Up In Flames

May 6, 2015

Barack Obama has a very interesting track record as President of the United States. On his watch, different parts of the world are going up in flames, in some places quite literally. His weak foreign policy, radical liberal policies and pro-Muslim ideology have spurred the chaos occurring in the Middle East and Africa. Vladimir Putin has stepped up Russia's aggression as well, as he does not expect a meaningful response from Obama. And now, the flames, again quite literally, have been ignited (or reignited) in America as well.

Obama's supporters will look to defend him no matter what he does or does not do. No matter what he says or does not say. But the facts are the facts. Under Obama, Iran has significantly increased its regional aggression. Most recently, the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels overthrew the American-backed government in Yemen, which Obama had declared to be a successful model for counterterrorism. Iran can now stake its flag in San'aa, the capital of Yemen, which is the latest Middle Eastern capital to be claimed by Iran. It joins the capitals of Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, as well as Iran's own capital. Iran also has its terrorist proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, on Israel's borders and is expanding its terrorism reach. Iran is taking more aggressive action in strategic regional waterways, threatening global shipping and oil supplies.

One would think that Obama, who also is on target to allow Iran to legitimately obtain nuclear weapons over time, is dedicated solely to having Iran establish an Islamic caliphate on his watch. But his policies also have allowed IS to flourish in the region and compete with Iran to establish the Islamic caliphate. IS too has expanded the scope of its terrorist activities and has received a wink and a nod from Obama. What happened to the coalition of 62 countries fighting IS? It is not exactly like the Obama Administration has been sitting back because of IS' lack of success. The only good thing that could be said about the threat posed by IS is that it is not as severe as that posed by Iran.

Obama and his Administration have emboldened both Iran and IS, causing many places around the world to go up in flames. Even the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government on its own people, including children, was met by Obama weakness. Obama reserves his strength, ire and condemnation for Israel. As terrorism, killing and slaughter are being spread globally by radical Islamic terrorists, Obama is more concerned about trying to vilify Israel, the one beacon of liberty and stability in the region. It is stunning that with all of the real pain suffered by one people at the hands of another people around the world, Obama is most concerned with the distractions of the Palestinians in their conflict with Israel.

Obama and his Administration should stop obsessing about Israel and start focusing on the dangers posed by radical Islamic terrorists, including in America. Rather than trying to find fault with our best ally in the Middle East, which shares our interest in combatting radical Islamic terrorism, he should divert his attention away from Israel and to the terrorists. Fundamental Islamic terrorist acts and threats are increasing in this country. But on these, Obama is pathetically silent. This despite the fact that the terrorists would love to cause this country to go up in flames.

Obama's far-left domestic policies also have helped ignite flames on American soil. It is on Obama's watch that there is growing civil unrest in this country. Baltimore is just the latest example. The death of Freddie Gray, a Baltimore resident, under suspicious circumstances while in police custody brought on the usual Obama diatribe. Despite the fact that the police commissioner in Baltimore is black and blacks comprise 40% of its police force, and that half of the cops involved in the death of Mr. Gray are black, Obama latched on to the immediate accusations that racism was the real cause of Mr. Gray's death. To be clear, if the police personnel involved are guilty, they should be punished for their crime. But we do not have all of the facts yet and they are entitled to due process. Mr. Obama should reserve his comments on racism until we know more. He has been premature with his inflammatory statements on race numerous times in the past, including in a similar situation in Ferguson, Missouri. He does this because he believes that racism in police forces is not an issue that is limited to Baltimore, but rather is a national problem. A problem that he says dates back a long period of time. "This is not new. It's been going on for decades." As if there has not been any changes in race relations in America in decades. This coming from the first black President.

Obama also claims that the entire country needs to do some "soul-searching", as if everyone in America is somehow complicit in a crime. His fix, besides admonishing Americans, is to continue, actually expand, liberal entitlement programs in minority communities and to throw more and more hard-earned tax dollars at the problem. He ignores the fact that much of Baltimore's leadership, including its mayor and prosecutor (and police commissioner), are black and Republicans have not governed in Baltimore in decades. He disregards the fact that Baltimore has had a prolonged economic slide notwithstanding all of the money that has been spent trying to help the minority community. Instead of preaching morals to Americans, he should admit that his liberal entitlement programs simply do not work. They have not worked in Baltimore or in minority communities throughout America, despite those communities being the beneficiaries of trillions of dollars of aid since Lyndon Johnson's Great Society was announced in 1964.

Obama also only takes one side on the issue. He looks past the fact that the rate for violent crime by minorities in Baltimore, as in most minority communities, is much higher than the national average. The unemployment rate for minorities in Baltimore also is far above the national average. In Baltimore, there are over 16,000 abandoned homes and buildings. Although a disproportionate amount of money has been spent on education in Baltimore, a high percentage of its minority residents lack a high school degree. Rather than encouraging hard work and success, Obama's liberal entitlement programs have the perverse result of creating a sense of entitlement. Residents of minority communities come to rely on these entitlements. Yet, according to Obama, it is not the minority community, but rather only American society at large that is to blame.

Obama is much more in his comfort zone blaming American society for all of his perceived injustices against minorities. Why not, this fits neatly into his ideology. Occasionally, he will mention some corrective action that minority communities need to take on their own, but, at most, he utters some brief, meaningless words. For example, about the violence in the aftermath of the situation in Baltimore, he said he was not making any excuses for the riots and destruction, but then he proceeded to do just that. He refuses to sincerely advocate for law enforcement and acknowledge their tremendous contribution to this country. He also refuses to connect the increased danger to the police in high-crime neighborhoods. His words and actions incite violence and destruction, which he tolerates. This has resulted in anarchy on American streets. American law enforcement was told to stand down in Baltimore, which led to numerous injuries to cops and reporters and wide-scale damage to property. Looting, arson and robbery were condoned. Baltimore, like Ferguson, was set aflame. Inexcusably, approximately 37,000 people were held hostage in Camden Yards after a Baltimore Orioles baseball game and other games had to be postponed and then played without any fans in attendance. This is a total disgrace. This is Obama's America.

To be clear, the chaos occurring around the world, including in America, is happening on Obama's watch. His far-left foreign policy has helped strengthen radical Islamic terrorism abroad. As it is being left unchallenged, that terrorism is becoming more readily apparent in America and it likely will try to make a home here. Obama's outspokenness against American society and law enforcement have helped incite the anarchy we have witnessed on American streets. Despite any liberal attempts to spin these events differently, make no mistake, the flames incinerating various parts of the world are Obama's. Instead of trying to put them out, he excels at fueling the fires.

Am Yisrael Chai