, a Republican, who lacks the courage or vision to draw back the pall of leftist socialism and statism that is descending upon our nation, or whose resolve to do so can be shaken by Democrat/media attacks that will surely ensue, may accomplish little more than to thoroughly dispirit the conservative base, thus enabling an eventual continuance of the nation's downward plunge.
The Conservative opposition no longer has the latitude to attempt to merely "cut its losses." Rather, any leader of the conservative movement must recognize that the window of opportunity for bold and decisive action is indeed open, but will not remain so indefinitely. That individual must seize the moment and engage the liberal opposition with determination and resolve equal to their venomous distortions and accusations of malicious intent. Anything less will be tantamount to political surrender to the agenda of the left, and may put our nation past the tipping point.
© Chris Adamo
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